Developing the social work role in the Indonesian child protection system

Abstract

Indonesia is building a child protection system where primary preventions aim to support families and intervention is based on community-based care options rather than the current reliance on institutional care. Social work has been identified as the lead profession in this structural change. This requires social work to be better recognized as a profession in Indonesian society. This article outlines exploratory research in establishing a role for social work in child protection in Indonesia. Key learning outlines the need for global collaboration and the need for an indigenous Indonesian approach to the identity of social work.

Keywords

Asia-Pacific social work child protection indigenous practice Indonesia international social work social work education

Introduction

Increasingly, low-middle-income countries are acknowledging the need for a whole of government approach to protecting children and professionalizing the workforce of child protection programs. The child protection system in Indonesia is reliant on institutional care, a phenomenon common in low-middle-income countries (PUSKAPA, 2014; Save the Children, 2013). Institutional care negatively impacts child development (Nelson et al., 2007). Indonesia, like other Asian countries, is shifting from its reliance on institutional care toward a community-based response.

Social work is identified as a leading profession in this shift (International Federation of Social Workers [IFSW], 2002). Social work promotes social change based on human rights, social justice, collective responsibilities, and respect for diversities (IFSW, 2014). The profession’s idealism and commitment to using proven knowledge to overcome social problems has led to its use globally (Payne and Askeland, 2008). The rise of social work in low-middle-income nations and the impacts of globalization have led to increased interest in international social work. The term international social work includes working for development agencies, working for agencies dealing with cross-national issues and working for international social work agencies (Healy and Link, 2012; Payne and Askeland, 2008). International social workers play a unique role in addressing global child protection challenges (Hegar, 1989). This article outlines explorative research in establishing a role for social work in child protection in Indonesia. It emphasizes the need for partnership within the global child protection movement and social work profession, as well as the need for ongoing development of an Indonesian approach to child protection and social work. One framework to guide global partnership is a child rights framework using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). However, uncritically applying the rights contained in the UNCRC can undermine local child protection practices embedded in communities (Forrester and Harwin, 2000; Rosen, 2007). This has especially been the case in Muslim-majority nations like Indonesia. Islamic societies have a rich history of child protection practices that have existed for centuries (Hutchinson et al., 2014; Rajabi-Ardeshiri, 2009), yet these are downplayed by the UNCRC. The UNCRC is underpinned by Western understandings of childhood (James, 2007; Mohan and Holland, 2001). This article takes an approach similar to that of Burman (2008) and Morrow and Pells (2012), one that recognizes the importance of the UNCRC and a child rights framework, while critically evaluating how these rights are applied in communities.

Social work is developing in Asia and plays a critical role in child protection systems. The key is in developing skills in low-middle-income contexts, like Indonesia, where social work is not considered a profession. The literature focusing on social work in Southeast Asia is growing and includes contributions focusing on Thailand (Costello, 2008; Nontapattamadal, 2014), Vietnam (Hugman et al., 2007; Nguyen, 2015) and Malaysia (Baba and Azman, 2009; Crabtree et al., 2014). All have two goals in common. The first is to raise the status of social workers in the society, and the second is to improve the pathways for professional social work education.

Social work education enables practitioners to increase their capacity to address global and local issues (Cox and Pawar, 2006). There is increasing interest in teaching international social work in Asia. Especially important is the development of indigenous social work in Asia. Both Malaysian and Indonesian social work are showing a growing use of indigenous practices after originally being grounded in Western practices (Crabtree et al., 2014; Fahrudin, 2013). Furthermore, knowledge on child protection has an international dimension where learning about social work’s role in Indonesia may have implications for other Asian nations. Problems such as cross-border trafficking of children require global and regional coordination of child protection responses. Social work has the capacity to lead such initiatives.

Indonesia has a population of 250 million, with 30 percent of the population under the age of 18 years (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly [AIPA], 2011). Half of all children live in households existing on less than US$2.00 a day, designating them as poor or vulnerable (PUSKAPA, 2014). About 85 percent of children in Indonesia experience one or more types of deprivation (PUSKAPA, 2014). Poverty is a contributing factor to lack of child education, trafficking and poor health. For practitioners, the size and diversity of Indonesia can prove challenging. While the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) oversees child protection on a national level, practitioners also interact with officials on a provincial, district and village level.

