I need a hand hold *child neglect*

[BillyandMargot]

My neighbour has struggled with parenting for the last year, he has struggled with his mental health and alcohol addiction. I am sympathetic to his issues but I am a social worker and i also have a duty of care outside of hours. For months we've heard lots of shouting from next door and just made a note of it because it could have been usual parental issues, I have reported to the local authority twice his issues with alcohol and parenting. On Wednesday he tried to assault me because someone else had reported him to Social Services and he assumed it was me. It wasn't however I was relieved it wasn't just me that had had concerns about his child.

Tonight however, we were having a lovely relaxing evening and then suddenly we heard screaming outside and we heard him (the neighbour) screaming in the street clearly extremely drunk and violent screaming about how he wanted to kill someone, how he hated his life, banging about in his house and clearly throwing things.

I called 999 and they turned up really fast maybe within 5 mins of him getting home. He was arrested and his child was taken to a&e. I know what he was arrested for but i don't want this thread taken down.

Should I have called the police sooner on him? I feel really responsible, but i reported to the local authority and police 4 times before now with no response from either.

Just because the OP is a social worker doesn't mean she works in children's safeguarding - like many professions there are different branches of specialism

I don’t think we’re really qualified to help you but my advice would be that you discuss this in supervision. Personally I think you did the right thing but I’m not an expert. Removing your social worker hat for a second, your actions in calling the police were what I would hope any concerned neighbour would take. It’s then down to them, and the wider services, to decide how best to serve the interests of that family.

@DropYourSword

Questioning yourself too much is a massive part of what leads to inaction, and it would make me concerned for the children in her caseload.

But that’s not what she’s doing at all

Yes I agree, the op says that she had already reported her concerns twice before, which is absolutely the right thing to do. And that's why I'm wondering why she is questioning herself about this when it seems so clear that there were issues. I should make it clear that I'm not trying to blame the op, I just think that she needs to become more confidence in her ability to make decisions when her gut is telling her that something is wrong.

Also op, you may have already considered this, but are you safe living where you are at the moment? As this man has already assaulted you before when he suspected that you reported him, I would be concerned about him coming home. Probably something to discuss with the police if you haven't already

I wish people attacking the OP would RTFQ.. She didn't ask whether she should have reported it, she asked if there was anything else she should have done. It's really easy to know processes in a work situation, but lines get blurred when it's outside work.
OP, I'm not a SW but do work in an area where I have a duty of care to children. I had to report someone I knew well, and it was a really difficult situation, because I knew they would know it was one of only two people. Hard when you get the backlash for it, even though you know you did the right thing.

It’s really concerning that you aren’t confident in what you should have done.

For months we've heard lots of shouting from next door and just made a note of it
I would have reported these sort of outbursts. At the very least, it’s emotional abuse and neglect for a child to be subjected to this. It’s best to pass on any concerns so they can be properly looked into.

OP, if you're questioning whether you should have done something different, the only thing I would say is that you should perhaps have reported your assault to the police on Wednesday and made another report to social services that day. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, that could be seen as a danger sign that your neighbour's mental state was deteriorating and the abuse was ramping up.

But I don't think you have anything to reproach yourself with. You've reported your concerns for this poor child several times and rang the police promptly when it appeared that he was in danger. The worry is that the reports weren't taken seriously until it escalated to a potentially life-threatening situation.

Sorry for the delay, I've had a really shit day having to speak to the police giving my statement. I am not a social worker who works in child protection: I work with adults.

I more meant should I have called the police sooner rather than refer to the social services again and again. However the police reassured me I did the right thing. I gave them chance to do something and they didn't but now they have to keep the child safe so that's good.

What makes me laugh when these children get killed the media blame social workers, but it seems clear it's the local authorities fault as they don't follow up in things enough or properly. X

As you are not a social worker in the area that you live then your job is irrelevant and your actions were based on being a concerned neighbour and you did what most concerned neighbours would do.

Some of these comments just demonstrate how little so many people know about what social work actually encompasses. Like @SelfIdentifiedRightsHoarder who apparently 'works in the sector' yet doesn't realise that many social workers have little or nothing to do with children. Or others who apparently would have reported a neighbour who could be heard shouting through the walls - presumably you have lived a fairly privileged life, because the vast majority of my neighbours (in flats and poorly insulated terraces) have been heard shouting through walls at various times, it's unfortunate but not going to get much action. On the topic of privilege, I think that many MNers vastly overestimate what SS can and will do in non-critical situations, in my experience it's unfortunately pretty minimal. I do think it sounds like you didn't call about your assault, which is worth considering for your job as well. Was it from fear of retaliation, or because you rated him staying out of trouble above your safety and well-being?

For the child's sake, you did the right thing by reporting the 4 times you did and by calling 999 right away when you heard more. You do seem to have been the one advocating for him, given that in the end it was your call that brought the police. I hope he's able to be better cared for now.