Mandatory Management Training for Newly Hired Child Welfare Supervisors

Abstract

Little scholarly attention has been directed at verifying whether the skills and competencies stressed in social welfare management training programs are consistent with the management literature. In this study, 31 state-sponsored management training programs for newly hired child welfare supervisors were assessed using Menefee and Thompson's (1994) 12 social work managerial dimensions. Research has suggested strategic, interpersonal, and technical skills and competencies are important for successful social welfare management. Most states, however, tended to ignore the strategic component in their management training programs. By discounting this aspect, states not only overlook the very factors that make social welfare management challenging, they potentially inhibit the practice effectiveness of their current supervisors and future managers.