Attitudes of residential care facility directors towards the need for professional accreditation and licensing of caregivers

The residential care facilities for at-risk children described in this study are out-of-home frameworks provided by the social service system to care for children whose family and community environments are unable to adequately meet their needs in various areas. The caregivers working in these facilities are the key figures responsible for their daily care. However, evidence has shown that the caregivers exhibit a high rate of burnout and turnover, which begs the question of whether they receive adequate training and support to perform their job in a way that meets the children's needs. The need to invest efforts to upgrade the position of caregivers into a recognised profession is gaining momentum in Israel. The present research examined the attitudes of directors towards accreditation and professionalisation of the role of residential caregivers. The impact of the facilities ’characteristics on the directors ’attitudes towards professionalization of the role of the residential caregivers was examined using a regression model. Most of the directors believe that the position of a residential caregiver should become a profession with formal training and licensing, and that the job requires high standards of personal attributes and professional skills. Some directors were ambivalent due to the nature of the job, which they reported requires young and highly motivated workers, who can establish a close relationship with the children. This study discusses the possibility that accreditation and professionalisation of the role of the caregiver working in residential facilities in Israel could provide a solution to the difficulties and challenges faced by caregivers in the group residential care model, and two working models are proposed.