Child protection social worker- ask me anything!

[NynaeveSedai]

With the recent rash of social worker related posts recently which have been FULL of frankly bollocks I thought I would offer to answer any questions.

Disclaimer - different local authorities do things slightly differently though national standards should be followed, and I'm in England so can't talk about the rest of the uk

I’m a CAMHS doctor so I have a lot of dealings with social work. It’s fair to say that relations between CAMHS and social work are (from my perspective) quite poor, with a lot of disagreements regarding the nature of (and solution to) problems.

From your experience, how is the relationship with CAMHS from your point of view? What are your thoughts on CAMHS generally?

Have you attended any of the training courses which state the following conditions are ‘red flags’

FII is extremely rare, I've never had or seen dedicated training on it. When it has cropped up I believe social workers have been led by medical professionals but I've never had such a case so I couldn't say

“I don't know what you mean by 'take an interest' and being a victim of abuse isn't a risk factor without something to indicate current abuse.”

Perhaps you misunderstood me. It’s the perpetrator, not the victim, who has taken an interest. I would assume that a perpetrator of serious child abuse would be a risk to other children, is that not an assumption that SS make?

By “take an interest” i mean go out of their way to visit the children (despite previously being out of touch with the family), enquiring about the school they attend and visiting them there.

I am not personally involved btw and don’t know any more than that.

What are the chances of a baby being allowed to remain with a birth Mum following a child being adopted

I'm sorry, it's impossible to say. If lots of time has passed and the mum has made significant changes to her life then the situation would be assessed on that basis. The midwife should refer for a pre birth assessment.

Why have things not changed in decades? You'll say they have I expect but I'm still hearing about the same mistakes being made decades after my first experience of them being made

They absolutely have, in so many ways. Training, support, continuous professional development, understanding, knowledge.

My relative is an a very emotional and physical absuive relationship we had an idea it was bad for three years but this last year has been hell.

Her two older children from a previous relationship are now refusing to go home to her while her partner lives there and she has two small children with him.

Some examples of his behaviour include

Getting the children out of bed at 2 am to write lines for something he said they had done wrong the day before

Pouring beer over relatives head

Financial abuse

Paying his older son to attack her children as he couldn't touch them

Pulling a knife out and threatening everyone in front of the dc

There is much more but my question is both myself and my dsis have spoke to social services and the dc biological Dad has and although they came to speak to the older children they don't seem to pulling their finger out with regards to the younger children who are still in the house and we are terrified for their safety and my relatives.

My sister spoke to the social worker yesterday who said she had attempted to visit but no answer and no response to a letter - my dsis once again told her how worried we were but she just didn't seem that concerned but my relative is in a terrifying controlling relationship and there is a massive history (his previous partner ended up in a psychiatric unit due to abuse from him ) in my eyes there are massive red flags but we can't seem to get them any help the babies that live there now are 3 and 18 months :( .

Can you tell me what I can do to get them to help or do I have to wait for something terrible to happen

From your experience, how is the relationship with CAMHS from your point of view? What are your thoughts on CAMHS generally?

It feels like there is a good amount of will from CAMHS but a lack of therapists! It can be frustrating but I think we generally understand that CAMHS workers are doing their best just as w are

Thanks for answering Op. what sorts of jobs did you do in Children’s Services if you don’t mind me asking and how long have you been a social worker for now? Do you think you will stay for a while or go into something else?

Perhaps you misunderstood me. It’s the perpetrator, not the victim, who has taken an interest. I would assume that a perpetrator of serious child abuse would be a risk to other children, is that not an assumption that SS make?

Yes i did misunderstand you! Have you reported this?

Do you automatically take an interest in parents with mental health issues?

Someone on here commented that social services should be involved because I suffer from severe anxiety and refused a blood test (long story). I personally think that's a ridiculous comment but what's your opinion on parents with mental health issues, when the dc are cared for?

If you could introduce new or change existing legislation, what would you do?

Can you tell me what I can do to get them to help or do I have to wait for something terrible to happen

I don't know why the social worker doesn't seem to be taking it seriously- they probably are, but may not share with you the extent of their concerns, actions or plans.
Just keep reporting everything that happens.

I suffered recently with depression and was very open with my employer about it, active in seeking help etc. Someone in my HR department made a child in need referral for my under 2 year old DS, despite me detailing steps that I was taking to get better and my employer plus occupational health agreed there was nothing more I could do other than attend the counselling sessions.

