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This article provides an overview of the challenges faced by the social work profession and social services sector in New Zealand. It discusses issues such as cuts to services, job losses, and attacks on support services for disabled individuals. The article also criticizes the behavior and lack of empathy displayed by the coalition government. Additionally, the text covers various topics related to social work in New Zealand, including environmental justice, rural poverty, palliative care, and the impact of digital technology on social connectedness for older Chinese migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also includes a study on older migrants and their social connections, highlighting the need for support in digital and English literacy. The contributions of Adjunct Professor Ken Daniels to social work education and his involvement in health social work and assisted human reproduction are discussed. The sustainability of social work education and the challenges faced by students are also addressed. Lastly, the article includes a practice note on the issue of radicalization and the role of social workers in responding to it, particularly in relation to right-wing extremism. The text also features book reviews on topics such as welfare, social work education, and critical social work with children and families. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the impact of the conservative coalition government in New Zealand following the 2023 general election, highlighting its rollback of socially progressive policies and embrace of neoliberal ideals. Topics include deregulation in various sectors, reduction of workers' rights, and the potential reversal of progressive stances on issues like reproductive rights and Māori sovereignty.

Supervision is a core component of professional support and development in social work. In many settings, and perhaps particularly in children's services, it is valued as crucial in safe decision-making, practice reflection, professional development and staff support. Research has demonstrated that supervision and staff support also contribute to social worker retention in child welfare services. Drawing on data gathered in a 15-month ethnographic, longitudinal study of child protection work that included observations of supervision, we were able to observe the impact of supportive supervisory relationships on social workers' decision-making about staying in their current workplace. This article presents a single case that demonstrates the potential impact of effective relationship-based supervision on retention and calls for a more humane approach to social work supervision against dominant managerial themes that have increasingly burdened the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented in which A collaborative bicultural social work research approach" Kora Deverick and Hannah Mooney and The article describes the methods used, and presented a reflective account of the process, to use a "decolonising, Te Tiriti o Waitangi lens" It also argues that reflective process helps to acknowledge and take account of the wider social, political and historical contexts.

Supervision is promoted as an essential element of effective professional practice in social work. Its benefits include promoting reflective social work and assisting with the management of the emotions generated in challenging practice. This article reports on the observations of supervision in a 15-month ethnographic study of social work teams on two very different sites in England, one using hot-desking the other a small team design. Our findings show how supervision is constituted by temporal, spatial and relational elements and that some current organisational designs do not create the ideal environment for reflective supervision to flourish. Far from providing an opportunity for containment of challenging emotions, supervision was sometimes a source of stress. It was experienced as reflective and containing where managers were accessible and space was made for thinking in a context of openness that encouraged regular deep conversations about current work. By experiencing the atmospheres of supervisory encounters and organisational cultures, this study has enabled us to produce new insights into the embodied nature of supervision as it is lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the empirical process of research highlights substantive findings, understanding the methodological approach in which access is gained and sustained on field sites is also an integral part of the data. Gaining access in ethnographic studies, in particular, is a complex task which requires researchers to continually negotiate systems and processes in order that they may reflect on the socially embedded practices of their chosen fields. However, once the researchers are accepted, the ethnographer then has to be aware of the effect their presence has on the field and that access is a continual process of negotiation and contestation. Based on a longitudinal study, which conducted a 15-month ethnography in two social work organizations, this article will explore the dilemmas various members of a research team experienced when trying to blend into the different sites. And then, once having achieved their desired position, the challenges they encountered when they realized that their presence was affecting the performances of their participants. We conclude by discussing the importance of reflexivity, power and ethics. Ethnographic research may be a more natural way for researchers to collect data, but it is also a method which positions researchers in situations, where they can easily influence encounters and, in effect, become part of the findings as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into social work and child protection has begun to observe practice to find out what social workers actually do, however, no such ethnographic research has been done into long-term practice. This article outlines and analyses the methods used in a study of long-term social work and child protection practice. Researchers spent fifteen months embedded in two social work departments observing organisational practices, culture and staff supervision. We also regularly observed social worker's encounters with children and families in a sample of thirty cases for up to a year, doing up to twenty-one observations of practice in the same cases. Family members were also interviewed up to 3 times during that time. This article argues that a methodology that gets as close as possible to practitioners and managers as they are doing the work and that takes a longitudinal approach can provide deep insights into what social work practice is, how helpful relationships with service users are established and sustained over time, or not, and the influence of organisations. The challenges and ethical dilemmas involved in doing long-term research that gets so close to social work teams, casework and service users for up to a year are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work in the United Kingdom is preoccupied with what social workers cannot do due