Suzannah, a senior social worker at the Department for Child Protection’s Mount Barker office, has spent her working life supporting children, families and older residents through roles in the child protection, family support and disability sectors.

These days she’s focused on helping young people in the Adelaide Hills, and counts assisting children to maintain connections with siblings, family members and other trusted adults as among her top priorities.

Young people’s voices are critical to the work of Suzannah, who is currently working with a young person and a woman who had been her long-term respite carer, to support her recent move to the placement full-time.

“We have some amazing foster carers who go above and beyond and really stand out,” she says.

“They do an extraordinary job and they need all the support they can get from us. Working out what we can do to support them can make the difference between the placement thriving and sinking.”

Today, on World Social Work Day (19 March), the Department is thanking social workers, including Suzannah, for the vital work they do to support young people, keep them safe and help them meet their goals.

Suzannah, who grew up in Adelaide, studied social work in the United Kingdom before moving back to Australia and taking up work with the Department for Child Protection.

“I’m passionate about helping young people achieve their best in life – especially our kids, who have had a tough beginning,” she says.

“That can mean supporting them with their peer groups, with employment or reconnecting with family if it’s safe to do so. Supporting young people and adults to live their best life has always been a passion of mine.”

Another is working with children in residential care, including helping them achieve their best at school and build their community connections.

Suzannah says this might extend to helping them retain relationships with previous carers, who they know they can trust to remain part of their lives and “care team”.

Working with children under long term guardianship allows her to build trusting relationships with young people, but also comes with the challenging task of “managing their pain”, if they ask questions about their trauma history.

“Self care is a really important part of being a social worker, and having a really good team around you is quite important,” Suzannah says.

Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard said: “Social workers are so dedicated and deeply committed to the goal of enabling children to be safe, loved and nurtured, connected with family and to helping them overcome their challenges.”

“Social workers are highly skilled, well qualified and walk alongside people when they face really difficult times and most need support.

“On World Social Work Day and every day, I wholeheartedly thank social workers for all they do to support children, young people and families, and to help build stronger communities.”

WATCHING YOUNG PEOPLE ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS

Working with young people who remain in care until they reach adulthood gives Julie Mack plenty of opportunities to see them achieve great things.

Julie has been working with Department for Child Protection (DCP), and its predecessors, for 15 years, and is based in the Whyalla office’s guardianship team.

The social worker says she regularly sees young people return to DCP after they turn 18, to say hello to the caseworkers who supported them or reach out looking for assistance, such as counselling or help accessing the Federal Government’s Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA).

“They do come back and tell us really great stories about what they’re doing and where they’re working or volunteering,” Julie says.

“When they come back, you know you’ve given them what they needed at the time – you must have got it right.”

One example is a young woman who explained to Julie the role she’d played volunteering with the Country Fire Service in NSW during the Black Summer Bushfires in 2019-20.

“She had a lot of courage doing that, that’s for sure,” Julie says. “I think the rest of us would be heading off in the opposite direction but she was right in there.”

Many of the families connected with the child protection system face issues including domestic violence, mental illness, poverty and substance abuse, and among local challenges for social workers is difficulty accessing services such as tutoring and psychology.

But Julie says she enjoys supporting young people to meet their goals and remain connected with family members, even if they’re not able to live with them.

“They’re great kids – despite what they’re going through, they’re mostly really good to be around,” she says.

“We try and provide them with opportunities to thrive. It’s really rewarding to see them come out the other end.”

Julie is passionate about supporting young people as they move towards adulthood, ensuing they have strong supports in place, including an NDIS plan if needed, suitable housing and family support.

REUNITING FAMILIES THE GREATEST REWARD

Supporting families under increasing pressure from challenges such as the cost of living crisis, and helping reunite children with their parents, are among Laine Bell’s biggest rewards at work.

Laine, a senior social worker based in Murray Bridge, took up a job she “loves” in the Department for Child Protection in 2022, in the Murraylands office’s assessment and reunification team.

It involves helping families recognise when they need help, working in partnership with families to address child protection concerns and referring them to other services that can support them.

“People are more stressed overall, with Covid-19 and the ripple effects that’s had on families,” she says.

“They’re doing their best but some are really struggling and they just need some support.”

As part of World Social Work Day celebrations (19 March), the Department is thanking social workers, including Laine, for the vital work they do to support young people, keep them safe and help them meet their goals.

Laine says building good relationships with parents is a vital component to social workers’ roles. She says among the most heart-warming moments at work are seeing children reunited with their families, pointing to one example.

“It was just delightful – everyone was so happy,” she says.

“I actually get a bit teary when it happens. I’d developed a really good relationship with the parents and the child.

“It was such a joy to be able to watch those relationships develop and see the child go home – that made me really happy.”

Laine moved into social work after previous careers in teaching, where she saw the level of disadvantage among some South Australian families, and hospitality, where she learned to deal with high-stress situations.

“It’s given me transferrable skills to deal with what can be a really fast-paced environment here and having to deal with crises very quickly,” she says.

“There’s an element of stress (at work) but it’s also really enjoyable and rewarding.

“What stands out to me is that people really do love their children – they just need support sometimes.”