September 2007

Editorial : Doing our bit...

By Merle Allsopp

I had supper with a social worker who is a member of the Council for Social Service Professions the other day, and she reminded me of the power of individuals when it comes to doing their bit towards changing whole systems.

Now colleagues may or may not recall how the Act defines the role of 'Council' in relation to the role of the 'Professional Boards'. The Act I refer to is, of course the Social Services Amendment Act 110, 1978 that has allowed for the possibility of social service occupational groups becoming recognized as discreet professions - within the social services stable. When we are dealing with a statutory body, the law (the Act I am referring to here) defines exactly what may be done by the bodies it allows to be established. In other words, the law says what powers each of the bodies has.

The Professional Board for Child and Youth Care was established by the Council for Social Service Professions in terms of the power given to it. In order to move to the place where child and youth care workers can register with Council, the Professional Board must produce a set of regulations to the law.

But it must be remembered that the Professional Board is not mandated to connect directly with the Minister of Social Development (who must approve any regulations). Rather, it must, according to the law, go through the Council to the Minister.

And that is where my conversation over dinner comes in again. This person, along with a number of other social workers, sits on Council - the body which has the power to make decisions on what is put forward to it from the Professional Board for Child and Youth Care. As we spoke over our chips and salad, she said that she understood what child and youth care is - and as a result had no difficulty in seeing it as an autonomous social service profession. She had learned about the profession from seeing certain people in our field  in action at work.

As a result of the quality of the child and youth care work done by these colleagues, my fellow-diner was positive about the work we do, and could see that it is different from social work. She had been convinced of the existence of the profession, not by an academic argument, but by seeing good child and youth care workers in action, working therapeutically in the lifespace of challenging young people. Given that it is Council's responsibility to receive and vet information from the Professional Boards operating under its umbrella, it is obviously really important that people serving on Council have a very good grasp of child and youth care work.

As a result of the work of the colleagues referred to here, at least one person in a position to influence matters positively for child and youth care work is sure of our role. I am sure there are others - who have seen good child and youth care work in action.

Gaining professional status for child and youth care work is not the job of a few. Rather, it is the responsibility of each and every child and youth care worker in our country to show others that we are professionals. For we never know who will be watching us, and what influence they may at some point have on our professional status.

Are you 'doing your bit'?