Farewelling Judith

Growth and restructure, introduction and removal of services, chief executives come and gone, Family Works Southland director Judith McInerney has experienced a lot of change in her three decades in the job.

It was the changing nature of the work and her belief in the values of Presbyterian Support Southland (PSS) and the work it was doing in the community that had kept her in the job, she said.

After 31 years working for Family Works, with nearly 20 of those years as the driving force behind the community services agency, Judith is retiring in November.

In the beginning

It was February of 1994 when Judith was offered a parental leave position in foster care with PSS’s Child and Family Support Services.  Soon after, she was offered a permanent position.  At that time, she was one of three staff, working alongside director Diana Halsted and social worker Irene Te Koeti.

“We had a lot of laughs together, supported each other through hard times and worked closely together,” Judith said.

“We were very hands-on and involved in everything in those days.”

She soon moved up through the ranks, becoming a team leader before being appointed to the role of director following Diana’s retirement in 2006, the same year the service was rebranded Family Works Southland.

“As a social worker and team leader I could help this many lives, but as the director I have been able to help more people and influence more lives.”

Changing times

Family Works had grown from three staff in 1994 to more than 50 prior to a restructure two years ago.  At present there are 38 team members.

Staffing and services offered had grown over the years in response to the community need, Judith said.

“We have never chased contracts just for the sake of getting the funding in and then looked for clients.  We identify the needs of the community and then look at how we get the funding and find contracts to support that work.”

Taking over the contract for the Family Start programme in June 2007 was one of the most significant changes to the agency’s services during Judith’s time in the role.

It was a long and involved process.

It took nine months for CE Peter Wards, Robin McCall who was the service development manager at the time, board member Gwen Neave and Judith to secure the contract with MSD, establish the service within Family Works and the community and merge the cultures of the Family Works and Family Start teams.

Over the 31 years, Judith had worked under five chief executives – Allan Smith (1970-1995) Peter Wards (1995-2018), John Prendergast (2018-2020), Michael Parker (2020-2023) and Matt Russell (2023 to present day).

“We had three CE changes in a fairly short space of time.  It was quite challenging adapting to the CEs’ different styles, different focuses, different systems and their different expectations of what they wanted from me.  But we had one thing in common and that was the best interests of our organisation, our people and the community we serve.

“I have been privileged to work with CEs who have a real heart for what we do and who have supported me in my role.”

Another notable change was the growing complexity of the issues families were facing.

At one time, families came to Family Works with issues such as how to navigate the teenage years, whereas today they had a wide range of complex issues.  Issues like the impact of social media on children, drug use, gang-related issues and family violence.  Families were also struggling with poverty, accessing health care, the high cost of housing and isolation due to the lack of strong family connections.

One thing she would have liked to have been able to implement was an earlier intervention service to help prevent families’ issues from escalating or becoming ingrained.

Much to be proud of

Judith said there had been many highlights, both personally and professionally, supporting all of our staff to grow and develop among them.

One example of this was the support to a group of our female staff to complete their Diplomas in Child Protection.

“Together with them we did really well getting them to a place where they obtained a qualification and became even stronger women who could do a great job doing really difficult work, which  also benefited their own lives.”

Several former clients, with the support they received from our staff, had ended up working at Family Works, she said.

“That to me is the epitome of an outcome.”

Family Works’ strong connection to its community and the social services sector was also something to be proud of.

Whenever Family Works implemented a project or introduced a new service, the team investigated to see if the broader community could also benefit.  Examples include the Transition to Independence booklet, which had been made available to other agencies, and the Overcoming Barriers project which led to the establishment of the multi-agency Southland Migrant Settlement Network.

“We are collaborative, not competitive.”

The staff, the work they were doing and how they pulled together to support each other in tough times, was also a source of pride for Judith.

“They are great people doing a wonderful job in often very trying circumstances, and they are making such a difference in the lives of our families, including our wonderful Big Buddies and foster parents.”

It has not always been easy

Alongside the many highlights, the job had also come with its challenges.

In August last year, Oranga Tamariki (OT) reduced funding for the Family Start programme and disestablished the Young Parents Service (YPS) nationwide impacting Family Works which was contracted by OT to run the Family Start and YPS programmes in the Southland region.

To address the reduction in funding, most staff had their hours cut and four staff were made redundant.

“That was really hard because we knew we needed to do more not less.”

It was not the first time Family Works had had to reduce services, but the past two years had been particularly brutal because it was the first time staff had been laid off, she said, rather than staff reduction at times of staff leaving to take up other opportunities.

“Laying off staff was very contrary to what PSS was about.  These things do not align with the values of the place or what the place actually wants to do with its people or the services it delivers.”

The impact of the restructure on staff and the service had been very stressful.

“If I hadn’t had this level of stress, I probably would have stayed on for another couple of years.  But, on a positive note, it has made me think about what I want for myself too, so that is a good thing.”

The next chapter

Judith had mixed feelings about her impending retirement.

“There is a sense of happiness looking forward to all things I will have more time for, but I am also feeling sad about going.  I have been at Family Works 31 of my 65 years.  I feel I’m a part of the place and it’s a part of me.  It’s hard to think of not being here regularly.”

Retirement would be full of simple pleasures, like walking the dog, reading, gardening, spending time with family, enjoying the family holiday home in Waikaia and tripping around New Zealand in her caravan.

She would also take some time to consider what else she might want to do personally.

Although Judith is retiring, we are thrilled this is not a final goodbye.  She has accepted a casual contract with Presbyterian Support Southland to assist if needed, so we are sure to see her around the office from time to time.