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To mark World Social Work Day on Tuesday 18 March, the Department for Child Protection is celebrating and recognising its social workers.

This includes Senior Social Worker, Kate Westmacott who works in the department’s Mt Barker team.

Kate Westmacott has spent her decades-long career supporting vulnerable families.

From working at a women’s safety refuge to helping those experiencing homelessness and delivering a course aimed at changing the behaviour of male perpetrators in the UK, Kate’s breadth of experience informs her current role as a Senior Social Worker.

She is based at the Department for Child Protection’s Mt Barker office and works in the Assessment, Support and Protective Intervention team with a focus on family reunification.

“My role involves supervising family contact sessions, working with stakeholders to form ongoing assessments, working alongside carers and family members and reunifying children with their families, where it is safe to do so. There is also a significant amount of court report writing and ongoing assessment work”, Kate said.

“When you support families to make genuine changes – and you have those changes maintained, it’s extremely rewarding, particularly when there are deep-rooted chronic issues”.

“Seeing the change in children when family connection is safely increased and seeing that bond strengthen, you have moments where you think ‘this is why we do what we do’.”

Kate listed the unpredictability of the role is one of its challenges.

“You’re working with people who are unpredictable, when you think things are running smoothly then you receive information that suggests otherwise, that can be hard,” Kate said.

“But I absolutely would recommend social work as a career. You have to be fairly tough, you have to be resilient, resourceful and flexible.”

In the lead up to World Social Work Day on 18 March, Minister for Child Protection and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Katrine Hildyard thanked the Department for Child Protection’s more than 700 social workers, the hundreds who work across the child protection and family support system more broadly and those empowering women affected by violence.

“The professionalism and expertise of the social workers who undertake one of the most difficult and challenging but most rewarding jobs is remarkable,” she said.

“World Social Work Day is a great opportunity to shine a light on the vital role social workers undertake daily in helping children to feel safe, healthy and supported to meet their goals and families and women facing really challenging circumstances to know they are not alone.

“Social workers are highly skilled, dedicated, wise and compassionate and walk alongside people when they face really difficult times, empowering them to traverse new paths.

“I wholeheartedly thank social workers for everything they do to support children, young people, women and families. They make such a positive difference in the lives of many.”