International Social Service Network

The International Social Service was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, almost 100 years ago in 1924 by a group of people dedicated to finding durable solutions for individuals and families migrating to the Americas (many of them travelling through Ellis Island) in the aftermath of WWI. We are now a network of ISS members present in more than 120 countries with a General Secretariat in Geneva providing coordination, training and capacity building. For the last 99 years, ISS has carried out social services across international borders, constantly tailoring solutions to individual problems.

ISS's main activities

1. We provide socio-legal assistance to families and children separated by borders;
2. We specifically protect children placed in vulnerable situations or deprived of their families, such as unaccompanied or separated children on the move;
3. We specifically provide multi-disciplinary support to adoptees, their adoptive and birth families prior, during and after search for origins and reunification processes;
4. We evaluate national child protection frameworks and advocate for laws and policies in line with the best interests of the child;

5. We offer training and provide tailored technical assistance to all major stakeholders and professionals involved in child protection, alternative care and adoption.

   How will ISS be better prepared for the future?
   As we approach our 100th anniversary, we must be able to better prepare for unprecedented complex social challenges and continue to provide efficient and timely cross border services. We have identified the following strategic priorities for 2020-2024;

6. Network Development and Training through the development of online training webinars for our worldwide ISS staff
   ISS aims to recruit new members to expand our global outreach while consolidating ISS worldwide presence. From 2022 onwards, ISS’ global online training system will become the standard; ISS members will be asked to participate in periodic training, refreshers and new training programs covering specialised topics.

7. Creation of a Knowledge and Research Institute digitalising almost 100 years of social casework and advocacyAnchored in Geneva, the Knowledge and Research Platform will include 9 decades of experience from tens of thousands of ISS conducted cross-border cases. 200 linear meters of ISS archives will be digitalised and integrated into the database. Research and publication capacity, in support of ISS advocacy in child protection and children's rights, will expand exponentially.The ISS Knowledge and Research Platform will be an open-source and multi-linguistic system.

8. Social work and Artificial Intelligence
   AI technology will be used by ISS to bring improvements to our current social work service delivery methodology, leveraging the organisational history of casework to eliminate repetitive work, cut costs, free up time for caseworkers and allow them to remain focused on ISS beneficiaries.

9. Measure the Social Impact of our work
   ISS seeks to better quantify and qualify its social impact worldwide. Through the years, ISS has collected substantial data on the number of cases and beneficiaries of its interventions.Introducing standard Key Performance Indicators across the network and using existing data on successes and challenges will enhance ISS capacity to measure its impact. This in turn will improve our accountability in service delivery and strengthen ISS' competitive edge in cross-border social work, all leading to better services towards the people we assist.

10. Enhance External Communications and Fundraising
    SS strives to reach a larger public worldwide. For that, it will use various channels of communication including social media, local and international press and podcasts. ISS also aims to strengthen internal communications within the network which will help to streamline branding across members.
    Communicating ISS' activities, vision and mission, is critical to help different audiences, including potential donors, understand the value and impact of the organisation.

Only together can we gear up for the next 100 years, Please SUPPORT US .