Indonesia is multicultural and multilingual. The state philosophy is Pancasila, meaning five principles, which are as follows:

Belief in the one and only God

Just and civilized humanity

The unity of Indonesia

Democracy

And social justice for all peoples of Indonesia. (Fahrudin et al., 2014: 72)

Local universities use this philosophy as a way of introducing students to a blend of social work values and local ethics (Fahrudin et al., 2014).

Method

This article was produced following joint work between MoSA and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with Technical Assistance supplied by a team of academics from Australia and Indonesia. The aims of the Technical Assistance were to elucidate the role of social work in building a community-based response to child protection in Indonesia (Tilbury et al., 2015).

The Technical Assistance team worked with MoSA and UNICEF between 2012 and 2015, to facilitate and resource a reform agenda. The project was undertaken in three stages, with each stage involving intensive consultation with key stakeholders at central and district levels of government, representatives from non-government organizations, religious groups, and academics from Indonesian universities. Training and capacity building were also facilitated by the Technical Assistance team, alongside further development of child protection policy and procedures (Tilbury et al., 2015).

The fieldwork process occurred in three stages. Stage 1 involved field visits to Jakarta, Semarang, Central Java, and Kupang NTT. The aim of stage 1 was to provide the Technical Assistance team with background information on the current structures and service delivery arrangements, and the development of social workers. Stage 2 focused on two specific project goals: enhancing service delivery and workforce development. Service delivery was approached using area-based pilot projects focusing on child protection, with workforce development approached via social work training and capacity building (Tilbury et al., 2015). The final stage aimed to further the project goals through action planning and training at the pilot sites, and developing standard operating procedures (SOP) for the pilot sites (Tilbury et al., 2015). This stage involved meetings with MoSA and pilot sites to discuss the developments.

A review of literature was conducted on refereed articles and gray literature published in English. This was obtained through systematic searches of academic databases: JSTOR, ProQuest Central, and SAGE Journals Online. To locate gray literature, Google and Google Scholar were used. Boolean Logic with relevant terms and phrases such as ‘child protection’, ‘social work’, and ‘Indonesia’ along with terms such as ‘Muslim’, ‘child wellbeing’, ‘child abuse’, ‘violence’, ‘child protection systems’, ‘development of social work’, ‘Asia’, ‘middle/low income countries’, and ‘Child Rights’ were used. The first review of literature was conducted in 2013 with subsequent updates occurring annually until August 2016. Articles specifically dealing with Indonesia or related matters on social work development were identified.

The observations and conclusions made in this article have been the subject of verification by a range of Indonesian stakeholders. Main themes identified through observation and participation in the research process have been used as an evidence base for the article in combination with a review of gray and academic literature.

Locating Indonesian social work in the international landscape

Indonesia is a multicultural nation where Christian, Indigenous, Hindu, and Islamic beliefs are of importance to social work. There is a scarcity of literature focusing on Islamic perspectives in social work (Baba et al., 2010). Islam has teachings that influence the relationship among parent and child, discipline, guardianship, and inheritance. The Shariah includes teachings to ensure child social, financial, health, and educational welfare (Rajabi-Ardeshiri, 2009). In Aceh, UNICEF has worked with authorities to construct child rights protection based on the qanun canonical laws of Islam (UNICEF, 2014b). Such approaches can be integrated into social work practice (Hutchinson et al., 2014). The aim is to have a social work profession with a dynamic Indonesian identity. This discussion has been present in Indonesia since the 1980s with Midgley (1981) calling for an indigenous social work curriculum, echoed by Coulshed (1993) and Hammoud (1988) who called for social work education models to be more relevant to Indonesia. In the teaching of values and ethics for social work, McAuliffe (2014) has highlighted the need for inclusivity of different philosophical traditions and worldviews, relegating the traditional dominance of Western philosophy to a more realistic position in a globalized world.

