The supervision of social workers in Italy: defining an essential level for social services

This chapter examines the potential of effective professional supervision to support the recruitment and retention of social workers, drawing on an analysis of the Italian context. It explores how supervision may contribute to addressing workforce challenges in social work in the post-pandemic era. The chapter outlines the recent Italian policy shift that has established supervision as an essential level of social services, supported by national recovery funds and new interinstitutional training programmes. Based on preliminary findings from a national survey of 19,358 social workers conducted between November 2023 and March 2024, it analyses the perceived impact of supervision on professional well-being, organisational dynamics, and job satisfaction.