Integration of trauma-informed practice for the Namibian child welfare system: A rapid review

Abstract

The Namibian legal framework contains a broad criterion of children who are considered to require care and protection. These include situations and circumstances where children have been abused, neglected or exposed to other acts of violence or exploitation resulting in traumatic experiences in children. Social Workers in the Child Welfare System (CWS)providecare and protection services to these children. However, literature shows that Namibia's CWS has not integrated a Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP), which is an approach to respond appropriately to clients who have experienced a traumatic event. A trauma-informed approach is inclusive of trauma-specific interventions. This, in practice, means understanding the relationship between a child's lifetime trauma history, his or her behaviour and responses and identifying the impact of trauma on child and brain development. This study followed a rapid review approach driven by specific steps to reach the aim of the study. This research study aimed to gather evidence from the literature to inform a framework for the integration of a trauma-informed CWS in Namibia. The findings of the study can provide information to Namibia as a country and guide social work practitioners to integrate TIP in the CWS. The study resulted in the identification of four themes, namely understanding of TIP, workforce and organisational capacity building, workforce and client support, and meaningful coordination and partnerships. These themes are to be considered when developing a framework to integrate TIP