Protecting Our Children

I am afraid the scandals in Rochdale and Orkeys did immeasurable damage to the reputation of social workers. When my daughter worked in drug treatment services, the biggest fear of many addicts was that their children would be taken away from them.
I know it is always a last resort for children to be removed for their own safety, but I think of how my own children and grandchildren would have felt if they had been taken to live with strangers. Fortunately, when one daughter had to go into a clinic for four months, her sister was able to add her four children to her own six! (Incidentally, she received no allowance from the government for this).
I thought the social workers on the progamme dealt as well as they could in the circumstances.

Yes it is a tough job with little thanks. It is always easy to point the finger of blame but the reality of their caseloads is that they cannot do a perfect job. Which must be very frustrating.

Child Protection social work will always be contentious. When I was new into probation we all had to attend a conference on ritual abuse, and the office I worked in was next one along from the Rochdale area where all hell broke loose, along with the Shetlands. Probation and social workers had to walk into the conference through a line of protesters waving flags and placards, proclaiming us to be evil. Beatrice Campbell was the keynote speaker, exhorting us to keep our cool and do what we have to do to protect children, who she claimed were being rounded up and systematically abused by men! All a bit bewildering for a new officer with a commitment to helping people, and realising that many did not want our help, and getting it wrong sometimes sets the scene for many years to come.

Navigating your way through public disapproval, lack of understanding about what does go on for children in some families behind closed doors, and seeing the rising level of burnout in experienced social workers, can be very off-putting - there are easier ways to make a living. Social workers in child protection have always had my complete respect because I have seen at first hand the brave job they do. Just imagine what it's like walking down a path to a house to remove a child to safety, accompanied by a police officer, and expecting to be sworn at, have things thrown at you, spat at by both family and their child who doesn't want to go anywhere, then when the child has been left with a foster carer, to have to go and write all that up in as objective a way as you can. There's a fine balance to be struck and the majority of social workers do get it right, but they can't blow their own trumpets because of confidentiality.

I thought it was excellent. For once a programme showing a small snapshot of the sort of situation that social workers in child protection have to deal with. About time the demonisation is slightly redressed.

It's recorded, so will pick it up later, and report back!