Development of social work in Asia

Social work in Asia is a growing field. However, challenges such as lack of stability in government, access to resources, and language barriers have affected the quality of social work (Noble, 2009). There is evidence of a significant problem of child maltreatment in the Asia-Pacific region, with Fang et al. (2015) estimating that US$151bn is lost due to child maltreatment.

Table 1 details the key characteristics in the development of social work in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Thailand, and Myanmar. These countries are low-middle-income Asian nations comparable to Indonesia. Weiss-Gal and Welbourne (2008) developed key characteristics used in Table 1. Indonesian social work has similar origins to other countries, where beginnings were based on a framework built on common practices, borrowed from Western curriculums (Noble, 2009). Table 1 details some of the struggles in gaining recognition, monopolized roles, regulation, autonomy, indigenized knowledge, quality education pathways, peak/representative organizations, ethical standards, status, and appropriate remuneration. Socio-political factors, government funding, and leadership have influenced the divergence in the trajectory of social work in these nations. This has occurred in the context of different sociocultural responses to welfare, such as reliance on volunteer and religious foundations.

Table 1.

Comparison of social work development in Asia.

	Indonesia	Malaysia	Vietnam	China	Thailand	Myanmar
Public recognition	Low public recognition for professional social workers as most frontline staff do not hold qualifications.	Low public recognition for professional social workers. Social work is viewed less favorably than other ‘helping’ professions.	Low public recognition for professional social work. Social work viewed as work ‘anyone’ can do.	Low public recognition for professional social work. Lack of public awareness over what constitutes social work.	Low public recognition for professional social workers. Lack of public awareness over what constitutes social work.	Low public recognition for professional social workers.
Monopoly over types of work	Social work jobs are not exclusively held by qualified social workers. Largely administrative work for qualified social workers.	Social work jobs are not held exclusively by qualified social workers.	Social work jobs are not held exclusively by qualified social workers. This is attributed to a lack of professional training of social workers.	Social work jobs are not held exclusively by qualified social workers. The term social worker is not reserved.	Social work jobs are not held exclusively by qualified social workers. Main duty of qualified social workers is to distribute government aid. 60% of graduates find work in social work positions.	Most qualified social workers work in voluntary roles, such as teachers and doctors to address social issues.
Professional autonomy	Inability to work outside of government sector, little private practice.	Inability to work outside of government sector, little private practice.	Shortage of qualified social workers for positions offered.	Shortage of positions for new graduates. The majority of positions for qualified social workers are administrative positions. Some positions available in the non-government sector.	Majority of graduates work for the government. Social workers working as skilled social work clinicians have set roles and little opportunity to use alternative actions.	Little professional autonomy as most qualified social workers are in voluntary roles. There are governmental constraints on social work practice in the nation.
Knowledge base	Growing use of indigenous practice. Practice largely uses Western models, theories, and training.	Growing use of indigenous practice. Now entering a period of post-colonial practice.	Growing use of indigenous practice. Western methods and theories have been adapted to Vietnamese context.	Growing use of indigenous practice, including rigorous debate about indigenous practice.	Growing interest in indigenous practice. Practice largely uses Western models, theories, and training.	Practice largely adapted from Australian social work curricula. Also influenced by Indian social work and UNICEF.
Professional education	Professional training at undergraduate and Master’s and Doctorate level.	Professional training at undergraduate and Master’s level. Seven universities offer courses.	Professional training at undergraduate level; 40 universities offer courses. Curriculum developed by Ministry of Education and training. The government has committed to training 6000 social workers.	Professional training at undergraduate and Master’s level; 250 undergraduate programs are run, and 61 Masters’ programs. Professional education is hampered by a lack of standard curriculum, inexperienced lecturers and lack of field practice.	Professional training at undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctorate level.	A 1-year postgraduate Diploma in Social Work is offered at one university.
Social work organizations	Multiple professional organizations including Indonesian Association of Schools of Social Work, Indonesian National Council on Social Welfare, and Indonesian Professional Social Workers.	MASW.	Vietnam Association of Social Workers.	Multiple professional organizations including China Association of Social Work Education and China Association of Social Workers.	Multiple professional organizations including Thai Association of Social Work and Social Welfare Education and the Social Work Professions Council (SWPC).	Yangon Professional Social Work Association.
Ethical standards	Comprehensive code of ethics held by one professional organization.	Comprehensive code of ethics held by MASW.	In the process of developing a professional code of ethics.	In the process of developing a professional code of ethics.	The SWPC uses the American Association of Social Workers code of ethics.	The Yangon Professional Social Work Association acts as a licensing body.
Prestige and renumeration	There is limited prestige. The term social worker is not reserved for professionals. The public prefer to seek treatment and advice from religious leaders and local leaders over social workers.	There is limited prestige. The term social work is not reserved for those with formal qualifications in social work.	There is limited prestige. The public prefer to seek treatment and advice from religious leaders.	There is limited prestige. The public have a lack of respect for the profession. Social workers have unsatisfactory financial renumeration for job performed.	There is limited prestige. The public prefer to seek treatment and advice from religious leaders.	There is limited prestige and limited renumeration, with most qualified social workers acting as unpaid volunteers.
References		Hatta et al. (2014)	Hines et al. (2010), Hugman et al. (2007), and Nguyen (2015)	Gao and Yan (2015), Guo (2015), Liu et al. (2012), and Sibin (2013)	Costello (2008), Nontapattamadal (2014), Nye (2008), Phongvivat (2002), and SWPC (2015)	Costello and Aung (2015)

