Evaluation of social workers' needs for supervision working in Ministry of Justice: A mixed method research

Objective: This study aims to reveal the supervision needs of social workers working in judicial support and victim services directorates on the basis of administrative, educational and supportive functions of supervision. Materials and Method: In this study, which was conducted as a mixed method research, a simultaneous quantitative + qualitative design was used. The population of the study consisted of 463 social workers working in the directorates of judicial support and victim services. In the quantitative dimension of the study, 291 social workers and 28 social workers participated in the qualitative dimension. Quantitative data was collected online via Google Forms by using "A Personal Information Form", "A Questionnaire Form for Administrative Function", " Practice Skills Inventory", "Social Workers' Perceptions of Personal and Professional Scale " and "Professional Quality of Life Scale for Employees". Qualitative data related to the research was collected with "A Semi-structured Interview Form". In the analysis of the quantitative data of the research, the Independent t Test (t) was used to compare two independent groups, OneWay Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) (F) was applied to compare more than two independent groups, and Bonferroni, one of the Post Hoc Tests, was used to find out from which two groups xix the difference originated. The qualitative data obtained in this study was analysed with MAXQDA 2022 software within the framework of thematic analysis and content analysis methods. Findings: In the quantitative findings of the study, it was found that social workers' supportive skills and case management skills were at a high level, while insight facilitation skills and therapeutic coping skills were at a medium level. In addition, it was found that social workers' perception of personal and professional power was at a high level, their mean professional satisfaction score was at a very high level, and their burnout and spouse fatigue scores were low. It was determined that these levels differed according to various variables. The analysis of the qualitative data of the study was grouped under five themes: thoughts on the concept and need for supervision, administrative function, educational function, supportive function, and thoughts on supervision format and structure. Participants stated that they lacked knowledge and skills in case management, psychopathology, report writing, law, interview techniques and services offered in other institutions. In addition, it was emphasised that factors such as stress, anxiety, professional deformation and excessive workload negatively affect the mental health of social workers. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, it was determined that social workers working in the directorates of judicial support and victim services need a formal, structured, institutional and systematic supervision system. Keywords: Social work supervision, social worker, Ministry of Justice, The Department of Judicial Support and Victim Services, judicial support and victim services directorates, supervision