I LOVE my LO's social worker!!

[SquidgyBrain]

Not something that gets said much so in fairness I really want to shout out for the excellent SW's out there :)

[p99gmb]

I LIKE mine - I just wish she'd keep us in the loop at bit more - but last time she came to see us she said the kids were a 'credit to us' so as a newbie that sort of made me gush!!

I LOVE MY JOB TOO

So glad you seem to be enjoying it too squidge x x x x

[SquidgyBrain]

LO's SW is far from perfect and she has told me several times that she hasn't given me the support that she feels I deserve, but she is clearly overly busy, trying to get a hold of her can be really frustrating, but she is really amazing to deal with.

She listens and puts value in what I have to tell her and where appropriate changes his care plan or reasons out why something can't change, I feel very much like her colleague which is lovely.

P99 - I am really enjoying being a carer, In a very distant past I trained as a sick kids nurse, so being able to use my training, and work as a professional and be able to advocate for my LO is really fired me up. Also love those baby snuggles

There are the parts I could happily do with out like LO's parents a lot of the time, but every job has its downsides right

Great news that you are enjoying it too P99, I just can't believe that we have been approved now over 5 months!

[maypole1]

Me to my sw is fab and so is Los sw

[SquidgyBrain]

Good point maypole - my link worker is lovely too :)

[EarthMotherImNot]

My link worker has told me she is overwhelmed with her case load so she has "given" us to her student social worker.

I know we should be happy about this, she told us she was passing on her "easy" carers, but I feel dumped in some way.

She is still our link worker but we have to talk to the student as a first port of call.

Lo's social worker has told us that lo has been passed on to the LAC team now so he will have a new social worker from today.
This method of social work seems mad to me, changing to a new team weeks prior to adoption is very strange and it must be difficult for older fc's too.

[SquidgyBrain]

EMIN - sorry that you are not feeling the SW "love" I can fully understand why tho - and like you can't understand why they would change team when the LO is so close to being adopted

[EarthMotherImNot]

Thanks Squidgy I don't know if its a standard thing or just another crackpot thing our LA has thought up, but it seems madness to me that as soon as a child is classed as up for adoption another worker who has no knowledge of the child takes over.

For our lo's it makes no difference as they are too young to know any better, but for older fc's who have perhaps, developed a bond with their social worker, only to be handed over to someone else at such a crucial stage in their life is, in my humble opinion, utter madness

[sumum]

Emin we used to have your system in our la but have changed to a generic one (i think that is what is called) so thoeretically so the child has the same sw throughout.

IT DOES NOT WORK

the sw spends all the time doing cp work and not enough time progressing adoptions. children sit and sit in fc.

And they are always leaving/moving jobs so the older children dont get stability anyway. my lo(aged 9) has had 3 sw in a year.

My la are now in the process of changing with a specialist family finder team. you stick around long enough and things go full circle.

My sw's are all ok but could be better, so not too much love here

[EarthMotherImNot]

Interesting to see it from a different point of view sumum, I'm more and more of the belief that social workers are not what they were when I started.

The last child orientated sw we had was over 7 years ago and the ones since haven't been startling I'm afraid.

[sumum]

Yes I agree enim, the ones in my are all so new/young or agency workers.

And the Judges - don't get me started on their role in it all

shall we sing a song together about how it was better in the 'old' days. lol

oh oh and the five outcomes - I hate the five outcomes with a passion and cwdc.

arrg I am ranting now, best stop and get tea on the table.

[EarthMotherImNot]

Don't even talk to me about cwdc sumum, I hate the damn things with a passion.

Our LA wants them all done by April so are constantly on our backs about them. It's their first question when they visit. Not "how are you" oh no it's "have you finished yet"

When did my job become so paper orientated?

Their newest thing is that we all have to have a medical in the next few weeks. They stopped sending us for them in 1998!!! So out of the blue they are bringing them back.

It may be a step too far for Dh, he is livid about some of the questions on the forms, ie
How long have you been married"

How on earth ca that tell anyone how healthy or not we are?

[Minnerva]

Emin and Sumum-just wanted to say that I agree with EVERYTHING that you have just written. :)

[peppapigbutty]

My Lo's SW is ok - a far cry from the last one. Except she seems to look for hidden meanings in everything instead of accepting that sometimes children do strange things just because they are children.

Not too fussed on my link worker though. She only comes to pick up Logsheets. She does not seem interested in talking about LO.

We have been a foster family for 14 years and I have seen a big change in the attitudes of Social Workers. When we first started fostering the Social Workers were very proactive and child friendly. Now they seem to be young graduates with no life skills. I suppose over the years they have becaome more and more bogged down with paperwork.

[fostering]

I'm certain that SW's have to spend much more time supporting families with children on the child protection register (visit each week) than overseeing foster families. Once the children are in care, it should be safe to assume the children will be looked after. (Visit once a month)

So if the same social worker has to support vulnerable familes they are too busy to progress adoptions which are then not seen as a priority. This leaves children in care too long.

The pay off is a new social worker assigned to a child so trust has to be rebuilt and a new relationship established.

Not sure what works best in practice? what do people think?