I'm not sure im ok with this. Social worker/Facebook

[notacooldad]

I was talking to some social workers before our zoom training meeting started.
We were talking about caseloads and one says that she always has a quick look to see if the child has Facebook. She'll look through to see who their friends are and says a lot of kids don't lock their profile down so she can get an insight to the child.
Some thought it was an invasion of privacy, someone else said it was in a public space. I just think I feel like banging my head against a wall because young people aren't listening when I'm doing internet safety sessions and keeping safe!!
What do people think? Should the SW snope? I can see both sides tbh but wouldn't want to do it.

Yes. Social workers need as much info as possible. If information is in the public they should know it

If a social media account is not set to private then its fine. We do that a lot for work (not social work related), and its very useful.

Their future employees will do it... It is a public space. So many people still don't get this.

We had some safeguarding training when it was discussed as being a suitable thing to do and that it is allowed if publicly available on Internet

I would worry about a social worker using to do firm "bias" before meeting a child though

Yes I think they should use all available information. Including social media of the child and/or parents

SW should look. A quick look at the contacts will flag other vulnerabilities or safe guarding issues that may be present.

I would have thought this was a very sensible thing to do, assuming the SW is doing it in a strictly professional capacity. It's not 'snooping' if it's public.

It’s a public website until you change your settings to private. So yes 100% I would do it.

I think its bloody good way of seeing how vulnerable a child is actually.

No. Not cool.

We had some legal advice on this when I was a social worker
Basically we can look at peoples public profiles and at times we used a 'team' profile to contact people if there was no other way to track down contact details. We can admit evidence from public profiles in assessments or court (or from private profiles if it has been sent to us by a member of the public). What we were advised not to do was to use their profiles as surveillance. So no checking them regularly to see who they are with or what they are doing. If we have checked and seen something concerning then we should address it directly with the person, not sit there watching to see what else they post.
When you are working with vulnerable teens it's extremely useful to know who they are spending time with and often leads to better chances of keeping them safe. Ultimately if the info helps to keep children safe and it's in the public domain then why would you not?

It’s a public website until you change your settings to private. So yes 100% I would do it.

^I agree. Employers do this too. Nothing wrong with it.

Sounds sensible to me.

I'm a social work academic and we draw on values and ethics, particularly Kantian and Utilitarian, when teaching about Facebook and looking. We use research findings and classroom discussions and service user experience. Local authorities also have their own policies. I have previously gone to court to specifically ask for permission to track down a birth father via Facebook. It's not clear cut at all.

It's fine. Employers do it too.

People need to learn to lock down their social media pages.

I would be absolutely astonished if a social worker was not checking what children in their care were doing publicly on the internet. As a pp said, it gives an excellent insight into how vulnerable they really are, and can give an understanding of what their lives are really like, whether the are being bullied online, whether they are putting up a front on sm compared to their home life. It all tells something about the child. And if the social worker has a responsibility to that child then they should be looking at any and all publicly available information.

Yes of course they should look.

Well I'm pretty sure it didn't surprise you and you know it happens - that's why all the SW I know don't have their actual name on their own FB accounts.

Because it often works both ways

I can’t see anything wrong with a social worker doing this. Intentions matter, and if the intention is with the child’s genuine best interests at heart, then what’s the problem?

That’s why profiles should be set to private and not have anything you don’t want everybody in the world to see.

suesspiciousminds.com/tag/ripa/

Yes, as a DV worker for young people I did that all the time, if the profile is public I don't see what's wrong with that. Eg, if I have a very young woman who posts pictures of herself at a party with her ex boyfriend who is a risk to her and who she's told us she hasn't seen for 6 months I know to give her some more safety help with that asap (have made up that situation to save confidentiality but it represents real situations I've had pretty precisely). Without 'snooping' it may have risked a more serious incident.

As a PP said, regular checking can constitute directed surveillance - even on a publicly open page - if, and I stress if, it's being undertaken by a public body.
If undertaken regularly it may be subject to a RIPA authority.
This advice received from a Barrister specialising in RIPA.

SW's need all the information they can get.

I’ve been in case conferences when things that have been posted on social media by a child or adult which may be of concern has been brought up. This is by the police or SW. If a child is on a CP plan it’s usually because the parent isn’t parenting appropriately. As a parent, one of our jobs is to make sure our children are being safe online. We would check our child’s FB account if they had one wouldn’t we?