MASW: Malaysian Association of Social Workers; UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund.

The Asia and Pacific Association of Social Work Education (APASWE) consists of 300 schools of social work from 20 countries (Nikku and Pulla, 2014). The development of Asian social work has influenced Indonesia. In 1987, Jakarta hosted the APASWE Conference (Fahrudin, 2013). This resulted in the Indonesian Association for Social Work Education developing an indigenous curriculum that was integrated into all social work education programs (Fahrudin, 2013). Ensuring consistent standards for social work education remains a challenge (Pawar, 2010).

The development of social work in Malaysia and Indonesia is interesting to compare. Social work in Malaysia emerged with the creation of the Department of Social Welfare in 1946 (Hatta et al., 2014). Unlike Indonesia, Malaysia has a greater number of social workers educated in the West and has incorporated a large body of Western knowledge into practice. Baba et al. (2010) describes Malaysian social work as on the edge of professionalization. The Malaysian Association of Social Workers (MASW) was created in 1973 (Baba and Azman, 2009). Similar to Indonesia, the MASW has had difficulty in ensuring social work jobs are reserved for qualified social workers. Other professions such as psychologists often overshadow the status of social workers (Azman and Abbas, 2013). Malaysia has an active professional association which advocates for a Social Worker’s Act. The Act would enable a licensing system to ensure only qualified social workers can be employed in human services (Azman and Abbas, 2013).

Key lessons to improving social services point toward improving the professionalism and status of social work in Malaysia (Azman and Abbas, 2013) and the indigenization of social work identity (Crabtree et al., 2014). These issues are also critical to Indonesian social work.

Indigenizing methods

Indigenous methods focus on the cultural compatibility of practice. Social work’s Western history puts it at risk of replicating colonial structures when operating in non-Western contexts. Ensuring authentic local knowledge is incorporated with established social work practices works to negate these risks. Cheung and Liu (2004) developed five guidelines for indigenous social work in developing countries. They are as follows:

To build an indigenous foundation in social work education

To develop strategies within the cultural context

To challenge colonial thinking within social work practice and develop Indigenous methodologies

Acknowledge the culture and history of the Indigenous population

To embed social work practice in local experience (Cheung and Liu, 2004)

Indigenous practice treads a fine ever moving line between cultural-specific practice and universally standard doctrines.

The role of social work

Shifts in child protection are linked with changing perceptions of social work in Indonesia. Moving from a system reliant on institutionalization requires retraining for social workers. An over-reliance on institutional care has affected practice, with social workers having few opportunities to work directly with families (Save the Children, 2013). Save the Children’s (2013) report found that the majority of social workers employed by government agencies were employed as program staff. When staff did work in policy development, they were ‘entirely disconnected from the reality of the needs on the ground or the services delivered’ (Save the Children, 2013: 91). Our observations of professionally qualified social workers showed that most were employed in management positions away from direct practice (Tilbury et al., 2015). Shifting paradigms in child protection practices in Indonesia will require a shift in how social work is conceptualized and how workers are trained and employed. The role of social workers as brokers and advocates in establishing community-based responses to child protection is key. This requires using social work’s role in management to transform the relationship between institutional and family systems.

