MissHannah Verheul-Cane

Ko Te Upoko o Tahumatā tōku maunga.
Ko Ōkana tōku awa.
Ko Wairewa tōku roto.
Ko Wairewa tōku marae.
Ko Ngāti Irakehu rāua ko Ngāti Makō ōku hapū.
Ko Ngāi Tahu tōku iwi.
Ko Hannah Verheul-Cane tōku ingoa.

I have seven years’ experience practising as a social worker, primarily within kaupapa Māori health and social service contexts, which continues to shape my approach to teaching and research.

Following completion of my social work qualification, I worked at Te Puawaitanga ki Ōtautahi Trust, a kaupapa Māori health and social services agency. In this role, I held contracts focused on education and family court–related support, and worked closely with whānau navigating complex social and legal systems. My practice involved multidisciplinary collaboration with early childhood education centres, general practitioners, and nursing staff, before later shifting into work at the interface of social work and law.

This later phase of my practice involved regular engagement with lawyers, judges, court staff, Oranga Tamariki social workers, and community agencies, as well as participation in the now-disestablished Children’s Teams, which provided care and protection oversight in Ōtautahi. Alongside this, I facilitated the Incredible Years parenting programme and mentored social work students in practice settings.