Abused Children ‘Left In Danger By Failures Of Stressed Social Workers’
Abused children have been left in “high risk” situations and those assaulted sexually forced to wait months for therapy due to a catalogue of failures by social workers, a damning report has revealed.
{mosimage}Two senior council officials resigned yesterday after inspectors exposed an appalling picture of neglect and incompetence affecting some of Scotland’s most vulnerable young children.
The investigation into child protection services provided by Midlothian Council outlined a series of failings at the council, including a lack of resources, training and proper planning for the care of children, many of whom are victims of sexual and domestic violence.
As Danny Molloy, the councillor responsible for social work, health and housing, and Malcolm McEwan, the local authority’s director of social work, stood down in the wake of the revelations, child care experts insisted the failings were not restricted to Midlothian and warned children across the country were at risk.
The Midlothian report by HM Inspectorate of Education found social workers failed to keep in contact with children at “immediate risk” and heavy workloads meant the children were exposed to the risk of abuse, harm or neglect.
It pointed to children being left in “high risk” situations and said those in local authority care or on the child protection register were not always seen regularly by social work staff.
It also emerged that child protection staff failed to act until the situation reached “crisis point”. Reviews of the children were irregular, with “delays of several months not uncommon”.
The inspectors were extremely critical of senior elected members on Midlothian Council, who did not have a “clear vision” to keep children safe.
Last night Hugh Henry, the education minister, said the problems must be tackled as a matter of “extreme urgency” to prevent children from “falling through the net”.
Within four months, senior officers at Midlothian Council are expected to submit a report showing improvements and inspectors will return within 12 months to check on progress.
Adam Montgomery, leader of the council, said a “recovery plan” had been introduced.
This latest inspection comes in the wake of a report by the Association of Directors of Social Work, which said that the gap between what councils receive from the Scottish Executive and what they spend on children’s social work services has been growing since 1999.
This is the second such report on Scotland’s local authorities.
Edinburgh City Council’s social work department was criticised for serious failings after the death of a baby boy in 2001. There were calls to improve child protection services following the inquiry into the death of 11-week-old Caleb Ness, who died at the hands of his brain-damaged father.
Yesterday academics warned there will be more damning reports to come.
Cherry Rowlings, professor of social work at Stirling University, said: “There is a serious problem about the recruitment and retention of social workers.
“There have been major improvements but many authorities are starting from a very low base. They are strapped for cash on frontline services.”
Sandra Brown, who runs a charity helping victims of sexual abuse, yesterday called for urgent investment and said nothing had been done to improve the lot of children since the death of baby Caleb.
She said: “This is symptomatic of problems across Scotland, not just Midlothian. It all comes down to resources.”
Midlothian Council got three “adequate” gradings, 12 “weak”, and three “unsatisfactory” – the worst rating possible.
As well as the other issues highlighted, inspectors found:
- Staff focused on the needs of parents with drug abuse problems, rather than considering the impact on the child.
- Social background reports for children’s hearings were not always completed.
- A number of children on the child protection register did not have a named social worker and in some cases untrained social work staff were used to interview children.
- A lack of trained staff had caused “unacceptable delays” and children had remained on the “at risk” register for long periods with “no improvement” in their circumstances.
A senior social worker at Midlothian Council described the situation as “meltdown” and said a number of colleagues were so demoralised they had left.
He said: “Half the workforce has left… they’ve lost years of experience. There’s a complete lack of confidence in management.”
The Key Points Of The Report
Inspectors found:
- Social workers failed to keep in contact with children at “immediate risk”. Heavy workloads meant the children were exposed to the risk of abuse, harm or neglect.
- Staff concentrated on the needs of parents with drug abuse problems, rather than considering the impact of the child.
- Social background reports for children’s hearings were not always completed.
- Staff were reluctant to share information, particularly when there were concerns about parental drug misuse.
- Social work information systems did not allow any sharing of information within and across services. The results of computer searches carried out by staff were unreliable.
- Social work case records were not well structured and lacked clarity. It was not always clear who had recorded information.
- The approach to child protection case conferences was inconsistent, with many children waiting for months for a review.
- Social work department lacked leadership and direction.
- There was poor communication between managers and staff at all levels and relationships were strained.
Indictment mirrors 2003 report on baby’s death.
A damning report in October 2003 into the death of an 11-week-old boy at the hands of his violent father exposed serious failings in Edinburgh’s child protection system.
The investigation into Caleb Ness’s death brought a scathing indictment of city social workers and health staff for allowing the baby to be left with his drug-addicted mother and brain- damaged father.
Edinburgh City Council at the time expressed its “extreme regret” at Caleb’s death and ordered a comprehensive review of child protection procedures and practice.
An immediate review of the cases of 342 children on the social services “at risk” register in the city was also ordered.
The 250-plus page report into Caleb’s death found fault at “almost every level in every agency involved, particularly within the health service and the city’s social work department”.
The infant’s death was described as “avoidable” in the report, which identified fundamental flaws within the region’s child protection system. It concluded: “Caleb’s right to a safe and secure upbringing was never the focus of decision making.”
Fears for the safety of other children were also raised by the probe, which was headed by leading QC Susan O’Brien. “Some evidence suggested that this was not an isolated case,” the report said.
It catalogued a series of failures among the child protection authorities, including a hands-off approach by senior social work managers, previous warnings about weaknesses in the system being ignored and social workers failing to pass on important information to police.
