I am a child protection social worker AMA

[Dipsandcrisps]

Ask away

[waleswhaleswails]

@Backofbeyond50 this thread is 6 months old so you might be better starting a new thread asking for anyone for advice from children's social workers. good luck.

[habibihabibi]

Where do they take abandoned children ?
In the flat opposite to where my sister and I rented , there was small child who would play out late in the night in the shared garden.
We never saw the parents. One weekend night we were sitting outside the child who was about seven came and told us the baby was crying alot and his mum was out. We didn't even know there was a baby.
My sister went over and stayed with them but the mum never appeared.
We eventually called the police. We never saw the boy again. Where would he have gone ?

[Backofbeyond50]

Hi. I'm wondering what the criteria is for social care involvement. Tbh we are probably going to request early help anyway but wonder if we will be referred higher.
Very basic info. We have 2dds. Eldest is struggling and seeing therapist with a charity. During the assessment she stated that her df in inclined to shout.
Would this trigger anything or should I just apply for early help anyway
Thank you

[FourDecades]

@Dipsandcrisps if a complaint is made against a SW but they leave that job in the meantime, what accountability do they have to answer the accusations made against them?

I currently have a Stage 2 complaint active but due to the SW having left the employment the Independent Inspector can't get answers from her - she has moved to another LA.

[FourDecades]

@Bruce123

SW made accusation to both parents “that the children had stated that parent A (who had custody of children) had been violent to parent B”...quickly adding “but neither parent should talk to children about it”. The accusation was false and both parents A and B knew it to be false and confirmed it was false.

To flush out the SW lie, Parent A documented the false accusation in an email asking why the children were being left with a parent (A) when accusations of violence were being made by the children about parent A. Shouldn’t the children be taken away from a parent where violence was alleged? This email copied in SW’s manager.

SW then denied children’s accusation had been made by the children in the written response to parent A with manager copied in. But an audio recording of the meeting exists which could be used with the Email to expose the lie.

Parent A didn’t follow it up with SS at the time through fear of SW retribution and fearing losing custody of the children. A SW who lies clearly can’t be trusted!
But parent A knows that this could be a highly dangerous tactic to try to flush out concerns about truly violent parents. What if parent A had beaten up the children for telling “lies” to the SW- when in fact the SW had made the false accusation of parent A’s violence!

This incident is eating away at Parent A because of the danger of violence which this tactic of “false accusation making” to try and flush out body language/ parental response poses to children in the future. The SW is still practising.

What professional guidelines are there about lying while evidence taking? Is this a minor infraction or a major professional issue worth reporting?

My SW lied during my S17 assessment to get me to talk. I am currently about to escalate the complaint to Stage 3.

[FourDecades]

Just to add.. . The errors weren't minor that they wouldn't amend either ..... i.e they said my children were devastated by my Mother's death..

My mum is still very much alive and rather miffed at being killed off.

[FourDecades]

@TheFormerPorpentinaScamander

Is there any way to have a historical case changed to reflect that a lot of the stuff that was reported wasn't true? Is it fair that they can be taken as gospel in the first place?
Do you think its important that childrens names are correctly recorded in the casework?

I have had this issue myself last year. The S17 report was so poorly written and they wouldn't amend it. This poorly written report resulted in my son not meeting the criteria for help with the children with disabilities team. I currently have a Stage 2 complaint active which will be escalated to Stage 3 as they ignored the Independent Inspectors questions when she investigated my complaint

[FourDecades]

@purpleboy

I know a severely autistic child living with a parent with severe LD and a grandmother with LD, the parent with severe LD is physically violent with the grandmother, (punching and strangulation) witnessed by the young autistic child, should we contact anyone and if so who? Could the child be removed for the mother's actions?

They need a Section 17 Child in Need assessment which will lead into the Children with Disabilities Team....

