Members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) were asked to provide their definition of social work. Over 300 responses were analysed thematically in order to determine if practitioner views corresponded to recent shifts in social work education and theory which emphasized the importance of social change, strengths based perspectives and the importance of local and indigenous contexts.Findings: The findings demonstrate that while there was some recognition of social change and strengths-based perspectives in the definitions of social work provided, that those working in the field remain focused on 'helping individuals, families and groups' engage in change. Respondents did not, for the most part, acknowledge local or indigenous perspectives in their definitions.Applications: Results from this study may be useful for social work professional organizations, and social work educators, students and future researchers who are interested in the definition of social work and its scopes of practice.

There have been limited studies that have looked at how the public perceive social workers and the profession of social work. This study reports results of a telephone survey in which 386 members of the public in Aotearoa New Zealand were asked about their beliefs and impressions about social work and social workers. Study findings demonstrate that members of the public surveyed appeared relatively well informed about what social workers do, and were generally positive in their views.

Introduction: Qualitative research was undertaken to explore professionals’ experiences of cross-sector information-sharing about the mental health needs of young people in youth justice residences in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods: Eight focus groups (N = 36) were conducted across Aotearoa New Zealand. Half of these were with case leaders from each of the four Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children – youth justice residences. The other half were with youth forensic service (YFS) clinicians who provide mental health services in each youth justice residence. Findings: The findings showed positive cross-sector relationships, despite a lack of policy around information-sharing in this context. Themes from case leaders included the practicalities of the residential environment (including restriction on young people’s freedoms and managing group safety), and case leaders’ brokerage role between competing theoretical frameworks in residence. Themes from YFS clinicians included the importance of cross-sector information-sharing for the assessment and discharge phases of mental health input. Overall themes included the impact of relationships on information-sharing, and the importance of including residential care team staff within information-sharing practices. A proposed model of information-sharing in this context has been developed.Conclusions: Effective information-sharing in youth justice residences is imperative to ensure that young people receive appropriate mental health input in residences, and that residence staff are supported to provide the best care for these young people. Social work has an important role within information-sharing practices with use of systems theory, translation of clinical jargon, and advocacy for the needs of young people involved in multiple systems.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have explored public perception of social work and social workers. There is little written about what social workers think about how they, and the profession of social work, are viewed by the public. This article explores the views of a sample of social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand about their beliefs around the public perception of social work and social workers.AIMS: This article aims to explore social worker views on the public perception of social work, and then compares these findings with a previous study which looked at the public perception of social workers.METHODOLOGY: An online survey was conducted with 403 social workers from the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Work, which asked them about their perceptions on how social work and social workers are viewed by the public. The results are then compared to a previous telephone survey, which asked 386 members of the public their views on social work and social workers.FINDINGS: Results demonstrate that the social workers generally had a poorer impression of what the public believed in most areas, compared to what the public had indicated in the prior study.CONCLUSION: Social workers, social work professional bodies and social work educators need to be proactive in promoting accurate information about social work and what social workers do.

A public perception of social work research programme commenced 10 years after the introduction of limited professional registration of social workers in New Zealand. A first study explored public perceptions of social workers via a telephone survey. In a second study, social workers were asked, amongst other questions, how they thought the public would respond to the same questions about their profession that were asked in the first survey. An online survey accessed the views of 403 social workers and generated rich quantitative and qualitative responses, including to two very specific open questions (the focus of this article), first about social workers’ expression of pride and second, felt stigma as potentially encountered in their professional and personal domains. These two concepts, pride and stigma, constitute organising constructs in this article, along with aspects of professional identity expressed in participants’ imagining of the public view: ambivalence, hard work, difficult journeys, professional virtues, and being misunderstood. The complexity of a social work professional identity is further examined.