A history of social work education in Indonesia

Social work in Indonesia can be traced to the volunteer movements of the 1940s (Suharto, 2006), which came in response to poverty. During Dutch colonization, few social services were established (Miller, 1973). This established the roots of a decentralized service system. The colonial government also established a residential care home for children (Fahrudin, 2013).

Following independence in 1945, the Indonesian government established the Ministry of Social Welfare, which in turn established the first school of social work (Fox, 1959). In 1959, Indonesia had four schools of social work providing training under control of the government (Fox, 1959). Five United Nations (UN) training advisors were posted to Indonesia to help with curriculum development (Hakim, 2004). There are three professional associations that support social workers in the Indonesia: Indonesian Association of Schools of Social Work (IPPSI), the Indonesian National Council on Social Welfare (DNIKS), and the Indonesian Association of Profession Social Workers (IPSPI) (Suharto, 2006). IPSPI was established in 1978 and only includes professional social workers (Fahrudin, 2013). In 1987, the Indonesian Association of Social Workers (HIPSI) was founded (Fahrudin, 2013). These organizations collaborate with the government on improving quality of practice. However, they are hampered by financial and political issues (Fahrudin, 2013). Social work is not classified as a ‘full fledged profession’ as there is no accreditation for licensing social workers (Suharto, 2006: 8).

Indonesia’s political landscape changed significantly in 1998, when President Suharto stepped down after 32 years of non-democratic rule. Since then, MoSA has aimed to strengthen child protection programs. This transformation led toward a federated system of governance, giving provinces greater control over the implementation of social service programs (Save the Children, 2013), thus leading to a greater need for province administrators to be trained. MoSA has been criticized for running projects that ‘put out fires’ rather than focusing on prevention, with social workers within the ministry labeled functional social workers (Hakim, 2004).

The impact of the Aceh tsunami

The challenges faced in Aceh following the 2004 tsunami brought together international and national organizations. The death toll was 167,000, and 811,000 people were displaced (Laksmono et al., 2008). Nearly 3000 children lost one or both parents (UNICEF, 2014b). Government capacity to provide services was limited. The District Social Welfare Office partnered with IPSPI and received technical support from Building Professional Social Work in Developing Countries (Laksmono et al., 2008). The focus was on training community workers for child protection and was funded by UNICEF (Laksmono et al., 2008). The strategy was to keep a family focus, demonstrating both UNICEF and IPSPI’s commitment to keeping the child with a permanent, safe family when possible. Laksmono et al. (2008) argue that an approach centering on the family is consistent with Acehnese culture. The National University of Singapore partnered with IPSPI to assist in the training of social workers in Aceh (Rowlands, 2007). Using the train-the-trainer model, it was estimated that this would result in 160 trained social workers and psychologists entering child-centers in Aceh (Rowlands, 2007). In 2006, community-based care was used in tsunami-affected areas. The success of this project gave the opportunity to train community workers at the government level and allowed them to work alongside professional social workers on community-based child protection projects (Save the Children, 2013). This led to a social work research center, allowing greater access to resources (Save the Children, 2013). The lasting effects of the tsunami aid can be seen in early education programs as far as Java, as the ‘rapid networking’ with international non-governmental organizations introduced developments that could circumvent state structures (Newberry, 2014).