to having limited time to spend with service users. Yet remarkably little research has examined what social workers actually do, especially in long‐term relationships. This paper draws from an ethnographic study of two social work departments in England that spent 15 months observing practice and organizational life. Our findings show that social work some of the time has a significant amount of involvement with some service users and the dominant view that relationship‐based practice is rarely achieved is in need of some revision. However, families at one research site received a much more substantial, reliable overall service due to the additional input of family support workers and having a stable workforce who had their own desks and were co‐located with managers in small team offices. This generated a much more supportive, reflective culture for social workers and service users than at the second site, a large open plan "hot‐desking" office. Drawing on relational, systemic, and complexity theories, the paper shows how the nature of what social workers do and culture of practice are shaped by the interaction between available services, office designs, and practitioners', managers', and service users' experiences of relating together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws from a 15-month participant observation study of social work and child protection practices in England to illustrate how social workers used Facebook to gain another view of service-users' lives. Social media use was not an intended focus for the study, its presence emerged during our data analysis. While some research has shown that such practices occur, our long-term ethnographic approach provides new insights into how Facebook was actually used in ongoing casework with families and why it was used. Our findings show that Facebook use took multiple forms. Some social workers actively searched service users' Facebook pages and some opposed any such usage. We further advance the literature by introducing a third group who were unwillingly "drawn into" acting on Facebook information presented to them by others such as their managers. Our research insights suggest that social work must pause to consider the implications of these complex emerging practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the trans-Tasman relationships in social work. Topics include focus of Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) informational, carrying links and summaries about services and income maintenance matters; and need real political leadership on the issue and immediate climate action to assure the safety of individuals, groups, and communities.

The anticipated change of social work regulator in England from the Health and Care Professions Council to Social Work England in 2019 will herald the third, national regulator in seven years for the social work profession. Social Work England will be a new, bespoke, professionally specific regulator established as a non-departmental public body with a primary objective to protect the public. Looking globally, we can observe different approaches to the regulation of the social work profession—and many different stages of the profession's regulatory journey between countries. Using a comparative policy analysis approach and case studies, this article looks more closely at three countries' arrangements and attempts to understand why regulation might take the shape it does in each country. The case studies examine England, the USA (as this has a state approach, we focus on New York) and New Zealand, with contributions from qualified social work authors located within each country. We consider that there are three key elements to apply to analysis: definition of role and function, the construction of the public interest and the attitude to risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Supervision is a well-established component of practice in the health and social care professions. In recent years, however, relentless changes in the nature of professional roles within these contexts have led to corresponding variations in how professional practice supervision is configured and delivered. METHOD: This article examines how professional supervision and its future are seen by an international group of experts in social work supervision. The evolving perceptions of social work supervision's role, and the relationship to professional autonomy in the social sphere are explored with reference to the authors' earlier research. FINDINGS: The tension between supervision as a surveillant tool of management and a practice of critical reflection is acknowledged in literature as posing a threat to one aspect of professional autonomy and agency. IMPLICATIONS: The authors pose an alternative, theoretically grounded, approach based on the traditions of critically reflective supervision to assist the recognition and management of the balance between support and surveillance or managerial organisational dimensions. Metatheoretical understanding of professional supervision in the frame of human agency will help both practitioners and supervisors to construct sustainable and proactive social work. Instead of despairing about the loss of autonomy, the professionals may go through significant societal and professional transformations as subjects of their own expertise and professional agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Given the diversity of practice and understanding of social work across the globe and its distinctive shape in specific national settings, practitioners working in a new country encounter different community, professional and workplace cultures which may pose challenges. This current study contributes to a larger programme of work undertaken to address the transnational nature of the social work profession in Aotearoa New Zealand and elsewhere. METHOD: The study aim was to explore the experiences of Aotearoa New Zealand qualified social workers who have practised in another country and have returned home. Participants in an online survey were recruited via an invitation to all members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers. The questionnaire was designed to obtain broad data about the experiences of social workers in their overseas employment and perceptions on their return home. FINDINGS: Many participants had layers of transnational experience having practised as social workers in multiple countries. Participants reported overall satisfaction with overseas experiences which had provided professional opportunities for learning and development, and better pay and conditions. Coming home presented new challenges and interesting perceptions of social work in Aotearoa. IMPLICATIONS: Adjustment to new practice locations and, as shown in this small exploratory study, returning "home" can be disruptive to professional perspectives. While overseas practice is enriching, it carries with it both relocation benefits and costs, confirming earlier research. Better employer recognition of the challenges of returning social workers, and the enhanced skills they bring home may offset any dislocation experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate