1Assessment One: Section C: Reflective Learning Journal

Week 1: 7th - 11th April

Working in the Mangere Probation Service Centre is a very busy and high
demanding working environment. On the first day I worked with a Probation
Officer (PO who did four home visits and a!so went to court to fi!e an
a""!ication on an offender for breach of conditions. My ro!e was to observe
and watch and !earn from the way my co!!eague wou!d communicate#
interact and bui!d ra""ort with the offender. $he PO was very c!ear about
the reason why we were there and faci!itated the meeting in a res"ectfu!
and assertive manner. I observed the PO being very u" front and firm with
the offender whi!st using strength based a""roach. $he PO wou!d
acknow!edge the offender%s conviction and crimina! history however wou!d
focus on the "athway to reducing offending and concentrate on
o""ortunities for the offender to achieve and com"!y with their s"ecia!
conditions. &ffective engagement with the offender was de!ivered with a !ot
of "ositive affirmation by the PO which he!"ed to engage and bui!d trust
between the offender and PO.
't different times I wou!d fee! inade(uate as I was in a new situation
working in a de"artment that was foreign to me inc!uding a!! the different
"rocesses and termino!ogy. $here were o""ortunities to critica!!y ana!y)e
and dia!ogue about a "articu!ar case I fe!t !ike I was out of my comfort )one
which was (uite daunting. *owever my feedback was acknow!edged by the
PO as we debriefed about the current case and it was very interesting to
hear her "ers"ective and observations. 's I became aware of what was
ha""ening to me "hysica!!y I cou!d fee! my heart starting to race a !itt!e bit
and my thoughts became uneasy and confused. $o gain se!f contro! I
wou!d +ust sto" and take dee" breaths and cou!d fee! a sense of ordered
thought%s and c!arity again.
I acknow!edge this is my first week and I wi!! have many more e,"eriences
that wi!! cha!!enge# u"-ski!! and continue to sha"e my thinking as a future
socia! work "ractitioner. I take a!! this new !earning in my stride as no one
day is ever the same.
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$he Maori .etwork for the Corrections /e"artment he!d a two day noho
marae to "resent the Working with Whanau &ngagement Mode!. $here
was a worksho" $ikanga through 0a"ahaka "resented by a re"resentative
of $e Wananga o 'otearoa. $wo things that stood out to me was that
0a"ahaka gent!y reminds me that as "ractitioners we have the abi!ity to
o"en and c!ose s"aces that invite# cha!!enge and a!!ow "eo"!e to korero
(ta!k# take their stance and c!aim their "osition.
1Assessment One: Section C: Reflective Learning Journal
0a"ahaka re"resents this through the use of body !anguage# eye contact#
facia! e,"ression and body movements inc!uding the use of your voice#
vo!ume and tone. $he "resenter s"ontaneous!y went into haka (the
tradition# "osture dance of Maori which gave me goose bum"s and made
the hair on the back of my neck stand u". Instant!y there was a sense of
Wairuatanga (s"iritua! essence and connectedness# Mauri (!ife force of a
"erson# Mana (strength2 not on!y "ertaining to "hysica! strength and
3angatiratanga (se!f-determination. ' s"ace had been created through
the facets of ka"ahaka# and in finishing his haka he was ab!e to refocus the
grou" as he continued with his "resentation. 3efocusing the grou" was
done with ease and in a very natura! way.
0a"ahaka a!so reminds me that c!osing that s"ace is vita!. If an offender
re"orts in to the office a!! angry and u"set it%s im"ortant that they !eave the
meeting in good s"ace. $his is often a cha!!enge that the Probation
Officers are faced with on a dai!y basis. 0a"ahaka acknow!edges that
working with whanau engagement is a!so about the unseen as"ects of the
"erson i.e Wairuatanga# Mauri# Mana and 3angatiratanga.
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4et in and 4et out55 as one of my co!!eagues had "ut it. 0nowing when
enough ta!king and "robing is enough. 0ee"ing the discussion "ositive#
focussing on the good things that have been ha""ening and working on
them. If you go on for too !ong you can risk !oosing the offender%s attention
and ruin or bombard the engagement "rocess. It is fair to say that the
Probation Officers have a!ready bui!t ra""ort between themse!ves and the
offenders and so they know them we!! enough to have a conversation with
them on varied !eve!s. Offenders are "eo"!e +ust !ike us. $hey have things
going on in their !ives +ust !ike everyone e!se that im"acts and inf!uences
the way they wi!! engage. Some "eo"!e resist and some "eo"!e engage
o"en and wi!!ing!y.