I called SS after waiting a week or so to be contacted by them, and that was the last time I heard from them, apart from through the HV who visited and said she was horrified that someone had referred me. This was in September. I had a call on the last working day before Christmas to say there were no concerns and the case was closed.

Not only was this devastating at a time when I was already struggling and had been brave enough to ask for help, but I worry so much about it showing up on records. Who will know? Will it ever disappear? I gave up my job as a teacher because I couldn’t bear working for a county that treated people with MH issues like that. Will it show on a DBS form if I choose to go back into education? Do I have to inform anyone if I have another baby?

It honestly was one of the worst things to ever happen to me and has convinced me never to disclose if I start suffering again. I (and DS for completely separate reasons) were under a few different professionals and NO ONE had had any concerns at all. It made me feel like a terrible parent when in reality my child thrived while I was poorly, and continues to do so.

@BlairWaldorfsHeadband I’m sorry that someone said that to you. Honestly, it’s now my biggest fear. No one would ever consider making a referral because a parent had cancer/another illness. One would assume that if your GP thought you were a risk to your child through mental illness they would have reported you, as a professional.

“Yes i did misunderstand you! Have you reported this?”

Yes I helped the adult victim to report it to NSPCC who said they would pass on the information to social services.

The way I understand it, I can’t exactly phone social services to find out the outcome (and rightly so) but it has been playing on my mind and I would like to know what would usually be done about that kind of thing. I worry that if nothing is done the children would still be at risk and their parents would have no idea. (I’m not sure whether the adult victim feels comfortable sharing her concerns directly with the parents.)

anotheremma historical abuse is taken as a risk factor in current contact with DC, to take that forward though the most effective way is for the victim of the abuse to contact the police and report the crime. The victim would at this point have the opportunity to explain they have come forward to now to protect other DC that they believe are currently at risk. However this cannot be done in secrecy and the parents of the DC for example would be contacted to look at contact with the alleged offender.

Thank you. I did ask her if she had considered (or would consider) reporting it to the police, but I don’t think she would sadly. I hope I’m wrong though.

One in four people have a mental health issue at some point, no social services do not automatically get involved with anyone who has a mental health issue.
It needs to be remembered that someone has to contact social services with a concern before they have any awareness of a family, if your health care team are happy with your situation they are not going to make a referral.

Why have things not changed in decades? You'll say they have I expect but I'm still hearing about the same mistakes being made decades after my first experience of them being made

They absolutely have, in so many ways. Training, support, continuous professional development, understanding, knowledge.

Not in enough ways.

When my daughter was seeing a cahms counsellor it came to light that her biological father had once thrown her down the stairs while she was in his care. This was reported to social services who contacted me to see if my dd wanted to make a complaint. My dd didn't as it was a long time ago and she hadn't seen him in about 8 years. The social worker told me on the phone that he was known to social services. ( he has other children with another woman) What does this actually mean? She didn't give me anymore details. He has recently sent her a friend request on Facebook and I'm obviously worried.

CAMHS in my last role I worked as a therapist in a specialist team, we liaised very closely with CAMHS and had considerable contact with the police and often social services (I was a registered social worker). CAMHS make social services look well funded, like any other group doing similar work they do the best they can with the resources they have but in our area they increasingly use cheaper staff with fewer qualifications and have eye wateringly high thresholds. There are of course some extremely skilled at qualified staff if you are lucky enough to be allocated them.

Thanks for answering Op. what sorts of jobs did you do in Children’s Services if you don’t mind me asking and how long have you been a social worker for now?

Unqualified social worker for most of the time, that role doesn't exist any more. I've been qualified for 4 years.

known to social services means that a record check throws up some information about him, it doesn't give any clue what the information is, but obviously most people aren't known.

Do you automatically take an interest in parents with mental health issues?

Definitely not automatically. There has to be evidence of harm. Most parents experience mental health difficulties at some point - including many social workers (and me!)

I'm thinking of becoming a social worker!

Glad to see it's width applying with a 2:2.

What's not clear to me is do you pick your specialism (C&F, elderly etc) and train in that, or are you just generally trained, then you get a job in a particular area.

Any advice for a mum of 2 little ones about uni/FrontLine etc?