Trying to make a difference - despite a death threat

By STEPHEN COOK

Every day, every hour, the victims of child abuse cry out for help.

More often than not the strangers who hear their calls are from Child, Youth and Family, an organisation some critics suggest is just too busy to care.

For those at the frontline it can be a tough, almost soul-destroying job - one that few people can handle for too long.

Many take it up with the best of intentions, but their dreams of "making a difference" are quickly shattered as the number of cases to be allocated - and waiting times - increase.

"It's a tough job, at times heartbreaking," says CYF social worker Deanna Brosnan. "But it's also a rewarding job because you are saving these children.

"I definitely feel like I am making a difference."

Staff turnover at CYF is among the highest of any Government department. In 2001, 15 per cent of CYF's staff left, either disillusioned, frustrated or simply unable to cope with the demands of the job.

Turnover is lessening but CYF still expects to lose 10 per cent of its workforce this year.

Ms Brosnan says she has been in the job two years and is the third most experienced staff member among her team of 11 social workers.

Unlike others, she has no plans to leave CYF, describing her work as "always exciting and never boring".

"I have been threatened ... that I was going to be killed. I have had quite a few dangerous situations. It is all part of the job."

Ms Brosnan said her work was varied. The protocol for dealing with a notification depended on the seriousness of the case.

Generally, once a referral was made from the CYF call centre, she would, depending on the severity of the case, carry out an investigation plan.

That involved talking to key parties such as the child's teacher or principal. The parents would then be spoken to and a decision made on whether to "close the case" or "carry out an intervention".

That either included involving outside social agencies or seeking a removal order through the Family Court.

She believed the work of CYF was unfairly criticised and that social workers were doing their best under sometimes trying circumstances.

"I just try to ignore the criticism, but there is a part of me that gets annoyed."