interventions for assisting transnational social workers (TSWs), nurses and teachers in their transition into the receiving country are significant for enabling competent and safe professional practice. These professionals form a significant part of the professional workforce of many countries as globalisation and liberal migration policies encourage many to cross borders for professional practice. Engaging in employment overseas, however, is a challenging process for them as it entails relocating to a new country and working in unfamiliar sociocultural and practice contexts. While some form of profession-wide assistance is found in nursing and teaching, social workers rarely receive any such interventions. This article discusses existing support offered to transnational nurses and teachers in English-speaking countries such as the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and suggests how a similar approach to social workers can assist their transitioning into the receiving country. It draws on the findings of a thematic review of the literature addressing support for transnational nurses, teachers and social workers. The imperative of interventions to assist transition of TSWs into host countries is explored and the article concludes with recommendations for some intervention strategies and mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Termination of pregnancy (ToP) service delivery in Aotearoa New Zealand occurs within a multi-dimensional system which is influenced and shaped by various philosophical, political and economic discourses, and is comprised of interconnected components. One component is the provision of counselling for women seeking a termination of pregnancy. This study aimed to explore how service managers and social work practitioners perceived how ToP services, particularly the counselling component therein, were being delivered nationally. METHODS: A concurrent, multi-level, mixed-methods research design was employed in the study. Two purposively selected sample groups comprising: 1) service managers responsible for the oversight of ToP service delivery; and 2) ToP counselling practitioners were recruited from 19 District Health Boards (DHBs) across Aotearoa New Zealand. Service managers (20) participated in interviews with a focus on capturing information about operational systems that supported or hindered the delivery of ToP and counselling services, while 26 social work and counselling practitioners participated in an electronic survey questionnaire. Qualitative data were thematically analysed and quantitative data were descriptively analysed using descriptive statistics. FINDINGS: Results from this mixed-methods study were integrated at the level of interpretation and linkage between the methods showed that practice within ToP licensed facilities varied markedly. Specifically, nine practice and systemic variations were identified that had implications for women receiving ToP services. Existing variations across licensed facilities were signalled as disconnects between components of the service delivery system. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations that address variations and systemic disconnects are offered to the New Zealand Abortion Supervisory Committee and Ministry of Health. Further research is suggested to obtain the perspective of service users as this was one limitation of this small exploratory study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important element of contemporary social work is the influence of international trends on the contexts of practice. In this article, we will critically examine aspects of globalisation and the relationships between health inequalities and social inequalities and the implications for social work practice. Giles called on social workers to develop a 'health equality imagination'; however, the challenge for practitioners on a day-to-day basis is how to integrate such an imagination into their work. A number of suggested approaches towards a greater engagement in addressing health inequalities in social work practice, education and research are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of a closed Facebook group, established to discuss professional social work issues, were surveyed to explore what they valued about the group, the problems or issues associated with membership, and factors associated with participation or reluctance to participate. A non-probability, self-selection sample (N = 53) completed an online survey during January and February 2016. Survey findings suggest that participants valued feeling connected to a community of practice, the ability to post and share information, and access to news and information. However, participants also expressed concern about online incivility and experienced reluctance to post opinions because of concerns about the critical comments of others. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Supervision is currently of considerable interest in social work and is seen as a vital activity for meeting many professional demands: the continuing development of professional skills, practitioner well-being, the safeguarding of competent and ethical practice, and the oversight of casework. A recent UK review of evidence found that the empirical basis for supervision was relatively weak (Carpenter et al., 2012) and evidential support for supervision as a core practice in social work is needed. This is a significant challenge to supervision educators and researchers. Given the breadth in understanding and implementation of social work across the globe and its distinctive shape in specific national settings, supervision is likely to be very different across these diverse contexts but few comparative data are available. A modified Delphi study was devised to address the question: Is there an international consensus on the agenda for research and development of supervision in social work? This article will outline the processes of study design and recruitment and will report on findings from the first phase of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observation of practice in social work, as in other helping professions, has occurred as one response to requirements for public and professional accountability of professional practice. Observation can be considered in three contexts: peer observation, supervisor observation and observation for assessment. This paper introduces and examines a ‘negotiated collaborative model’ for ‘doing’ live observation which offers practitioners an opportunity to affirm and develop practice skills and practice knowledge, whilst at the same time accommodating reporting requirements. The model has four steps: preparation, negotiated observation, debriefing, feedback and observation and next steps. We examine the negotiated collaborative model in depth, identify pertinent questions for each step and, through a series of vignettes, illustrate how the model works in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large percentage of professionals, including social workers, practise in a country other than where they obtained their professional qualification. Reasons for migration