Take a Look Inside QCS officer profile

Marissa, Senior Case Manager, Case Management Unit, Townsville Correctional Complex

For Senior Case Manager Marissa, communication is one of the most effective ways she supports individuals with their rehabilitation.

Marissa has spent the past six months working in the recently established Case Management Unit (CMU) based in the Townsville Correctional Complex, where she works closely with Indigenous individuals to prepare them for reintegration into the community.

The CMU provides a single, clear management plan for people in the correctional system from the point of entry to QCS through to re-entry into the community.

“I am a firm believer in effective communication and talking to individuals, asking them questions and getting them to reflect on what, when and how they can change their lives,” Marissa said.

“We then set goals with them and put plans in place so there is clear guidance on how they will achieve their goals, with a focus on the consequences should a relapse occur.”

Marissa attributes goal setting to supporting her through challenges, which she has encountered in her role given the infancy of the unit.

“The CMU is a new unit and we are constantly striving to improve our case management offering to individuals to give them the best chance of a successful, crime-free life in the community.

“Challenges present us with advantages and opportunities to achieve favourable outcomes.”

Marissa’s family is from Mutitjulu, near Uluru within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. She moved to Queensland from the Northern Territory in 2018 with her family and was seeking a role that offered employment security, work life balance and decent pay which is why she joined the public service.

Her background working with vulnerable members of the community has given her an appreciation about the importance of empowerment.

“We talk to individuals about what led them into custody, how they are able to make a change in their lives, what support networks they need professionally and personally and what they feel will stop the cycle of offending behaviour,” she said.

“Working with people and supporting them in making changes in their lives provides not only a difference in their lives, but the lives of the communities they reside in.”

Marissa spends her free time with her partner and their two young sons working on the mango farm they purchased in 2019. They have around 320 Kensington Pride R2E2 trees which produce fruit that is handpicked, quality-assured, packed and sent to Brisbane. Last year, the four-week harvest produced 40 tonnes of mangos, which are used for juicing. They also extended their crops to grow cucumbers, eggplant, and chillies in the off season to mango.