Advice needed on how to change my foster child's Social Worker.

[jackie0051]

My foster child's Social Worker is extremely difficult. She does not give support and causes lots of problems for both my foster child and myself. Do any other foster carers know how I go about asking for a change of Social Workers?

I don't know anything about this, but I really don't think that you have the authority to request this change.

However if it is a real issue and is detrimentally affecting the care the child receives, then contact your local children's rights worker who could advocate on behalf of the CHILD if it would be in her/his best interests.

Hope that helps.

I don't know if this can be done... have you spoken to your SSW about it? Or the children's guardian if one's been appointed?

There should be a complaints procedure which you can follow....

Good luck..

If you think this sw is to the detriment of the child I would first speak to fostering network they might have some good advice

Also yu could speak to the guardian or even the independent reviewing officer

Have you spoken to your support worker

But like others have said I don't think unless a serious breach has happened or the child is old enough to activly point blank refuse the sw then theirs not much that can be done

If this gives you any comfort I feel my fc new sw is a twat and rude I think most fc get very frustrated with the child's social worker

Often at their lack of connection with the child,inability to have a real life grasp on how family's actally run and the complete pandering to the parents

All LAs have a complaints procedure and if you don't have one, them ask for one. The first stage is to make a written complaint to the sw's tm mgr. You will need to be specific and state exactly what you find unhelpful. Don't make personal comments about the sw. You need to mention it to your link worker too. Then there should be a meeting between your link worker, child's sw and his/her team manager.

If matters cannot be resolved at the stage, then the complaint can be passed to an independent complaints officer employed by the LA and he/she should report on his/her findings, and whether the complaint should be upheld.

IF you are still disatisified (a stage 3 complaint) you can complain to the Director of SS and the Social Services Committee.

But you can't just ask for a change of social worker.

Start by making a list of the issues that you are finding difficult and unhelpful.

I have seen many young inexperienced sws (usually with no kids of their own) make a right pig's ear of interacting with the foster carer. If you have a good link worker. he/she could call a meeting between the 3 of you and this may be enough for the sw to see things from your point of view. Are you able to say what it is that causes so many difficulties for you and the foster child.