Taruvinga Muzingili

Case management

In accordance with the Zimbabwe National Case Management System, Children's Act 5.06, and the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, I worked with children and youth with diverse sexual abuse, neglect, street children, child commercial sex work, juvenile delinquency, and other issues. I accomplished the following milestones:

(1). Interviewed clients, families, or groups to assess situations, limitations, and issues and implement services to address needs.

(2). I was responsible for case intake using initial intake casement management forms.

(3). I used case management forms to design initial case plans after the case assessment.

(4). Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams, including families, to hold case conferences and ensure appropriate care coordination and resource allocation for children and young people.

(5). Based on a child's or young person's needs, I used case management referral forms to make referrals after case reviews.

(6). I investigated new cases, reported them, and advised the child protection team based on risk assessment and reflections.

(7). I assessed treatment needs, established, supervised, and evaluated treatment plans, progress, and outcomes for child safety.

(8) Based on the child's needs and engagement with key stakeholders and families, I used professional judgement to implement psychosocial, psychiatric, medical, and intervention procedure evaluation.

(9). Supported clients and families with empathy and compassion during difficult times.

(10). For residential children, I reviewed discharge plans, coordinated discharge and post-discharge needs, and oriented and trained family members.

(11). Conducted home visits to assess the living environment and facilitate access to necessary resources, especially in the cases associated with parental custody.

(12). For children living with HIV/AIDS, I developed and facilitated support groups, promoting healthy coping skills and fostering peer connections among participants.

(13). Maintained accurate case documentation, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, and facilitating informed decision-making by team members.

Probation work

Following the Children's Act (5.06), the Criminal Codification and Reform Act, and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, a friendly juvenile judicial system was implemented.

(1). I did home, school, and residential visits, depending on where the crime was committed, to obtain information on the child's circumstances (sociological report), case risk, and other at-risk parties before writing the probation officer's report.

(2). I prepared probation officers' reports

(3). Based on screening, assessment, and risk level, I held case conferences with other probation officers and families and made case referrals when necessary, depending on harm.

(4). Assisted young offenders and their families in navigating the legal system, attending court hearings as needed and providing support throughout the process.

(5). I created and adjusted young offenders case plan with pretrial diversion recommendations using risk assessments during intake.

(6). I also met with the child's family to discuss the court order to ensure family safety, stability, and resilience.

(7). I advised placing the child in safety per Section 14 of the Children's Act 2001 and Section 81 of Zimbabwe's constitution (Amendment 2013).

(8). I worked with probation hostel youth's families to help them reintegrate into society.

(9). Provided crisis counselling and intervention services to clients in emergency situations.

(10). I used the Management Information System (MIS) to keep juvenile case records, including risk screening, assessments, case planning, interventions, and histories.

Supervision and technical support

(1). I provided technical support to over 35 Child Protection Fund (CPF) partners and monitored the CPF partners in the implementation of the child protection programmes, focusing on access to juvenile justice through the pre-trial diversion programme, access to shelter through residential care facilities, and health programs such as the Assisted Medical Treatment Order (AMTO).

(2). I was a focal point in the capacity-building programmes for provincial and district departments on child protection guidelines that included case management, national orphan care policy, residential care standards, national foster care support, probation work, cash transfer targeting, policy advocacy, adoption guidelines, multi-sectoral protocol on the management of sexual abuse, and the Amendment of the Children's Act (5.06), among others.

(3). I also led the standardisation of child protection reporting frameworks that included case management reporting.

(4) Guided the teams to formulate treatment plan strategies with multidisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive and continuous care plan (we designed psychosocial assessment support tool, cash transfer targeting manual, adoption and foster care guidelines, revision of residential care standards).(5). Led workshops on topics relevant to children and young persons served, empowering teams with valuable knowledge and tools for self-advocacy.

Administration

(1). I assessed Private Voluntary Organisations (as per Private Voluntary Organisations Act (17.05) registration and monitoring applications following registration compliance standards.

(2). I registered children's homes and advised applicants on legal requirements and other compliance issues guided by Residential Care Standards of 2010 (revised 2017).

(3). I also raised funds for foster parents and included foster children in education schemes like BEAM and private bursaries.

(4). I helped design and allocate monthly, quarterly, and annual social welfare budgets to government owned child residential care centres.

(5). I arranged home visit transport and negotiated fuel and lodging with finance department to support other officers on home visits and follow-up on cases.

(6). Supervised interns or junior staff members, providing direction on best practices in social work and contributing to their professional growth as practitioners.

Stakeholder engagement

(1). Participated in professional development and training opportunities organised by stakeholders to enhance child protections skills.

(2). I coordinated, planned, attended, and facilitated partner meetings and workshops to develop synergies between the child protection pillars and other National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children pillars as a child protection specialist.

(3). I attended over 100 monthly, quarterly, and bi-annual field visits to monitor, assess and evaluate provincial and district child protection activities to understand the experiences of those working directly with orphans and vulnerable children.

(4). Networking and advocating with local and national governments and sub-regional governmental bodies, UNICEF system agency partners, donors, NGOs, funding organisations, research institutes, including universities, and the private sector helped me build strategic partnerships from all Zimbabwean provinces.

• Interviewed clients to assess their needs and determine the most suitable needs and services.
• Consulted with other professionals to gain insight and advice and build a strong network within the organisation.
• Performed client screenings and accurately recorded data in case files to facilitate clinical case coordination services and case management duties.
• Provided crisis counselling and intervention services to clients in emergency situations.
• Facilitated peer support groups to help clients connect with others.
• Conducted home visits to assess clients' home environment and provide support.
• Conducted comprehensive assessments to identify client needs and develop appropriate interventions.
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to optimise client care and improve overall wellbeing.
• Provided crisis intervention services to ensure the safety of clients experiencing mental health or substance use emergencies.
• Enhanced client self-sufficiency through goal setting, problem-solving, and skill-building activities.
• Facilitated group therapy sessions, fostering supportive environments for open communication and personal growth.
• Maintained detailed case notes, documenting progress towards goals and critical incidents for accurate reporting.
• Coordinated referrals for specialised services, ensuring timely access to essential supports such as housing or medical care.
• Advocated for clients within court proceedings or meetings with service providers to ensure fair treatment and access to necessary resources.
• Organised community outreach events to raise awareness about available social work services and promote positive public relations efforts.
• Managed caseload efficiently, prioritising tasks and maintaining timely communication with clients, colleagues, and supervisors.
• Maintained client reports to track client progress, record interventions and provide relevant data for analysis.
• Responded to crises and emergency situations to provide immediate assistance to persons in need.
• Facilitated support groups and workshops to provide valuable services to clients.
• Assisted social workers with medical records reviews to facilitate improved performance and quality assurance.