The Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi held a number of workshops for the governmental entities and universities, with the aim of introducing Social Care services regulations for identifying those in need of social support, along with policies and standards for Social Care Professionals and Facilities. The service will allow social care service professionals to be licensed to work in Abu Dhabi in line with the highest international standards.
The first phase included a number of workshops that were held with 15 entities, including a number of regulators, local universities and providers of social care services in the emirate, and these entities included Dubai’s Community Development Authority, the Social Services Authority in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates University, and the Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University, New York University Abu Dhabi, as well as government agencies and entities in the social sector in Abu Dhabi, namely: Judicial Department, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi Social Support Authority, Family Development Foundation, Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, Social Care and Minors Affairs Foundation, Dar Zayed for Family Care, Zayed House for Islamic Culture, and Ewa’a Shelter.
During the workshops with the regulatory authorities such as the Dubai Community Development and the Social Services Authority in Sharjah, the department reviewed the plans to license social care professionals, and ways of cooperation and exchange of experiences in serving the social sector and raising the quality of services in the country in general. The meetings with local universities explained the licensing service and studied the means of cooperation between the department and the education sector in the Emirate, in a way that ensures compatibility between the outputs of the educational sector, licensing standards and requirements, in addition to the department's aspirations towards raising the quality and efficiency of services provided in the emirate.
The department also held other meetings with social care services providers and a number of social care professionals working in the emirate and introduced them to the importance of licensing for professionals and obtaining it through the service that was recently launched, by introducing them to the published criteria and the basic requirements for submitting an application for the license and the necessary procedures that need to be followed to ensure that the license is obtained as soon as possible.
The department, as a regulator of the social care sector, works to achieve its vision aimed at providing a dignified life for all members in the community by upgrading the level of services provided in the social care sector as well as providing social services by licensing social care facilities and professionals, in coordination with the specialized authorities.
It is worth noting that the licensing service is available through Abu Dhabi Government’s Portal - TAMM for all professionals involved in providing social care services in Abu Dhabi and other related services, as the licensing service will include five social care professions, which are psychologist (non-clinical), applied behavior analyst, psychology therapist, social worker, and counselors.
The Department had activated the registration system for professionals, facilities and social care providers, with the aim of assessing the current situation, while serving to develop a comprehensive perception of the social services provided in the emirate, as this contributed in enabling the social care service providers, whether they are professionals or facilities, to participate in developing the standards and requirements in the process of issuing the license, by providing the department with the correct data, which reflects the reality of the social care market in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which in turn contributed to enabling the Social Care Quality division in DCD to set licensing requirements, and to ensure continuity in the provision of social care services.