Introduction

This chapter is positioned at the implementation stage of the policy cycle and focuses on the role and organisation of social workers in the process. The subject of policy implementation – or unsuccessful implementation in this case – is investigated in the context of the recent reform introduced into the child protection work of the social service system in Israel. The qualitative study discussed here is part of a global debate about the competence of reformative actions to improve social workers’ care-plan decisions regarding the help offered to children to improve their safety and well-being. The priority given to the issue by governments around the world is driven, among other things, by harsh public condemnation and outcry over ineffective practice when maltreatment ends in the tragic event of death or serious harm to a child (Munro, 2010; Israel Ministry of Social Services and Social Affairs [IMSSSA], 2014).

This chapter aims to enhance the understanding of the reasons why welcome, well-informed and generously resourced policy initiatives by governments to promote high quality service for children in need do not fully achieve their goals. As an example, Munro's (2011) review of the English child protection system demonstrates how inquiries into child abuse tragedies that conclude on the impact of human error, in conjunction with extreme public outcry over defective practice along with political pressures, consistently produce policy countermeasures to safeguard children. Unfortunately, these solutions have often been ineffective in preventing the next tragic death and, in effect, had cumulative, unexpected and unwarranted consequences. Rapid growth in the bureaucratisation of childcare work has gradually diverted the workforce from opportunities to exercise professional judgement and invest time in direct work with service users.

The originality of the analysis presented in this chapter is that it directs attention to the context, that is, the working environment where social workers meet children and families. Since empirical studies have not focused sufficiently on the impact of working conditions on child protection practices and policy outcomes (López et al, 2015; Shlonsky, 2015), this study could explain trends that have been overlooked by previous research.

Child protection reform

For over two decades, the government of Israel has invested considerable efforts in formulating policy on child protection practices that will improve decision making in formal committees called Planning, Intervention and Evaluation Committees (PIECs).