Caption: DCP social worker Ghenelle Brennan receives a certificate for 20 years of service from Chief Executive Jackie Bray.

Seeing children meet their siblings or return to Country for the first time, has brought home the gravity of the impact Ghenelle Brennan can make as a social worker on the Yorke Peninsula.

The Boandik and Narungga woman has dedicated her working life to supporting Aboriginal communities, initially in administration work for government and non-government organisations, and later, in the child protection space.

As we mark World Social Work Day (17 March), the Department for Child Protection is celebrating the important work carried out by social workers across the state, including Ghenelle.

She has been working with the Department (DCP) for two decades, initially taking up a role supervising family access visits, then studying and training as a social worker.

“I always wanted to work with communities, helping people. It’s where I’m supposed to be – it’s definitely part of my identity,” says Ghenelle, who is based in Kadina.

Among rewarding moments of her career, she says, is setting up a ‘cultural connections day’ at Point Pearce – a partnership between the agency, non-government organisations and Aboriginal Community Organisations – to help Aboriginal children learn more about their heritage.

More than 300 people attended the event held last year at the Yorke Peninsula community.

“We had kids coming together who had never been on Country before, kids working out they were related, and we had a sibling group meeting for the first time,” Ghenelle says.

“The kids had all these amazing experiences.”

Ghenelle says while it’s imperative to have a large Aboriginal presence among the department’s staff, her cultural heritage means she faces additional difficulties at work in the wake of the Stolen Generations.

“We’re seen by community, and recognised, that we work for the welfare, so it’s challenging,” she says.

The impact Ghenelle is making supporting families, connecting children with culture, and chipping away at the department’s goal to reduce the number of Aboriginal children in care, makes the challenge well worth it.

After growing up in the state’s South-East, she has worked in places all over Australia, including with the Aboriginal Legal Service in Western Australia, Aboriginal Legal Rights in Adelaide, and Aboriginal Australian writer and academic Professor Marcia Langton in Darwin.

She recently worked as a Principal Aboriginal Consultant, directly supporting Aboriginal families, and is now the region’s Lead Project Officer, working on innovations in social work practice.

World Social Work Day highlights the vital role of social work in bringing people together across communities, cultures and systems to shape a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Department for Child Protection Chief Executive Jackie Bray said the agency’s social workers showed professionalism, expertise and compassion, helping achieve better outcomes for families.