Strengthening the Social Work Supervisory Framework in Indonesia: A Call for Professional Accountability

BackgroundWith the support of UNICEF, the Indonesian Social Work Consortium (KPSI) convened a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on social work supervision as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen professional accountability and service quality in Indonesia (KPSI & UNICEF Indonesia, 2025).Supervision constitutes a crucial element of professional social work practice, particularly in services involving survivors of violence and other vulnerable populations.It functions not only as a mechanism for quality assurance, but also as an ethical safeguard, a platform for professional development, and a source of emotional support for frontline practitioners (Susilowati et al., 2020;Yuliani, 2021).Despite the legal mandate articulated in Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2019 on Social Workers, which recognizes supervision as an integral component of professional practice, this misalignment has compromised the professional guidance system.Consequently, it limits the social worker's capacity to ensure the safety, dignity, and best interests of the child inherent in survivor-centered service delivery (Wismayanti et al., 2021) Recognizing this structural gap, the FGD brought together academics, practitioners, and policymakers to critically examine prevailing supervision practices, identify systemic challenges across policy, governance, and workforce capacity, and articulate strategic directions toward a supervision framework grounded in victim-centered principles and professional accountability.In addition to field-based consultation, the proposed framework is informed by a selective review of peer-reviewed scientific literature and relevant policy documents on violence, victim-centered services, and social work supervision in Indonesia.This dual foundation ensures both conceptual rigor and contextual relevance in the policy directions advanced. ObjectivesThe Focus Group Discussion was designed to provide a structured and reflective forum for examining the current state of social work supervision in Indonesia.Specifically, the discussion sought to map existing supervision mechanisms across government and service institutions,