Social Work Now, Issue 50, pages 30-33.
There are times when simple solutions to issues present themselves. The ability to explore innovations and new ways of thinking can help keep your own social work practice fresh and vibrant, while at the same time allowing individuals the opportunity to identify local issues and create tailored solutions. This article explores an example where I was supported to put that theory to test and introduce a variation to practice to see if we could create a more effective and efficient way of working in the area of family violence that better met our local needs.
One of the greatest challenges for children and families living in a rural area is the ability to access agencies that provide a quality service. Nationally affiliated agencies are usually based in larger centres, and while they may designate people to travel to the rural areas several days a week to support clients, their hours of availability are limited. There tend to be few, if any, locally based agencies. Where they do exist, they tend to struggle to recruit people with the expertise and experience to compliment statutory social workers in helping families.
Family violence is a growing concern throughout the country. As it stands, Child, Youth and Family is notified every time the Police attend an incident where children are involved. In 2010, Dr. Marie Connolly (then Chief Social Worker) gave an address at a Supervisors’ Conference that challenged the way family violence was being dealt with in the New Zealand context and suggested that Child, Youth and Family was not the appropriate agency to be at the forefront of the work. After reflecting on this address, I came to the conclusion that we could do things differently in our area, specifically addressing how we could get consistent quality service to our rural clients.
This led me to draft a proposal for my local area. In April 2010 I applied for, and received, funding for a three-month project to test a new way to provide a service to families where a family violence notification was received. This article outlines the journey that ensued. It was a great experience running this trial. I really felt connected to my local community as I was able to influence the systems that were helping families. I was also able to see the positive results that the local agencies and the families experienced. This assisted in developing my own practice by giving me the confidence to be creative and innovative in all areas of my work.