The management of Child Welfare human resources takes place within the parameters of labour legislation and CWSA human resource policies and procedures that regulate the relationship of staff to the organisation, and vice versa. On a national level, a human resource consultancy supplements CWSA skills.

Knowledge of their role is particularly important to volunteers who serve on the Boards of Management of member societies and who wish to help children and families and may know little about the management and rights of staff. In this respect, the provincial personnel of CWSA are a lifeline and assist members in the recruitment and appointment of social work staff, as well as give guidance on human resource management in general.

The human resource challenge within the NPO sector with regard to the retention of staff is well known - the high turnover of social work staff due to overload, burnout and poor remuneration and volunteers who for economic reasons leave Child Welfare programmes for salaried employment. The constant exodus of staff requires CWSA provincial teams to engage in the orientation and in-service training of incoming staff on an ongoing basis.

Volunteers in great numbers are a new human resource category for Child Welfare programmes and provincial staff develops capacity in volunteers via skills transfer, training and support. As a way of honouring volunteers at a community level, CWSA care plans are agreed and balance the nurturing of children by volunteers with pleasurable and meaningful activities for themselves.

CWSA, as a means to maintain productivity and services and with the approval and support of donors, has adopted a strategy of appointing staff for specific tasks on a contract basis and retired personnel on occasion to fill human resource gaps.

Other activities undertaken by CWSA in this portfolio include:

• National staff development for example, on industrial relations procedures.

• The establishment of an employment equity committee

• Links maintained with the Health and Welfare SETA for purposes of implementing the requirements of the Skills Development Act.

• Groundwork completed for a Work Place Skills Plan.

• Essential human resources management tools developed.