Social Worker ‘Put Child At Risk’

A social worker has been struck off for putting a teenager at “serious risk”. Tricia Forbes, 33, admitted failing to initiate a child protection inquiry after the 13-year-old girl said she was being physically abused by her father.

Ms Forbes, who worked for Waltham Forest Council, east London, was found guilty of professional misconduct by the General Social Care Council (GSCC).

She has been removed from the Social Care Register which bans her from practising.

During a four-day hearing the panel heard how Ms Forbes failed to arrange for the child and her siblings to stay overnight in a place of safety.

She did not inform the police, child protection response unit or any other agencies about the claims.

The hearing was also told that the social worker dropped the child off in a street without conducting a risk assessment.

Ms Forbes also failed to accompany another member of staff to meet the girl’s parents, despite being told to do so by her manager.

The GSCC committee concluded that the social worker’s actions had put the child at serious risk.

Chairman of the GSCC, Sir Rodney Brooke, said: “By addressing poor practice where we find it, we hope to be able to preserve trust in the profession and ensure public confidence.”

Ms Forbes, who started working for the council in April 2000, is awaiting a decision from the council about her job.