The current state of social work in Indonesia

Social work is not widely considered a profession in Indonesia (Save the Children, 2013). Examples of comments made to Save the Children (2013) included ‘anyone can be a social worker’ and ‘social workers tend to be administrators’. Consultation with stakeholders confirmed this and included a perception that social workers were volunteers without professional knowledge, reinforcing the belief that social work and charity work are interchangeable. Nugroho and Santi (2014) found that Indonesians consider anyone who works in social welfare a social worker. The non-professional social workers are at the frontline of service delivery and the most visible to the public (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). Those qualified in social work make the distinction between themselves and those who are not qualified, whom they consider volunteers (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). Strategies to make distinctions between the qualified and non-qualified include using the term assistant social worker or community worker for those without formal qualification. Collaboration is needed among government, universities, the professional associations and social welfare agencies to advance social work and move from an ‘administrative’ focus to a ‘person-in-environment’ practice focus. Ministries, frontline workers, and universities believe that certification will achieve a paradigm shift in child protection. Regulating the professional competency of social workers will strengthen the capacity for care services. Certification is a way to address the gaps between theory and practice; however, the certification must meet standards regulated by government.

Three institutions administer social work education in Indonesia: the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and MoSA (Fahrudin et al., 2014). In 2011, the Indonesian social work consortium was founded (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). Following this came the official referencing of social work in Law no.13/2011 concerning poverty and Law no. 11/2012 concerning the child judicial system (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). The Indonesian Association of Social Welfare Education has created a national curriculum for social work education in Indonesia (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). A total of 37 schools are recognized by this organization. Of these, two universities offer social work at Bachelor’s and Doctorate level (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). The MoE requires those teaching at the Bachelor’s level to have a Master’s degree and those teaching at Master’s level to have a PhD (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). In addition, the lecturer is required to have published works, to have experience in community service and to be part of supporting organizations. Challenges in the teaching of social work in Indonesia include the low hours available for practicum, the limited number of social workers available to teach, and the lack of practical experiences held by lecturers (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). However, progress has been made. The Bridging Professional Social Work foundation helps publish social work literature in Indonesian (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). Previously, all literature was in English. Nugroho and Santi (2014) describe social work education as ‘bearing a moral responsibility’ in raising the status of social work in Indonesia (p. 92).

Symposiums hosted during the course of the research, involving Technical Assistance, UNICEF, and others partnering with the Bandung College of Social Welfare and Badiklit (Badan Pendidikan dan Penelitian Kesejahteraan Sosial-Centre of Education and Research of Social Welfare) have been used to advance the professionalization of social work in Indonesia (Tilbury et al., 2015). Progress has been made with Badiklit announcing in 2015 that the official implementation of the Education and Training Assistant Social Workers program for children in conflict with the law (Badiklit, 2015). This training included 60 participants and aims to work with children in conflict with the law and children affected by domestic violence (Badiklit, 2015). This highlights the impact of the fieldwork undertaken by the research team (Tilbury et al., 2015) and is a key learning of the project.

Certification will allow Indonesian social workers more opportunities to work globally. The government has a significant role to play as a major employer of social workers and in its capacity to legislate. Law no. 11/2009 includes the terminology ‘Professional social worker’. However, the wording suggests that people without social work education could continue to be regarded as social workers (albeit not ‘professional’) (Nugroho and Santi, 2014). This undermines professionalization. Save the Children (2013) drew conclusions on how to best raise the professionalism of social work in Indonesia, including the need for legislation that recognizes qualifications and protection of the social work title. Certified professionals should be bound by a code of ethics, and ongoing professional development a requirement for renewal of certification. IPSPI (2014) has a code of professional ethics. This code contains provisions relating to obligations to clients, behavior, personal integrity, liability, and responsibility to strengthen the profession (IPSPI, 2014). Ministry of Social Affairs Regulation No.108/HUK/2009 has created significant opportunities to reform the social work education and to establish the certification and licensing of a social worker. It is important to ensure that social workers have the knowledge, training, and recognition they need and deserve.

Transitional provisions are required so that people who work in the field who do not have social work qualifications but have extensive experience can become certified. A lack of professional social workers in direct practice hampers the development of indigenous Indonesian practice. Certification should be coupled with a plan to enhance career paths. Continuing professional education needs linkages with universities. This would strengthen ties between academia and the field so that universities are responsive to the needs of the service system. There is uncertainty over the quality of social work services, which Fahrudin (2013) argues comes from the absence of a licensing system for social work practitioners.

