Scientific support for daycare center social work

The aim of the City of Dortmund's daycare social work concept is to promote the social participation and co-determination of families through early connection to preventative services and referral to other social support systems in Dortmund. Daycare center social work is integrated into a long-term process for the development and expansion of prevention chains in Dortmund.

This concept takes a new approach, which sees the implementation of daycare social work as a district-related and socio-spatial service rather than a service linked to the daycare center. This concept therefore sees daycare center social work as independent of the daycare center and not exclusively tied to the facility. As a municipal organizational unit, the youth welfare office aims to support families in their orientation and integration in the social space.

To scientifically position this new concept of daycare center social work in Dortmund and provide recommendations for the further expansion of daycare center social work.

An explorative qualitative evaluation design was implemented in order to give the concept of daycare social work a scientific and empirical foundation that focuses in particular on the scientific perspective.

The conditions for the success or failure of the approach as seen by the actors involved were examined. In addition, the fields of work and action that were identified as relevant by the local stakeholders during the project phase were determined. Both an explorative and formative study design was implemented. Furthermore, it was examined how the low-threshold and social space orientation approach was implemented and what differences the various framework conditions of the daycare center social work locations in the city districts produce.

The results of the scientific study will be published soon.