have been well documented and vary by country and population. Common migrating factors for social workers include employment challenges and opportunities related to the aging population, increased government expenditure on health and social care services, and insufficient numbers of new graduates entering the profession. This article draws on research about the experiences of migrant social workers in New Zealand. It highlights this population's perceptions of the status of social work as a profession and their own professional identity. The study utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative strategies in a three-phased project. The findings provide insights into the nature of the transitional experience for migrant professionals and new vantage points on views of social work as practised in different contexts. We identified perceptions reflecting what we term ‘enduring professional dislocation’, and argue that maintaining a broad view of social work is the foundation for understanding the profession in a new country. We advocate for strategies to facilitate migrant social workers' adjustment to a new setting, especially where some degree of social and cultural contextualisation in social work practice is required. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Yin noted the requirement for social workers to provide ‘supportive, empowering and strengths-based (resilience building) services’ and asked ‘when the workers themselves are burning out … do we provide the same for them?’. Many researchers have since explored this question, seeking explanations as to how some social workers survive and thrive and others are lost to the profession. The authors of this small exploratory study were interested in exploring practitioners’ understanding of resilience. A qualitative approach was employed to explore practitioner views about what contributed to their own resilience, augmented by data gathered in interviews with those providing supervision to students. Findings suggest a conceptual framework incorporating three aspects of resilience: core attributes within the individual, the practice context and a series of mediating factors. Participant accounts suggested a multifaceted and dynamically balanced awareness of resilience that highlighted the relational and contextual characteristics of their experience. This article reports one significant theme emerging from the study; namely that supervision and collegial support are recognised as vital in the nurturing of practitioner resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper turns the conceptual focus of resilience from that of the service user and community to the experience of social workers themselves. It reports on aspects of an ongoing study into social work practitioner resilience in health care and non-statutory practice settings in New Zealand. This continuing study explores the perceptions of experienced social workers in relation to resilience in the face of workplace demands and stressors. After clarifying common definitional challenges regarding the conceptualisation of resilience in the literature, qualitative data from twenty-one interviews are examined and a conceptual framework is proposed which identifies three components of resilience: core attributes, practice context and mediating factors. The narratives of the participants suggest a multi-faceted and dynamically-balanced awareness of resilience that emphasises the relational and contextual characteristics of their experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social workers in health care often argue that they must be professionally assertive in order to keep their values afloat in a stormy sea of change. The practice of health social work has traditionally been tied to a professional identity derived from a claim to expertise in the ‘psychosocial’ aspects of health and illness. This article briefly reviews relevant literature on health social work in institutional settings, with specific reference to the links between knowledge, credentials and a secure professional identity. Data from a small study is used to examine the problematic nature of professional identity and links between continuing professional education and status in health social work in New Zealand. Findings reveal practitioner concern that the knowledge claim of social work is weak and this impacts on their professional identity and status in multidisciplinary institutional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss various reports within the issue on topics including the managerial surveillance that affects supervision, supervision in social work, and the politics of supervision.

Over the past few decades there has been a trend to separate “clinical” or “professional” supervision of social workers from “line” supervision provided in social services. Professional or clinical supervision is often sourced externally through a private arrangement or contracted out by agencies to individual practitioners of supervision. A number of factors underpin the development of this external supervision including: the perceived imposition of managerial agendas on supervision; the problem of power dynamics within organisations; and a growing “risk” conceptualisation of practitioners’ wellbeing. A potential negative impact of this separation of supervision from the “field” of practice is that it privatises supervision in a manner that in itself poses risks. This exploratory paper examines the impact of discourses of risk and safety, space and place within social work supervision and draws links between these aspects. Some material drawn from a small qualitative study of the experiences of six expert supervisors in New Zealand illuminates these themes. A significant finding was that the dominance of compliance and surveillance activities within the public sector was linked to the pursuit of external supervision and that four dominant forms of supervision can be discerned in the current discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newly graduating social workers enter a world in which they rarely encounter an expectation that they will engage in scholarly activities. When scholarly skills fall into disuse, there remains little room for reflexive considerations. This article draws on experience of academics and practitioners who participated in an innovative mentoring programme, Growing Research in Practice (GRIP), which explored the challenge of raising the research capability and confidence of groups of social workers in Auckland, New Zealand. The authors link the insights gained in this project to a developing conceptualisation of civic social work, where scholarly inquiry is a practice imperative. Qualitative data were collected via individual and group interviews, from recorded discussions, evaluations and debriefing activities, and from our own field notes. The findings indicate considerable enthusiasm for practitioner research, despite the many challenges faced, but suggest that building professional confidence requires several strategies. The collaborative process trialled in this project appears to have potential. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]