If they're lucky enough to reach the criteria for help

[ABriefInquiryInToOnlineRelatio]

Can I ask if any social workers can take a look at my thread and see if they can explain what is happening for my partner and his child?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/thirty_days_only/4081543-Any-Social-Workers-able-to-explain-the-process-in-better-detail

[YoungScrappyHungry]

If a 35 year old man has sex with a 13 year old girl - even if they are ‘dating’ - does social services get involved and the man is then put on the Child Sex Offender Register

I'm a police officer in child protection so I'll answer this one for you. If it's how you describe (even if they are dating??!! So it's okay then??) and it's proven then yes of course they would go on the SOR. Why are you asking this question @RegionalBlakeney ??

[chowmeinblame]

@dinkie301

Hey OP

Are people ever allowed to self report so professionals can investigate/visit/speak to child?

Asking in the case of an ex making allegations and wanting to prove otherwise.

Hi, it is possible to self report however this does not always mean a referral to Social Care. Malicious allegations can be common during relationship breakdowns and contact issues between separated parents. The question is if the allegations your ex is making are directly impacting on the children? Are they aware and is this impacting on their emotions?

[gottastopeatingchocolate]

@chowmeinblame thank you for your reply. That is very helpful.

[dinkie301]

Hey OP

Are people ever allowed to self report so professionals can investigate/visit/speak to child?

Asking in the case of an ex making allegations and wanting to prove otherwise.

[chowmeinblame]

@AreYouSiriusLupin

Fantastic thread, thank you for starting this!

My question is: honestly, how family friendly do you find your job?

I am due to embark on a child protection aocial work graduate scheme next year (Frontline) and I am slightly concerned with the hours. I have spoen to various social workers who have all basically said that you have to be strict with your boundaries, some LA's are better than others to work for and child protection has, by far, the highest burn out rate amongst social workers.

Would you agree with this?

Yes, As far as I am aware Child Protection does have the highest burn out rate due to the emotional impact of the role that make it very hard to maintain a work life balance in my experience. That said, I love my job and can’t see myself ever wanting to change this. I started my career when my children were primary school age and although being strict with boundaries sounds good in theory, this is often not achievable when out on duty visits until 10pm. I have often felt guilt about how my role impacts on my own children due to late hours and how at times worrying about children on your caseload can consume your thoughts. That said, this was more of an issue when I was newly qualified and I have found with experience that you develop strategies to ensure that your personal time is protected and I am fortunate to work with a very stable and close team who are supportive of each other and always willing to help out. Frontline is a demanding programme but one that will prepare you well 😊

[chowmeinblame]

@RegionalBlakeney I am also a CP social worker and have seen your unanswered question. The term ‘dating’ in the scenario you describe would raise massive concerns as at 13 the laws around consent are very clear. Were services aware of this relationship?

[chowmeinblame]

I am also a CP social worker. To answer your question, every attempt will be made to try and encourage parents to engage with CIN planning. However, as CIN is not statutory the case could only escalate to Child Protection conference if there was multi agency agreement that non engagement could lead to the children being at risk of significant harm. In terms of consent for referrals (depending on what these are) I would imagine that if both parents have PR then the consent could be given by the other parent. Hope this helps!

[gottastopeatingchocolate]

Sorry - I am back!

What consequences - if any - are there if a parent doesn't conform to the CIN plan? There has been a meeting (yeay!!) at which all parties agreed a couple of important referrals for the child. One parent has now withdrawn consent for the referrals to happen. So nothing is happening as a result of that meeting.

Parents are separated.

[Bruce123]

SW made accusation to both parents “that the children had stated that parent A (who had custody of children) had been violent to parent B”...quickly adding “but neither parent should talk to children about it”. The accusation was false and both parents A and B knew it to be false and confirmed it was false.

To flush out the SW lie, Parent A documented the false accusation in an email asking why the children were being left with a parent (A) when accusations of violence were being made by the children about parent A. Shouldn’t the children be taken away from a parent where violence was alleged? This email copied in SW’s manager.