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Coming into this new environment there is a !ot to !earn and take on board.
$he use of different termino!ogy is one of them. ' !ot of words are
abbreviated and can make understanding difficu!t and make you !oose the
conte,t and meaning of the conversation or meeting.
I noticed ear!ier on in my time here that the Probation Officers address their
c!ients as offenders. It fe!t awkward for me because as socia! workers we
6Assessment One: Section C: Reflective Learning Journal
are there to em"ower "eo"!e and treat them with res"ect. 7ut it fee!s !ike
we%re !abe!!ing the "erson because of their "ast decisions. I have since
found out the difference between c!ients and offenders# is that a c!ient is
vo!untary whereas an offender is not. $his has given me a broader
understanding around addressing the c!ient as an offender.
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$oday I was reminded about 8ohari%s Window. $he "artner of an
offender9c!ient was someone that I shared an ac(uaintance with therefore I
was asked to abstain from being "resent at the meeting. I fu!!y su""orted
the decision that wou!d a!!ow this "erson to free!y s"eak about different
issues in "rivacy with +ust the offender9c!ient# fami!y and Probation Officer
"resent.
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7efore today I had never heard of Wi!!iams Syndrome condition which is a
genetic condition that can affect anyone from the time they are born. I
found myse!f fee!ing a !itt!e uneasy going into an interview with no
know!edge about this condition even though I was with the Probation
Officer. I wanted to know more so that I cou!d be "re"ared in terms of
engagement# what to e,"ect and to have an overa!! awareness.
Some of the characteristics of Wi!!iams Syndrome is that a "erson can
become high!y e,cited within a short s"ace of time and have an affinity for
music. $he offender9c!ient was very "!easant to ta!k to which showed that
a!though he had this condition since birth he was ab!e to free!y
communicate about his sentence and !ive ha""y and inde"endent!y.
Week 7: 1+
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7eing on "!acement and working with "eo"!e who have issues in their !ives
and who are trying to dea! with them actua!!y high!ights areas in your own
"ersona! !ife.
$hrough !istening and observing how my co!!eague engages with the
offender I am !earning about what interventions are "ut in "!ace to he!" with
behavioura! issues i.e drug : a!coho! abuse# "hysica! vio!ence# anger
issues# non-com"!iance and the !ist goes on. ;or e,am"!e the Medium
Intensity 3ehabi!itation Programme is a cognitive behavioura! "rogramme
which cha!!enges the "erson%s thinking. $he "ersons behavioura! issue
maybe around anger and how they dea! with it. ;or e,am"!e as a chi!d if
<Assessment One: Section C: Reflective Learning Journal
he did anything wrong he wou!d get a hiding# even for the sma!!est thing
such as dro""ing a knife. 'fter a whi!e the chi!d becomes conditioned to
that ty"e of behaviour and ends u" re"eating that same harmfu! behaviour
as an adu!t. $he "rogramme he!"s you identify other a!ternatives and
cha!!enges your thinking from reacting with intimidation : "hysica! vio!ence
to taking 1= dee" breaths before doing anything.
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's I ref!ect on *ea!th : Safety in the work"!ace I think that it is rea!!y
im"ortant for a!! staff to be aware of the *ea!th : Safety "rocedures
es"ecia!!y when it invo!ves working with high risk offenders and making
home visits. One of the interview rooms has a video camera which records
every meeting that takes "!ace in that room. $his gives a c!ear visua! of
what%s going on and if the offender gets "hysica!!y vio!ent or dis"!ays
intimidating behaviour it can be seen by other staff whi!st it is ha""ening
which gives staff time to intervene if need be. In each of the interview
rooms there is a >"anic% button underneath the desk for the Probation
Officer to "ush which sounds the siren for he!". 'wareness of your
surroundings is a!so im"ortant to know when going into a meeting or
making home visits. $hings such as where you sit in the room or taking
note of the "ro"erty at a home visit can be very vita! to kee"ing yourse!f
safe. $he furniture in the interview rooms are strategica!!y "!aced so that
shou!d anything ha""en# the Probation Officer is ab!e to e,it the room
(uick!y and out of harms way.
It is a!so im"ortant not to become com"!acent or naive about "otentia!
harmfu! situations that can ha""en s"ontaneous!y without you even
rea!ising.
