Children’s Emergency Relief International’s (CERI) Dr. Jon Meyer is playing a key role in Moldova’s standardization of the social work profession with a recent presentation of his qualitative report on the work environment and supervision of social service professionals. As part of Moldova’s efforts to move the country closer to joining the European Union, Meyer, an American, has been serving as the government’s senior advisor to determine national guidelines for social workers. Moldova’s national development strategy includes a professional supervision mechanism for the approximately 1,000 newly hired government social workers.
“Because the social work profession in Moldova is still in its early stages, the idea of professional supervision is not very well understood,” Meyer said. “My goal is to assist in the development of relative legislation and develop a practical guide for professional social work supervision.”
Meyer recently conducted an in-depth qualitative study revealing the work environment and current level of supervision of Moldovan social workers. The study involved traveling to 10 of the 32 regions that divide the country and meeting with various social service professionals working in both regional and village social assistance offices. Though there had been a consensus on the poor working conditions for social workers, the study was able to confirm this in greater detail.
Meyer recently presented his findings to the faculty of the Moldova State University, School of Social Work. His report, the Guide for Professional Social Work Supervision, is anticipated to move the Republic of Moldova closer to establishing national standards and goals for social workers.
Meyer is more than a year into his two year partnership with the United Nations Children Fund and Moldova’s Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child (MSPFC), serving as a senior advisor to the MSPFC. His broader objective is to support changes to ultimately reduce the number of children in government-owned orphanages in Moldova.
CERI is the overseas division of BCFS, a faith-based health and human services organization serving children and families in crisis throughout the world. To find out more regarding CERI’s work in Moldova, please visit www.cerkids.org.