SW then denied children’s accusation had been made by the children in the written response to parent A with manager copied in. But an audio recording of the meeting exists which could be used with the Email to expose the lie.

Parent A didn’t follow it up with SS at the time through fear of SW retribution and fearing losing custody of the children. A SW who lies clearly can’t be trusted!
But parent A knows that this could be a highly dangerous tactic to try to flush out concerns about truly violent parents. What if parent A had beaten up the children for telling “lies” to the SW- when in fact the SW had made the false accusation of parent A’s violence!

This incident is eating away at Parent A because of the danger of violence which this tactic of “false accusation making” to try and flush out body language/ parental response poses to children in the future. The SW is still practising.

What professional guidelines are there about lying while evidence taking? Is this a minor infraction or a major professional issue worth reporting?

[Sunflower166]

@Bruce123

Is it ethical for a social worker to lie and make false accusations about a parent in order to gauge body language reactions during their assessments... accusations that could put a child in jeopardy ? Then deny making the accusation later? What would you do if you had cast iron evidence of the false accusation and later denial? Is it worth reporting? Or is it “standard practise” to gather evidence in this way?

Hi there - no, completely unethical to lie or make false allegations. I'd need more context to be able to go into more depth..Is it that an allegation was put to the person and you feel they were just saying it to gauge the response? Or was it that the SW had tentative evidence of the concern and was putting it to the person with the view of seeing if it was true?

[babymadde]

@Sunflower166 thank you so much for responding!! You have really helped ease my anxiety. Thanks again and keep up the great work!

[Bruce123]

Is it ethical for a social worker to lie and make false accusations about a parent in order to gauge body language reactions during their assessments... accusations that could put a child in jeopardy ? Then deny making the accusation later? What would you do if you had cast iron evidence of the false accusation and later denial? Is it worth reporting? Or is it “standard practise” to gather evidence in this way?

[Sunflower166]

Hi lovely, I'm so surprised it took them 2 months to come out..at my LA we go out within 3 days usually. Glad they closed it down.
If an assessment was never done, no, you don't need to declare. It sounds like you were "MASHed" as we call it, they did a quick check to see if the incident warranted any assessment and decided no. The police report will however be on a file that CSC keep so health professionals may have access to that but I would say don't declare and if you are asked about the report specifically then say "we had 1 visit but no assessment was done so we had no CSC involvement." They'll be able to see we took no further action so will likely not bother asking. However, midwife will always ask about DV so it's up to you what you want to share.

[babymadde]

Hi great thread! Hoping someone can answer my question. To keep it short, a domestic incident occurred between DH and I and I called the police. There was a referral made to SS as DC was in bed. Took SS 2 months to assign a SW who came out once for a very informal chat, declared that we clearly didn’t need their support and that she would be closing the case immediately, no assessment or investigation was ever Initiated. My question is do I have to keep relaying this incident which happened 2 years ago to every health care professional who asks about social services involvement? For instance at the hospital the doctor asked about any social services involvement with the family and I had to go into the whole story, she only seemed interested on whether there was a CPP in place. The same for a paed appointment. Also, if I were to get pregnant again and the midwife asks this at the booking appointment do I again have to relay it all?? Even after 2 years I find it difficult to speak about as it was a very painful time in our lives.

TIA

[Sunflower166]

@Smeeglz

Can an SGO really be enforced when a child is 15/16, wants to return to birth parent who is now remarried, settled and has another child with no SS involvement. Issues leading to SGO were undiagnosed MH issues (now treated) no other risk factors like drugs, alcohol, criminality etc.

The parent can go to court to have the SGO discharged. This would be the only way for it to formally end, although many teenagers will start "voting with their feet" and that risk needs to be balanced as post 18 many children return to birth parents anyway.

[Sunflower166]

Sorry for hijacking OP. I love Social Work and want questions answered if I can!