Originally published @ 12:57 pm, Thu 17th Jun 2010
Social workers are again in the news and it seems difficult to give them the praise and recognition they deserve for taking on such a difficult role. Success stories don’t really get publicised and failings and alleged failings are given a high profile.
-
Nottingham’s Young Nottingham Select Committee focussed on the care provided by Children’s Services and staffing as part of a six-monthly check,
and in essence found, after question to the service managers, that a range of measures were being taken with the hope and probable expectation that the 13 vacancies can be filled soon.
But no-one was under any illusions about the challenge faced as the caseload has increased after the murder of Baby P and the enthusiasm for the job of social worker has dropped following the reaction to the murder of Baby P.
The report was front page on the local newspaper on Saturday, because of the shortage of social workers.
The article is challenging to the City Council, but not unfair, given the council is acknowledging there is a staffing problem.
Nottingham City Council Children’s Services have now featured 3 times in 5 issues of the paper -
These last 2 articles suggest situations where Children’s Services might have in one case not gone far enough, and in the other gone too far.
As it happens, the findings of the Serious Case Review by the Kirklees Safeguarding Children Board report into the case found that social services could not have anticipated the abduction of Shannon Matthews.
In the Mirror's coverage, all the considered opinion in the Serious Case Review counts for nothing. the journalist had visited Mrs. Matthews and it was obvious to her that she wasn't a fit mother. So the report is slammed as a whitewash. Disappointing, but you could see at the press conference that the journalists were already of a view and notions of balance and parents' right, defendable in court, were not part of them.
So social workers are again in the news and it seems difficult to give them the praise and recognition they deserve for taking on such a difficult role.
Comentários