Sam is a senior social worker and manager with 25 years’ experience in the child protection system. After experiencing the system from many varied roles in Australia and the UK, and observing its potential to both help and harm, Sam has found a natural home at Centacare in Adelaide. Here he is focused on building and supporting resilient and emotionally safe teams to work with children, young people, and families in a kind and cooperative manner, to empower them to make sustained change and exit the system with dignity and agency. Within Unify Family Reunification Services, Sam has overseen the implementation and embedding of a unique and successful model of therapeutic practice, based on the work of Dr Jackie Amos (Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist). The Unify model is based around social casework with a strong relational focus, whereby workers also offer a range of trauma responsive therapies that can be delivered flexibly, in the home and within an established trusting relationship.
Sam Carpenter
