10 November 2000
HUNT ON FOR SUCCESSOR TO CHIEF SOCIAL WORKER
Child, Youth and Family will this weekend begin the hunt for a successor to Chief Social Worker Mike Doolan, who will
retire in February after 40 years of child welfare work.
“The role of chief social worker is a crucial one for my department as Mike is the professional leader of more than
1,300 frontline staff dealing with at-risk children and their families,” says chief executive, Jackie Brown,
“He has made an enormous contribution to child welfare, both in terms of helping devise world-leading child protection
legislation and in the development of professional social work in this country.
“While we are confident we can attract a highly qualified replacement, we acknowledge Mike’s shoes will be very
difficult to fill. So we are casting the net as widely as possible through advertising and the use of recruitment
consultants to find an expert social worker.
“We expect a high level of interest in this critical position and hope to announce his successor before Christmas,” says
Ms Brown.
Mike Doolan began work with Child Welfare in Christchurch in 1961 and became chief social worker in 1994.
“Throughout his time working in the welfare field he has had a passionate commitment to protecting children and
improving the way agencies help at-risk families,” says Ms Brown.
“It’s the sort of commitment we all need if we are to help eliminate the abuse and neglect of children in New Zealand.
Mike has keenly promoted the idea that everyone has to take responsibility for breaking the vicious cycle of abuse, that
it’s not something state and community agencies can do on their own. This message is more pertinent today than ever
before.”
ENDS