WARNING: HEAVY LANGUAGE USED WITHIN THIS ARTICLE
I recently attended a Social Workers Registration Board Tribunal Hui in Auckland City representing an organisation that does amazing community development work within the community for youth and local schools – taking their potential further and looking after our future generation of tomorrow!
I’ve been supportive of this charitable trust since 2002 when it first began and of the staff who work and run its daily operations.
One of the staff members who originally was a qualified and registered social worker took up a more permanent post within the organisation.
Because we’re not a social service provider and work to develop growth within the community, we believed that we didn’t need a qualified social worker working to develop the projects the organisation and staff led. Most of those employed aren’t social workers, they’re passionate humans with an authentic and genuine passion to help our community we serve.
This led us to believe and think that because we didn’t do social work provisions, case notes and all the rest, the organisation felt we didn’t require a social worker (nor one that needed to be registered) and our organisation wasn’t a social service provider funded for this particular purpose and activity, therefore we supported them and didn’t renew his registration or annual practicing certificate. It seemed pointless.
HOW BLOODY WRONG WERE WE!
We learned after the tribunal that as a registered social worker, you must maintain registration standards which in effect means keeping an annual practicing certificate current.
We have further learned that all social workers when becoming registered, not just qualified, but registered to their ways and rules that you are no longer allowed to be who you are. That your registration is a signed agreement to be owned by this group of inconsiderate corporate culturally biased and culturally misappropriated money and power hungry fucktards who love that they know they can own you and who you are (character, personality, cultural background and culturally relevant practices you naturally posses).
To all future social workers,
If you aren’t prepared for and don’t understand the oath you take in becoming a registered social worker, I would suggest you don’t become one.
For the Act and Tribunal Board don’t tell you that should you ever take a sabbatical from Social Work Practice to continue to do other things such as Community Development Work, Youth Work or the alike, you are legally still liable for any skills you possess, attributes, attitudes or cultural heritage and cultural awareness knowledge you have and will still be held against you in tribunal claiming it all as responsibilities of a social worker which in my view is absolute rubbish. Who you are, your cultural heritage and everything that you authentically possess as a human being cannot and should not ever be questioned on the skills you bring to a role that you wish to work in. It’s not worth compromising who you are.
The act basically states that when someone becomes a registered social worker you no longer have freedom to have a passion and work within other sectors without being questioned and brought to task about it. It’s deemed that the Social Workers Act overrides everything you possess, are or do in your life from that point forward!
Not to mention what really fucks me off about this entire process is the lack of respect for tikanga, cultural respect and the avid cultural tokenism which is deemed as okay by this board and its representatives. SWRB and the CAC – go fuck yourself!
Just a warning to future social workers. This hui sucks!