Reflective Guidance on the Strengthening of the Community-Level Social Welfare Workforce (2026)

The Community-Level Social Welfare Workforce (CLSWW) —comprising volunteers and paraprofessionals—plays a vital role in preventing and responding to child protection risks at the community level. However, their roles, functions, and responsibilities are often under-recognized, under-supported, and insufficiently integrated into broader child protection systems. This guidance is intended to support colleagues who are already engaged in this area of work in strengthening the CLSWW through a reflective, collaborative, and Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) approach. The guidance outlines a practical assessment and strategy development process in a step-by-step manner, enabling country offices —together with government counterparts and other child protection organizations—to identify strengths, gaps, and priorities, and to plan and implement targeted actions accordingly.

The guidance was developed based on key insights from the study which was conducted with the aim to better understand the current state of play, as well as identify lessons learned and good practices, in strengthening the CLSWW. Link to the report here: Community-level Social Welfare Workforce: Analysis on the state of play in nine countries – Save the Children’s Resource Centre