About Me...
I have studied and worked in the field of care and protection for over 30 years. For most of this time I have worked in the South Australian government child protection agency in a range of frontline, policy, training and senior practice consultancy roles. Then I worked for 18 months as a Senior Manager with an Aboriginal agency, leading family preservation and reunification services and the provision of cultural advice to the Youth Court. In November 2014 I moved to private practice as a social work consultant in care and protection.
Throughout my career as a social worker I have been a staunch advocate for the interests of vulnerable children and families. I have chosen to work in this field because the safety and wellbeing of disadvantaged children and families is a core social justice issue. I am a passionate believer in the values and principles of social work and the importance of being informed by both formal and informal knowledge of how best to help, and how to not do harm.
I work from the following practice framework:
Some would find these things trite, naïve, or simplistic. I believe that if we paid more attention to these elements, and embedded them into care and protection systems at every level, that many of the problems our system is mired in would be alleviated.
Our current care and protection system is unsustainable and harmful to the families who experience it, the workers who toil within it, and the community who fund it. We need widescale and fundamental reform. This will require honesty and courage. The voice of the recipients of care and protection services – children and young people, families and carer families - must be central to this process. The expertise of frontline staff must also inform the direction for change.
Throughout my career as a social worker I have been a staunch advocate for the interests of vulnerable children and families. I have chosen to work in this field because the safety and wellbeing of disadvantaged children and families is a core social justice issue. I am a passionate believer in the values and principles of social work and the importance of being informed by both formal and informal knowledge of how best to help, and how to not do harm.
I work from the following practice framework:
- Doing things because it is the right thing to do, and trying to be a good person.
- Treating others as I would like to be treated.
- Looking to the context rather than the individual for explanations.
- Believing in the inherent capacity of people and having a sense of hope.
- Believing that everyone has a useful piece of the puzzle and that together we can find the solutions.
- That children need to be viewed in the context of their families and communities, and with not just a focus on their immediate safety, but also their wellbeing and their sense of belonging.
- That my role is to enable families to achieve this, not to do it for them, or to them.
- That so much is already known about what works, and we are not making best use of this knowledge.
Some would find these things trite, naïve, or simplistic. I believe that if we paid more attention to these elements, and embedded them into care and protection systems at every level, that many of the problems our system is mired in would be alleviated.
Our current care and protection system is unsustainable and harmful to the families who experience it, the workers who toil within it, and the community who fund it. We need widescale and fundamental reform. This will require honesty and courage. The voice of the recipients of care and protection services – children and young people, families and carer families - must be central to this process. The expertise of frontline staff must also inform the direction for change.
My Professional Services...
Assessment :: Intervention :: Facilitation :: Training:: Reviews
I have worked in roles from frontline worker to senior manager and from direct practice to strategic policy development. I also draw from my own lived experience as an ordinary person who has experienced trauma and loss, to help me understand the challenges facing the children, young people and families for whom we aim to help. I think this broad and inclusive lens is very important. I plan to keep working across the fields of direct practice and wider system interventions so that I can help practice inform policy, and vice versa.
I have an expert knowledge of care and protection practice, with solid critical thinking, relationship-building and ethical decision-making skills. I can help with assessments and undertake interventions across the care and protection spectrum of services. I am an experienced practice consultant and can assist in establishing a clearer way forward in both brief and complex decision processes. I am skilled in the use of solution-focussed practice approaches (Signs of Safety and Solution-based Casework), as both a direct practitioner and a trainer.
Care and Protection work involves an inclusive approach and collaborative processes of working together. The voices of children and young people, their families, their carers, and extended family must be kept central to the process. Although in this field it can be hard to find agreement, this should always be the goal. I can facilitate meetings and conferences when a neutral but expert person is required.
Over my career I have written a number of key policies that have set the bar to a professional and evidence-based standard of service delivery.
I have experience in undertaking complex and sensitive case reviews where I have been diligent in ensuring procedural fairness and using ethical principles and best practice knowledge to guide my findings and recommendations. Most particularly I ensure that individuals are not unfairly blamed for what are systemic causes of failures in care and protection processes. As such I have a reputation as a fair, credible and responsible reviewer.
I have worked in roles from frontline worker to senior manager and from direct practice to strategic policy development. I also draw from my own lived experience as an ordinary person who has experienced trauma and loss, to help me understand the challenges facing the children, young people and families for whom we aim to help. I think this broad and inclusive lens is very important. I plan to keep working across the fields of direct practice and wider system interventions so that I can help practice inform policy, and vice versa.
I have an expert knowledge of care and protection practice, with solid critical thinking, relationship-building and ethical decision-making skills. I can help with assessments and undertake interventions across the care and protection spectrum of services. I am an experienced practice consultant and can assist in establishing a clearer way forward in both brief and complex decision processes. I am skilled in the use of solution-focussed practice approaches (Signs of Safety and Solution-based Casework), as both a direct practitioner and a trainer.
Care and Protection work involves an inclusive approach and collaborative processes of working together. The voices of children and young people, their families, their carers, and extended family must be kept central to the process. Although in this field it can be hard to find agreement, this should always be the goal. I can facilitate meetings and conferences when a neutral but expert person is required.
Over my career I have written a number of key policies that have set the bar to a professional and evidence-based standard of service delivery.
I have experience in undertaking complex and sensitive case reviews where I have been diligent in ensuring procedural fairness and using ethical principles and best practice knowledge to guide my findings and recommendations. Most particularly I ensure that individuals are not unfairly blamed for what are systemic causes of failures in care and protection processes. As such I have a reputation as a fair, credible and responsible reviewer.
Associations and Memberships
I work with and along side the Connecting Families group of like minded consultants. We share common beliefs, goals and resources that enable us to deliver cohesive, results driven services with clearly outlined objectives
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I am a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers
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