Carers in Abu Dhabi will now undergo more rigorous training to deal with children who have experienced domestic violence and abuse, after an agreement signed during the inaugural edition of the Social Care Forum 2024 this week.
It will see 40 carers complete an 18-month course, of which the final six months will involve on-the-job training at shelters across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. They will then be accredited with a professional diploma from the National Academy for Childhood Development.
A number of shelters care for abused and abandoned mothers and children in Abu Dhabi, serving as temporary homes for victims of trafficking, domestic abuse, violence and abandonment.
"We call them care homes where they stay until we can reintegrate them into society or their issues are resolved, and it is safe for them to go back,” Marriam Al Zaabi, acting executive director of the shelter and care services sector at the Family Care Authority, said. "We need to ensure that the quality of services we are providing to children is of the highest standard."
There are currently 33 carers, 20 of whom have started their training, at the shelters which, according to Ms Al Zaabi, is a number that needs to be doubled.
“The biggest challenge is closing the gap between the supply and demand of social care workers and the absence of standardised skills and competencies in these workers," Fatema Al Hosani, section head for licensing the third sector and places of worship at the Department of Community Development, told The National.
The forum also discussed AI, emerging trends and adopting the latest technologies to attract and retain social care workers.
"Unfortunately, the sector has been losing many professionals due to factors such as a lack of incentive and capacity-building opportunities," Ms Al Hosani said. "One of the main themes of this year’s edition is how we can attract people to social care professions and how we can retain them by offering incentives, capacity-building programmes, and other forms of support."
Stepping stones to progress
This week's agreement follows a string of measures to combat abuse and trafficking in recent years, most notably in 2021 when the UAE played a role in a major Interpol operation to tackle human trafficking around the world.
An operations room in Abu Dhabi and UAE personnel took part in the campaign against migrant smuggling and trafficking gangs that led to 286 arrests globally. Interpol said authorities rescued about 430 human trafficking victims and identified 4,000 irregular migrants originating from 74 countries.
In 2022, the Ministry of Community Development launched a system, called "soun" to help victims of domestic abuse in the family home and, in July 2023, the Emirates introduced legislation to combat all forms of human trafficking, which include sexual exploitation and forced labour.
In his closing remarks on Thursday, Mubarak Al Ameri, executive director of Social Licensing and Control at DCD, said the forum served as a platform for sharing ideas and experiences.
"Our global vision for social care is to build sustainable and inclusive communities where everyone can thrive," he said. "This means offering high quality care services that support the most vulnerable while ensuring a balance between social development and economic growth."
