Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
References
Professional Development
Timeline
Generic

Monique Ferguson

Fairy Meadow,Australia

Summary

Knowledgeable and skilled Social Worker with a rich and diverse background in delivering high-quality care and support. Proven track record of implementing effective treatment plans and fostering well-being for individuals and families. Able to create and implement group and community interventions reflecting evidence-based practice models.

As an educator, I have skills in leading vocationally and tertiary students through their subjects, embedding knowledge and skills into their future practice framework

Overview

29
29
years of professional experience

Work History

Social work practitioner

Empowermental
01.2017 - Current
  • Counselling and Mental Health Case Management
  • Using focused therapeutic approaches with clients accessing counselling through NSW DCJ Victims Services
  • Approved Witness Intermediary through NSW DCJ
  • Provide counselling and psycho-educational services to 'birth families' and 'carers' within the out-of-home care system.
  • Working with men who use violence using focused therapeutic approaches and psycho-education, one-on-one and in group settings
  • Developing and facilitating 'healing groups' and psycho-educational groups for men (contracted by the organisation What Were You Wearing) and women.
  • Manage small business administrative tasks as required by the Australian government.
  • Provide professional one-on-one and group supervision to practitioners in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions.
  • Work with Wollongong Homeless Hub to support long-term homeless individuals and families to identify mental health issues and interventions that will support long-term tenancy security.
  • Work with vulnerable families to identify Child Protection, Parenting, Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug issues that are impacting their Children and Young People’s development.
  • Support NDIS applications and interventions that will assist those with Mental Health issues to secure and maintain tenancies.
  • As a qualified Psychosocial Recovery Coach provide mental health coaching and specialist social work interventions to people accessing the NDIS system
  • Provide case management and social work interventions to people accessing the iCare system.

Social Work Practitioner

Short-term Contracts
01.2017 - Current
  • Engaged with Lifeline South Coast to create and manage community engagement activities with South Coast communities in response to the bushfires of 2019
  • Plan and facilitate community engagement meetings across the area for Lifeline South Coast to deliver Psychological First Aid to the general community, train SES and NSW Rural Fire Volunteers in suicide awareness training and accidental counselling for the purpose of supporting fire-impacted residents, co-workers, and their own families
  • Plan, supported and delivered Multi-Agency Community (Town Hall) Meetings for information sharing and storytelling for those impacted by the fires
  • Support the management and distribution of donations and funding (for example the Andrew Twiggy Foundation Funding) to ensure that the funds go to vulnerable individuals and communities.
  • Continue to work with associated Councils as part of a multi-agency team to ensure services and supports were being delivered in a coordinated way.
  • Work with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative to develop and implement awareness campaigns.
  • Work with Relationships Australia to develop and co-facilitated a Young Women’s Retreat to support young women with histories of trauma and neglect to undertake therapeutic activities that addressed their experiences and supported healing.
  • Created and facilitated therapeutic groups relating to healthy relationships, men’s behaviour change groups, parenting skills development, and for children and young people in care through Relationships Austalia and Family Services Illawarra (now Family Services Australia)

Social Work Field Education Coordinator and Tutor

University of Wollongong
01.2017 - Current
  • Part of a team that set up the UOW Social Work Field Education Program from conception, working with agencies across Sydney, Illawarra, Shoalhaven regions to develop projects and programs that met professional and educational requirements for social work students
  • Worked one on one and in groups with students to prepare them for placement
  • Work in partnership with agencies to develop Community Programs and Engagement Activities to be implemented by Social Work students
  • Maintain accreditation processes for the Field Education Program under the AASW accreditation standards, which included working directly with Accreditors from the AASW to prepare and present documented evidence of how the program meets accreditation
  • Trained and Supervised External Supervisors and Liaison Officers as part of the Field Education Program
  • Tutored Integration Sessions as part of the student’s educational requirements for placement and their degree
  • Managed all Student issues arising in the preparation and during placement

Vocational Educational Training Facilitator

TAFE NSW
01.2012 - Current
  • Develop teaching material and deliver face to face and online teaching to students who are studying Youth Work, Counselling and Mental Health
  • Develop community development programs for students to work in partnership with agencies for the purpose of their compulsory placement
  • Develop Placement processes that adhere to course and TAFE compliance as well as meet the changing needs of statewide delivery
  • Supervise and support other Teachers who are sourcing placements with Agencies and matching Students to placement
  • Manage the Student processes and issues while on placement to ensure a successful and safe placement experience for the student
  • Use TAFE NSW systems to record attendance, marks and stay up to date with on-going professional development requirements
  • Continue to participate and record industry currency training and activities to stay up to date with the latest best practice models and meet TAFE NSW currency compliance issues

TAFE Illawarra / UOW Transition Program Coordinator

University of Wollongong
01.2014 - 01.2020
  • Setting up a transition program that complied with UOW educational and TAFE standards and compliance requirements
  • TAFE students a year as they transition to a university level degree
  • Develop reporting tools to feedback through both institutions the progress of the program

Sector Support and Development Officer

Illawarra Forum
01.2012 - 01.2013
  • Collaborate with health and community sector agencies to develop partnership opportunities
  • Create and facilitate community consultation events relating to new legislation, changes to social policy and local community responses to issues and events
  • Develop and facilitate training program for sector development, that promoted best practice models for the sector
  • Research and report of workforce development requirements and issues
  • Present submissions to NSW parliamentary inquiries on issues relevant to the sector and community

