To think some posters are naive about SS?

[fudgeraisinbiscuit]

I see many posts where people seem to believe either that SS will offer support and that parents who are loving and coping but struggling can contact them for a hand-hold, or posts where people believe a not ideal yet normal situation can and should be reported.

AIBU to think posters are naive about what SS actually do?

in what way?

They will try to keep children with their parents, if it means helping them out,with practical suggestions they will

Depends whether your kids are “adoptable” or not. I’ve seen cases where SS has taken away a healthy baby but left older, disabled or less “adoptable” kids with the parent.

Tbh I’ve watched them screw two kids up over the last year and a half to give the mother chance after chance so not really naive. In think in the case I’m watching unfold the mother seems to be priority over the poor kids.

Having worked with SS professionally on multiple occasions, I do know that they aren’t child snatching monsters... I would actively encourage anyone with genuine need for SS involvement to co-operate and see their involvement as an opportunity to access help. I don’t think IABU.

So have I big

Ss offer support as a precursor to removing the child, the support is offered not to hold parents hand but to avoid removing the children.

I’ve had SS involvement and was fucking petrified at the start. I’d heard all the horror stories. I was very lucky. The SW we were eventually assigned was fantastic and genuinely worked her ass off to help our situation. That being said, she has now left and if I had to have involvement again I would once again be petrified. I think she was probably a one off angel.

I have reported neglect and abuse to social services and I was told that "just because they live in a different way to you it doesn't make it bad".

I can't go into all again but I was disgusted as the neglect and abuse is severe.

When something happens in the future, I will have proof of the many times that of and others tried to get help for the kids but social services turned it a round and made out that we were complaining over nothing.

SS are badly paid, overstretched and low entry requirements and that is a dangerous combination. There are some excellent SW’s around but just as many power tripping, quick to lie, low empathy, judgmental ones floating about. You don’t know what you’re going to get and that is scary because they do have the ability to tear up vulnerable families who are already on a knife edge.

oh ffs it's a SW's as child snatchers thread - walked right into that one!

No one take children into care for fun - and the outcomes for looked after children are so poor that services will do everything to avoid making them LAC if possible

they do NOT target 'adoptable' children and they can and do support families

" just as many power tripping, quick to lie, low empathy, judgmental ones floating about "
I am afraid this is true.

low entry requirements? Minimum of a 2:1 for post grad training - SW degree for entry without post grad?

YANBU. I think that many people are quite naive about the threshold levels at which social services will intervene. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough resources to offer support to everyone who needs it. Fifteen years ago, there were family support workers attached to all schools in our area- they could deal with cases where parents needed support or advice for a few weeks, but didn't meet social work thresholds. Unfortunately, the current lack of funding means that these "lower" tier services are suffering the cuts and local authorities can only provide the ambulance at the bottom of a cliff rather than the fence at the top.

they do NOT target 'adoptable' children and they can and do support families

This ^

YANBU. There's nothing that could make me approach SS for help voluntarily and I used to work for them. I think many MNetters have a "no smoke without fire" attitude towards them which I think is rather dangerous. It's like any other walk of life, brilliant ones and horrendous inept ones. Only the inept ones have power to do really damage if they're so inclined.

Depends whether your kids are “adoptable” or not. I’ve seen cases where SS has taken away a healthy baby but left older, disabled or less “adoptable” kids with the parent

I’d be fascinated to see a link to any of those cases. Although one from a Forced Adoption Facebook page doesn’t count.

depends what you think they do,

Are you suggesting that loving and caring parents will have their children taken off them just because they've asked for SS support, then you are erm living in the past, on two levels, as has been said it is policy to keep famies together as much as posiable, even if children have to be removed, SS will look for a family carer first. Secondly, they are over run and over whelmed by very real cases of child abuse and neglect, that they know that the children are at sucnificant risk and should be removed yet can't be because there is simply not enough resources, or time to do it. Most of the loving and caring parents that refer for a hand hold are simply referred on to outside agencies such as parentplus etc.

SS are badly paid, overstretched and low entry requirements and that is a dangerous combination

You have to have a degree at 2.1 and above, a masters in social work in the new schemes and salaries start at around 32k rising to 50k. Really not low entry or poor pay

They will try to keep children with their parents

Yep, and often the children suffer (I grew up in care, and saw time and time again the damage that was done to children left with parents far too long).

I agree with you OP. It’s very much the luck of the draw of you get a decent one or a dangerous one. I’d avoid them unless there were no other options for support.

Seriously op and big it's people like you who make SS's job harder, children are told to do what abusive parents want because other wise the man will come and take them away, so they lie to the man i.e. SS.

GREAT

make your minds up - either they are snatching kids willy nilly OR leaving vulnerable kids with bad parents - surely it's not both

or maybe they need to meet legal thresholds for removal - you know with evidence etc and maybe being in care isn't better than having a poor parent

Tbh court process to remove can be slow and clunky anyhow.

There is a massive shortage of foster placements so even if SS wanted to “snatch” adoptable children where on earth would they put them until they were adopted?! The process takes ages.

That said I don’t doubt there are some shockingly awful social workers out there. Just like there are some crap teachers/doctors/police officers. But the people I know who claim SS took their children away permanently through no fault of their own have made some seriously awful decisions regarding their own lives. Namely, they have all left abusive relationships and then got back together with their abusers. All those people lost custody of their children. I don’t judge them btw I have been in an abusive relationship myself and it took me years to leave. When SS did get involved I was warned that I would lose my kids if I ever got back with their dad. I imagine the other parents I know were warned of this too.