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• Assessing the quality and impact of interventions with children • Developing procedures • Establishing service standards • Implementing monitoring and complaint mechanisms • Etc.
here are a number of different ways to use the competency-based development approach to strengthen professional practices and services that involve interacting with children. Specifically, using a competency-based approach is helpful for: • Establishing clear guidelines and requirements for the day-to-day tasks of each occupational category • Developing accurate job descriptions • Determining strategies for recruiting the right people • Evaluating applicant skills during the hiring process • Planning capacity-building programmes for personnel • Developing plans, strategies and tools for basic training, professional development and specialised courses • Measuring the effects of professional training
This section describes four concrete applications of the competency-based development approach and the associated core competency grids. It also discusses the conditions needed in order for existing action plans to be improved. It therefore presents a comprehensive roadmap designed to help child protection agencies update their practices and organisational cultures in an effort to make accountability to children central to their core missions and to further professionalise child-facing services.
DIFFERENT USES FOR CORE COMPETENCY GRIDS
The purpose of core competency grids—such as those developed for justice personnel, security forces, social workers, and staff working with children deprived of liberty—is to make professional practices and services more child-friendly. Several levers of action, intended for use independently or in combination, have been identified to make child protection systems more:
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• Available by establishing and promoting referral methods that work for the various services involved • Accessible for all children without discrimination • and regardless of their physical location, economic resources, language or other personal or social considerations • Tailored to children’s rights and unique personal circumstances, particularly those of children in vulnerable situations • Child-friendly so that children feel safe, are treated with dignity, and can express their views and be heard by trained professionals • Responsible, in particular by providing children with the opportunity to seek recourse if their rights are violated or not adequately upheld To make this possible, four uses of the core competency grids were identified (though other applications may exist), namely: to validate unit workflows and service descriptions, develop staff training programmes, assess personnel performance, and establish standards of service.
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