Youth and Family Mental Health Counsellor

Southern Youth and Family Services
01.2010 - 01.2012
  • Provide outreach and center-based support to children, young people and families where a mental health diagnosis is present in the family
  • Use strength-based counselling and case management strategies to work effectively in addressing issues and creating case plans that recognize outcomes and the goal
  • Work with schools to develop effective interventions for the children and young people
  • Facilitate case conferences with partner agencies for the purpose of working together for the benefit of individuals and community
  • Lead practice of a team of therapeutic workers

Brighter Futures Family Support Worker

CareSouth
01.2008 - 01.2010
  • Contribute to the framework development of the Brighter Futures program, recruit, and train workers to use attachment theory practices
  • Collaborate families to develop and maintain case plans that provide outcomes in line with their plans
  • Produce service reports for management and funding body relating to the strengths and challenges of each family’s situation as well as the overall program

Out of Home Care Therapeutic Caseworker

CareSouth
01.2004 - 01.2008
  • Work with children, biological family and foster family accessing NSW child protection and out of home care system
  • Develop and monitor behaviour management plans in collaboration with those involved in the case
  • Train foster carers in using behaviour management plans and outcome focused practices with children and young people
  • Work with a team to write a successfully NSW out of home care funding tender
  • Implement the new Out of Home Care accreditation standards as mandated by the Office of Children’s Guardian
  • Undertake Parenting assessments and prepare Court Reports for Foster Families and Birth and Kinship Families
  • Work as part of a team to successfully tender for the Out of Home Care funding roll-out that occurred whilst working for CareSouth
  • Present evidence at court relating to cases

Casework Manager

Illawarra Youth Housing
01.2002 - 01.2004
  • Provide case management and professional practice supervision to case workers
  • Prepare and manage service budgets
  • Recruit, orient and supervise new staff
  • Develop policy and procedure in response to legislative amendments and best practice
  • Facilitate emergency and priority housing applications
  • Create professional development opportunities for the staff team

Youth Service Coordinator

Gungahlin Youth Services and Majura Community Services
01.2000 - 01.2002
  • Development of a ‘alternate high school program in a youth centre’
  • Work successfully with ACT government for funding alternate and emergency youth programs to be run from the centre
  • Collaborated on the development of the drop in and schools’ outreach program
  • Work with various ACT government departments to create an arts program at the centers

Case Worker

Illawarra Youth Services
01.1996 - 01.2000
  • Work in collaboration to create effective case management programs that meet on-going legislative changes
  • Support development of ‘police and youth’ programs
  • Work with Juvenile Justice to present a program addressing homelessness, drug and alcohol and mental health programs from a juvenile justice facility
  • Create and maintain a therapeutic residential model for children and young people

Education

MASTERS - social work (professional QUALIFYING)

Charles Sturt University
01.2019

Graduate DIPLOMA - THERAPEUTIC LIFE STORY WORK

Berry Street and Child Trauma Intervention Services
01.2020

BACHELOR - applied social science (COUNSELLING)

Jansen Newman Institute
01.2013

CERTIFICATE IV - training and assessment

WEA Wollongong
01.2012

Skills

  • Professional registration to Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
  • Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) Practitioner
  • Trained and Qualified Psychosocial Recovery Coach
  • Vocational Education Training (VET) Facilitator and Course Development
  • Skilled Practitioner Supervisor
  • Community Development and Engagement Practitioner
  • Counselling interventions: CBT, Narrative, BSFT, ACT, EFT and systemic approaches
  • Case Management
  • Advanced Practitioner in Trauma Informed Care
  • Qualitative Researcher
  • Sole Practitioner
  • Funding and advocacy submissions

References

  • Dr Jodie Park, 0419 271 702, jodie@familyps.com.au, Current Supervisor of Social Work Practice
  • Professor Jo Spangaro, 0414 375 149, jspangaro@uow.edu.au, Professor Social Work, University of Wollongong
  • Ashleigh Ellis, 0428 893 166, ashleigh.ellis2@tafensw.edu.au, Head Teacher – Mental Health and Counselling, TAFE NSW

Professional Development

  • Upgrade completed - TAELLN411 Address adult language, literacy, and numeracy skills, 01/2015
  • Upgrade enrolled - TAEASS502 Design and develop assessment tools, 01/2019

Timeline

Social work practitioner

Empowermental
01.2017 - Current

Social Work Practitioner

Short-term Contracts
01.2017 - Current

Social Work Field Education Coordinator and Tutor

University of Wollongong
01.2017 - Current

TAFE Illawarra / UOW Transition Program Coordinator

University of Wollongong
01.2014 - 01.2020

Vocational Educational Training Facilitator

TAFE NSW
01.2012 - Current

Sector Support and Development Officer

Illawarra Forum
01.2012 - 01.2013

Youth and Family Mental Health Counsellor

Southern Youth and Family Services
01.2010 - 01.2012

Brighter Futures Family Support Worker

CareSouth
01.2008 - 01.2010

Out of Home Care Therapeutic Caseworker

CareSouth
01.2004 - 01.2008

Casework Manager

Illawarra Youth Housing
01.2002 - 01.2004

Youth Service Coordinator

Gungahlin Youth Services and Majura Community Services
01.2000 - 01.2002

Case Worker

Illawarra Youth Services
01.1996 - 01.2000

MASTERS - social work (professional QUALIFYING)

Charles Sturt University

Graduate DIPLOMA - THERAPEUTIC LIFE STORY WORK

Berry Street and Child Trauma Intervention Services

BACHELOR - applied social science (COUNSELLING)

Jansen Newman Institute

CERTIFICATE IV - training and assessment

WEA Wollongong

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