The Indonesian Association of Social Work Education has 35 member schools that organize curriculum development programs and training (Yuen, 2012). In 2009, Law no. 11 created both the Social Work Certification Body and an Accreditation Body for Social Welfare Institutions in Indonesia (Yuen, 2012). This development saw the formation of the Indonesian Social Work Consortium, made up of members from social work education, practice, and social welfare. The status of social work in society is dependent on the importance placed on it by government. Fahrudin (2013) gives this insight into professional social work in Indonesia: ‘Some people believe the situation for the social work profession is bleak in Indonesia because the government has neither established the profession as an independent profession nor valued social work training’ (p. 150).

Trained social workers may be hired by the government; however, graduates often end up in lower positions (Fahrudin, 2013). Trained social workers are not eligible for the MoSA National Excellent Social Worker Award (Fahrudin, 2013). This award can only be given to untrained social workers, adding to the belief that ‘volunteer workers, religious leader’s government officials and … activists who … call themselves social workers seem to be more valued than trained social workers’ (Fahrudin, 2013: 150). The government is the major employer of social workers in Indonesia, with private practice being almost non-existent. This is not the case for nurses or psychiatrists, who are viewed as professionals and have employment opportunities outside of the government system (Fahrudin, 2013). The lack of status social workers experience in Indonesian society leads to individuals preferring to seek assistance from religious and local leaders. Indigenous healers, astrologers, healing men (dukun), and clever men (orang pinter) are preferred alternatives to social workers (Fahrudin, 2013). These individuals provide treatments such as mantras, flowers, and prayers (Fahrudin, 2013). These beliefs may be of interest in developing an indigenous Indonesian social work practice. The lack of practice by professional social workers and the visibility of unqualified ‘social workers’ is a major issue in developing the profession in Indonesia.

The current child protection context in Indonesia

Childhood in Indonesia can be greatly impacted upon by poverty, trafficking, child labor, and violence. While Indonesia has taken great strides to alleviate extreme poverty, UNICEF (2010) estimates that nearly 13.8 million children live in poverty, with the proportion of children who live in poor-income households higher than the proportion of poor households, indicating children are disproportionately affected by poverty in Indonesia. Poverty impacts on the ability for a family to keep a child in school. It also increases the risk of children being forced into employment under age, with 30 percent of all female sex workers in Indonesia being under 18 years of age (AIPA, 2011) and 7 percent of children between the ages of 5–17 years involved in child labor (UNICEF, 2014a).

Poverty and low education levels are also linked to child trafficking. In Indonesia, trafficking occurs across international boundaries and between provinces. Trafficking affects child physical and mental well-being into adulthood. UNICEF (2010) found that 75 percent of trafficked children in Indonesia had symptoms of depression. Authorities in local districts respond to vulnerable children affected by issues such as extreme neglect or abuse and juvenile crime mostly by admitting them into institutions.

Institutional care

While the current child protection system is heavily reliant on institutional care, the need for change is recognized by the Indonesian government. Half a million children are housed in 8000 care institutions across Indonesia (Save the Children, DEPSOS RI, and UNICEF (2007)). Poverty is a major contributing factor to children being placed in care. About 72 percent of children had both parents alive and had been placed in institutions by parents too poor to give them an education (Save the Children, DEPSOS RI, and UNICEF (2007)). A quarter of children had dropped out of school before entering the institution (Save the Children, 2014). One-parent families were three times more likely to voluntarily send a child to institutions (Save the Children, 2014). Children are allowed to see their parents twice a year, which impacts their well-being. In a survey across institutions, PUSKAPA (2014) found that 17 percent of children felt they had no friends or anyone they could trust inside the institution.

Institutions recruit children to gain greater government funding. This reflects a lack of regulation as anyone, trained or not, can open an institution (Save the Children, DEPSOS RI, and UNICEF (2007)). The Indonesian government is committed to moving toward community-based care. With institutional care being the norm, little support is given to children cared for by extended families. Population data from 2000 show that 2.15 million children under the age of 15 years in Indonesia were not living with their parents (Save the Children, 2010). Of these, 88 percent were being cared for by their extended families, with grandparents making up 58.6 percent of primary carers (Save the Children, 2010). The assessment by Technical Assistance concluded that there is currently a lack of case management in institutions. There is also a need for clearer guidance around the time children spend in institutions and the monitoring of children once they return to their home environment (Tilbury et al., 2015).

