This predisposition sees social workers increasingly having their actions, recommendations and decisions scrutinised in a court of law, with the result that doubt is cast on both the social worker and the authority they represent.
In a concerted effort to prepare young social workers for the daunting reality of court appearances, Dr Elmien Truter – a professional social worker and lecturer in the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Psychosocial Health – recently accompanied a group of second-year social work students to the Vanderbijlpark Children’s Court as part of a practical training initiative.
The training, which took the form of a simulation, gave the students a taste of the harsh reality that social workers face when they have to testify in court.
Dr Truter, who has been facilitating this practical training initiative for the past three years and who has had to stand up for abused and neglected children many times in her career, explains that it is important for students to experience this part of the job before they are required to do so in practice.
“It is essential that we prepare social workers to adhere to the standards of proficiency and equip them with core skills to carry out their frontline work effectively, confidently and, above all, to best practice standards,” says Dr Truter. She adds that the simulation is entirely focussed on achieving better outcomes for vulnerable children.
Professional collaboration to enhance learning experience
To ensure that the simulation is as realistic and impactful as possible, the services of several professional legal practitioners are called in. In preparing for their day in court, Mr Jorge Martins – an attorney at law from Marto Lafitte & Associates Inc. – consulted with the students on matters such as personal appearance and dress-code.
On the day of the simulation students were prepped on what to expect during cross examination by Mr Johan van den Berg, a family law expert and attorney at law with Willem Pretorius Attorneys.
Court is in session
During the simulation each student was afforded the chance to defend a case study against an attorney, and Mr Van den Berg played the role of the defence council. His role was to defend his client (the care giver, parent or guardian), in a legal dispute with social services where it was deemed necessary to remove a child from his client’s care due to abuse or severe neglect.
“If social workers do not follow the correct procedure and do not portray their roles adequately, it may result in children being returned to the care of the persons who put them in danger in the first place,” says Dr Truter.
She explains that in order to defend their client as best they can, the defence will attempt to discredit the testimony of the social worker and try to find technical discrepancies in the procedure that was followed.
“Students have to experience this stressful situation first hand and I believe that this simulation prepares them for the many court cases in which they will play a very important role and where they will often be the only voice to speak out in the best interest of a child,” says Dr Truter.
Mr Van den Berg concurs with this and adds that an attorney seldom experiences court proceedings as personal. “An attorney’s main purpose is to represent the client as well as possible. To the social worker however, having seen the circumstances of a child, it becomes very personal,” he says.
* The students were well-prepared for the case, but were still quite nervous while awaiting their turn to speak. The group expressed their appreciation and agreed that this unique experience in a safe environment will prove to be priceless in the hard reality that they can expect in practice.
Dr Elmien Truter explaining to one of the students what is expected of her while giving her testimony.
Mr Johan van den Berg is cross examining one of the students during the simulation.