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June $1!
$oday we received news that a dear co!!eague had "assed away. She was
a great !eader# co!!eague# mother# sister# daughter and aunty to many. I
never had the "rivi!ege of meeting ;a%ai!oa $imu but fe!t the sadness and
grief that everyone in the office was going through. $he mora!e of the
office was rea!!y !ow. Our ?ead Service Manager ca!!ed the staff together
for karakia and a time of ref!ection and sharing about their be!oved
co!!eague.
$his rea!!y he!"ed with !ifting the burden after receiving the sad news by
a!!owing staff the time and s"ace to "rocess what had ha""ened. '!though
I never knew ;a%ai!oa I sti!! fe!t "rivi!eged to be a "art of this "rocess as I
@Assessment One: Section C: Reflective Learning Journal
got to !isten to the sharing and hear about the stories different ones got u"
to share. It was very comforting to see the !ove and su""ort that a!! the
staff shared amongst each other es"ecia!!y within the Pacific Is!and
.etwork. On ;riday everyone from the office attended the funera! at the
PIC in Mangere# as said by one of my co!!eagues Ait was good c!osureB.
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't this "oint I%m in the !ast few weeks of "racticum and it is on!y now that I
fee! !ike I%m starting to do some rea! work. $he first few weeks was about
sett!ing into the team that I was first "!aced with# reading different materia!#
gaining !earning through observations# !istening and conversations with
co!!eagues. $here were times where I was sitting at my desk with nothing
to do where I found myse!f a""roaching different co!!eagues to !et them
know that I was avai!ab!e. Or I wou!d use this time to do some of my
ref!ective +ourna!s.
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Su"ervision Mandatory standard number eight is to verify the offenders
su"ervision address no !ater than 1= working days after sentence
commencement and no !ater than 1= working days after any change of
address to check the offender%s com"!iance with their sentence. I%ve been
to different home visits where you get to meet with the offenders fami!y face
to face and see where the offender !ives. One thing that stands out for me
is "rofessiona! "ractice and boundaries. Professiona! boundaries is so
im"ortant because it kee"s you safe. ;or e,am"!e you get invited to ca!! in
anytime for a mea! or cu" of tea out of the genuine hos"ita!ity of the fami!y#
but "rofessiona! boundaries reminds me that this wou!d be crossing that
"rofessiona! !ine and that you can humb!y dec!ine the invitation. On the
other hand if you%re offered a cu" of tea or coffee during the home visit
whi!e ta!king with your c!ient wou!d be acce"tab!e "ractice.
CAssessment One: Section C: Reflective Learning Journal
Week 1: %
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$oday I attended a ;ami!y 4rou" Conference (;4C at Chi!d Douth :
;ami!y (CD; Pa"akura with a co!!eague. $he "ur"ose for the ;4C was for
the fami!y to come together and decide u"on the best decisions :
recommendations for the chi!d. $he chi!d was current!y under a Section EF
of the CD; 'ct 1GFG# which means the chi!d is in tem"orary care and has
been since birth. CD; were concerned about the use of metham"hetamine
whi!e "regnant and fami!y vio!ence between the "arents. $he baby was
removed from the mothers care when the baby was sti!! in hos"ita!. .one of
the fami!y had seen the baby since then and it%s been about a month.
Some of my observations was around the re!ationshi" between the
"arents9fami!y and CD;. $he breakdown in communication caused a !ot of
frustration# hurt and unreso!ved animosity. Socia! work "ractise such as
answering and c!earing "hone messages rea!!y im"act on bui!ding the
re!ationshi" between whanau and the de"artment. It a!so a""eared that
the socia! worker was se"arating herse!f from the rest of the grou" by not
sitting within the grou". $his gave an im"ression that "erha"s the socia!
worker had a!ready made her own decisions and was on!y there to read out
what the "arents did wrong. It was rea!!y im"ortant and fortunate that the
fami!y had their own s"eaker who was ab!e to articu!ate and re"resent the
fami!y views.
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7eing my !ast week of Practicum I am gratefu! to my team and for the
o""ortunity to !earn and deve!o" more in the area of effective engagement
with whanau. I have rea!ised that working within the Corrections
/e"artment is not where I see myse!f working at this stage as my "assion
is in working with the e!der!y. *owever shou!d the o""ortunity "resent itse!f
in the future I wou!d be o"en to considering the cha!!enge.