‘Highly defensive’ atmosphere means social workers under increased pressure to intervene in families
A senior judge has said there is a “highly defensive atmosphere” in social services about “future disasters” meaning that social workers are under increased pressure to intervene into the lives of families.
The comments from Justice Sir Mark Hedley come as the chief executive of campaign group British Association of Social Workers said its members were working in a ‘climate of fear’ and often had to ‘play it safe’.
The concerns are investigated in a new documentary, to be aired on ITV at 10.35pm tonight, called Exposure: Don’t take my Child.
The programme examines how and why social workers are increasingly prepared to remove children from their birth parents through forced adoption.
The show features the distressing video showing the forced removal of a father’s young baby.
The father had already lost his older children to adoption because he and his wife couldn’t cope without support.
The decision to take this child was made by the courts before he was even born.
The number of court orders required to place a child into the adoption process has increased by 95 per cent in the last three years, while new laws introduced this year mean it is likely there will be more cases.
But most often, the stories remain shrouded in the secrecy of family courts where journalists are barred from reporting.
Exposure focuses on the parents who claim to have been unfairly dealt with by the system, alongside insight from leading social workers and legal workers.
It looks at whether child protection following the death of Baby P in 2007 is increasingly geared towards the permanent removal of children as opposed to supporting families to stay together. It also hears concerns that the new legislation will put social workers under pressure to act quickly.
The time limits now imposed for formulating a care plan have raised concerns that an adoption order is likely to be made in shorter time – potentially making it more difficult for birth parents to get their children back.
