SWIRLS and CSWIR: Uncertainty and Child Protection

Dr Carmela Bastian, Senior Lecturer, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, and member of the Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS), Flinders University, South Australia.

Dr Carmela Bastian is currently Senior Lecturer in Social Work at at Flinders University and member of the Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS). She is committed to improving the lives of children. She has over twenty years’ experience in the field of child protection and human services as a social work practitioner and academic. Carmela's employment history exemplifies a wide range of experiences, including as a front line practitioner, policy and program manager, and involvement in service development. Her PhD research—called The moral status of children in child protection: the case for emerging from our moral ignorance—engaged in philosophical deliberation to assert that children are valuable members of the human community and illuminate the criticality of relationships, rights and obligations.

Professor Gillian Ruch, Professor of Social Work in the Department of Social Work and Social Care and Co-Director of the Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research (CSWIR), University of Sussex

Professor Gillian Ruch is Professor of Social Work and co-director of the Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research. Gillian is a qualified and registered social worker who had worked in academia for over twenty years. Her professional interests focus on relationship-based and reflective approaches to research and practice and she is committed to  promoting the wellbeing of social workers, children and  parents. As the Principle Investigator of the ESRC funded Talking and Listening to Children research project, she has overseen one of the largest research studies of contemporary child care practice conducted across the four UK nations. Publications from this project and research impact related work (see the project website at: talkingandlisteningtochildren.co.uk) are ensuring the findings from this important study are being widely disseminated and applied in both the academic and practice child welfare sectors.

Jody Satala, Principal Aboriginal Consultant, Southern Region, Department for Child Protection, South Australia

Jody Satala is a proud Barunggam Bundjalung woman from Queensland who has lived and worked on both Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna Country in South Australia for many years. She is currently a Principal Aboriginal Consultant in the South Australian Department for Child Protection beginning her career in the area of social and human services in 1995. Firstly working in the area of Anti-Poverty before moving into the area of Child Protection in 1998.

She has dedicated her career to working with and for Aboriginal children, young people, families and Communities involved in statutory Child Protection systems to reduce the over representation of Aboriginal children and young people coming in to out of home care. She is passionate about Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making, privileging the voice of Aboriginal families and Communities and focusses her work on supporting her non-Aboriginal colleagues regarding compliance with the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle whilst applying a Cultural lens so that Child Protection practices are both collegial and well considered to strive for better outcomes for Aboriginal children and families.

Julie Powell, Manager at Department for Child Protection, South Australia

Julie Powell has been a social worker for over 30 years. Julie’s career has spanned service delivery with children with intellectual disability as well as research and project work. Julie worked in community health early childhood services and in a Children’s Centre before commencing as a supervisor in child protection in a regional area.  Julie then worked as a Principal Social Worker in rural and metropolitan areas before her current role as a manager of a child protection office. Julie’s passions include mentoring social workers to privilege the voice of children and young people and developing care teams to achieve the best possible outcome for children.

Lorna Miller-Cooper, Social Worker, Brighton and Hove City Council

Lorna Miller-Cooper, is a social worker for children and families in Brighton & Hove on the south east coast of England. Lorna trained at the University of Sussex between 2016-18 and has worked for the local authority in the same team since she was a student social worker.

Lorna works in a busy social work team who serve children in all the statutory social work roles that any child needs, from pre-birth to 18. Thier model of practice is supported by monthly reflective practice, reflective group team supervision, and individual supervision.