Children’s Social Worker of the Year

“Joy has the perfect name for what she brought to us, and she helped make us a family”. This is just one of the moving testimonies from Joy’s nomination, which describes a practitioner who has had a hugely positive impact on the lives of children and families in her care.

Joy, who is a Family Court Advisor in the Black Region, qualified in 1979 and joined a medical social work team before quickly realising she was destined to work with children and young people.

She joined Cafcass in 2009, a time of significant challenge and change. The average case duration in the Birmingham region was 58 weeks and numerous areas of concern were highlighted by Ofsted.

Joy immediately became part of the change. She was instrumental in driving practice improvements, working alongside colleagues to eliminate backlogs, triage cases and ensure children received appropriate support. This resulted in a 31% reduction in average case duration and the region is now rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

Her experience of complex case work, ability to communicate effectively with parents and gain the trust of children is respected by colleagues in Cafcass and the wider region. Her energy, pride and dedication to achieving the best outcome for children were commended by the judges.