Training was undertaken with those who work in institutional care facilities as part of research (Tilbury et al., 2015). Case management was a strong focus of the training. The workers from institutions demonstrated a professional approach to their work and an understanding of the need to move toward community-based care. However, workers found it difficult to conceptualize a system of care that did not involve some child institutions (Tilbury et al., 2015). Thus, strengthening the responses in institutional facilities is necessary and can facilitate a shift toward community-based care. There was recognition that institutions could offer training to assist parents in developing their parenting skills and child interaction strategies. The research concluded that there is an opportunity in Indonesia to redesign institutions so that a stronger focus on family reunification is taken (Tilbury et al., 2015).

Partnering with the global child protection movement

International social work is at the heart of the global child protection movement, as it is a framework to utilize local practices to combat global challenges. The knowledge generated from transnational research can develop key concepts (Gabel, 2012). The International Federation of Social Workers and International Association of Schools of Social Work already reflect this approach. Asia has come some way in developing inter-governmental policy, especially concerning disability (Kwok, 2008). This culminated in the Asian decade of disabled persons, followed by the Biwako Millennium Framework: Towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disability in the Asia and the Pacific 2003–2012 (Kwok, 2008).

Transnational research arrangements function through a joint framework. International human rights is one framework for transnational research; altruism is another (Kwok, 2008). Altruism was apparent following the 2004 tsunami and can be linked to social service delivery and be the basis for social workers to build social networks between those who have and those in need, based on social responsibility (Kwok, 2008). The share of the world’s children living in low-middle-income countries is increasing. It is estimated that by 2025 nearly two-thirds of children will live in low-middle-income countries, increasing to 70 percent by 2050 (You and Anthony, 2012). With the majority of children growing up in low-middle-income countries, a global approach to child protection is needed. The UNCRC has provided a unifying document for countries to implement rights-based standards for children.

Knowledge about child protection, advocacy, and policy-making has become transnational (Gabel, 2012). Gabel (2012) argues that transnational knowledge, consisting of epistemic communities (knowledge-based experts with policy-relevant knowledge), enhances the role of research across borders by ‘providing conceptual frameworks and technical assistance for country responses to social issues to policy makers’ (Gabel, 2012: 541). Partnering across borders can assist in addressing child protection issues that span international boundaries, including child trafficking. Child trafficking is particularly relevant to Indonesia, a country that is a major source of human capital for trafficking, as well as a destination and transit country for those from neighboring countries (UNICEF, 2010).

Conclusion

Indonesia’s commitment to move toward community-based care provides an opportunity to evaluate the standing of social work in Indonesia and the child protection system. The research undertaken in sites throughout Indonesia established the extensive use of institutional care for vulnerable children. An important initiative to respond to these challenges has been the development of social work as a key profession to create change. A key part of the research underlying this article was in training social workers working with children in Indonesia. Child protection is a priority field for social work where it can ensure practice is socially empowering and culturally sensitive. In this way there can be an indigenization of social work methods. This includes initiatives that work with families where children are vulnerable, to enable the family to better provide a protective environment. Social work practice here can work with family and community networks to link support resources that will facilitate children to remain in family care.

There are significant challenges in raising the status of social work in Indonesia. This includes improving social work education, research, and funding. The inclusion of Islamic concepts and cultural tenets demonstrates the emergence of an Indonesian social work. The challenges facing Indonesia are also faced by other countries throughout the region. Transnational knowledge partnerships are one way for these global challenges to be addressed. As demonstrated, an Asian social work community is emerging, and this creates support for Indonesia as it begins to move toward a community-based care model for its children.

Footnotes

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author biographies

Patrick J O’Leary is Professor of Social Work in the School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith University. His research focuses on violence against children.

Amy A Young is a PhD Candidate in the School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith University.

Yanuar Wismayanti is a PhD Candidate in the School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith University.

Donna McAuliffe is Professor of Social Work in the School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith University. Her research is on social work practice and ethics.

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