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Author
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Chari, Precious C.
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Title
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Strategies employed by social workers in the empowerment of child headed families in Zimbabwe. A case of Bindura urban district
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Abstract
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This qualitative study explored the strategies employed by social workers to empower Child-Headed Families (CHFs) in Bindura Urban District, Zimbabwe, amidst significant systemic constraints. Focused on understanding frontline practice realities, the research investigated four objectives: causative factors for CHF establishment, empowerment strategies used, obstacles encountered, and participant-proposed solutions. Adopting an interpretivism paradigm, the study utilized a descriptive qualitative design. Purposive sampling identified 18 information-rich participants: 8 frontline social workers (split between one Focus Group Discussion and four Individual In-Depth Interviews), 5 adolescent CHF heads (aged 15-17, through sensitive In-Depth Interviews), and 5 key informants (NGO managers, DSW supervisor, Ward Councillor, School Head via Key Informant Interviews). Semi-structured guides tailored to each participant category facilitated data collection. Reflexive thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke (2022), was applied to transcribed data. Findings revealed CHF formation stemmed primarily from parental illness/death (HIV/AIDS/TB), economic migration fracturing families, eroded kinship support, and bureaucratic policy failures. Social workers deployed multifaceted strategies: securing basic needs (food aid, cash transfers), safeguarding education (fee waivers, material support), providing psychosocial anchors (counselling, support groups), and fostering adolescent agency (participatory planning, life skills). However, these efforts were severely hampered by paralysing resource scarcity, crushing caseloads (often 20+ CHF cases per worker), fractured inter-agency coordination, and deep-seated community stigma. Participants advocated concrete solutions: decentralizing grant approvals and creating one-stop service centres; investing in the workforce through caseload caps and specialized trauma/economic training; implementing integrated digital case management; and catalysing community ownership through trained Child Guardian Committees and school-based rights education. The study concludes that while social workers demonstrate resilience in empowering CHFs, sustainable impact requires urgent systemic reforms addressing bureaucratic inertia, workforce support, coordination mechanisms, and community engagement. Recommendations include establishing District Social Protection Committees for faster grant processing, enforcing caseload standards, developing a specialized CHF social work competency framework, launching integrated child protection digital hubs, and forming community-based Child Guardian Committees. Future research should track long-term outcomes for adolescent heads and evaluate community led protection models.
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Date
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June 2025
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Publisher
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BUSE
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Keywords
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Social Workers
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Child-headed Families
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Supervisor
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Ms. R. Muregi
Chari, Precious C..pdf