As part of the measures and activities program for continuous professional development of specialist staff employed in social care institutions, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy established an accreditation system for training programs for social service providers, in order to improve the quality of social services and for promotion and development of new social services.
In collaboration with the State Institute for Social Protection, a new training program was developed, intended for professional staff at Centers for Social Work (CSW), primarily for staff employed at the reception. The indirect target group included current and potential CSW beneficiaries, case handlers, supervisors, managers and CSW directors. A team formed for implementation of project activities included experts from both organizations. Before training sessions began, the “Reception service and its importance for Center for Social Work” professional conference was held in April 2014, where needs and expectations of professionals working at CSWs were examined.
4 two-day pilot training sessions were held (Kraljevo, Niš, Subotica and Belgrade), and the main criteria for selecting the CSW were the size and method of organization of the reception service – in order to ensure a variety of participants were included in training groups and encourage the exchange of best practices.