Overview:

This 4-hour webinar equips statutory social workers with the theoretical knowledge, self-awareness, and practical skills needed to work sensitively and effectively across South Africa’s diverse cultural, linguistic, and belief systems. Grounded in established models of cultural competence, cultural humility, and cultural safety, and framed within South Africa’s constitutional and statutory obligations, the webinar explores how a worker’s own cultural lens can shape assessment, decision-making, and intervention in statutory practice. The session introduces practical frameworks and skills for culturally responsive engagement, assessment, and intervention with children, families, and communities within the child protection and statutory environment.

The webinar will include:

Core concepts: culture, diversity, cultural sensitivity, cultural competence, cultural humility, and cultural safety

Theoretical models of cultural competence, cultural humility, and African/Ubuntu-informed social work practice

The influence of implicit bias and cultural assumptions on statutory assessment and decision-making

The constitutional, legislative, and ethical framework for culturally sensitive statutory practice in South Africa

Practical tools and skills for culturally responsive assessment, engagement, and intervention, including working with interpreters and extended family/community structures