Lessons will be learned? When?

Once again we here of the horrific cruelty to little babies neglected and beaten to death, because the Social Workers have insisted that the baby goes back to the drug taking alcohol abusive mother.
This time in Barrow in Cumbria where there was 38 contacts with Social Services
Why can’t they see the danger to the child?
Once again we will hear ‘Lessons will be learned’
Surely they should have more training especially the Social Workers who do not have Children.
No one takes responsibility or gets dismissed after these atrocities.

Utterly shameful

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

Sometimes it's the social workers with children more to blame, I've witnessed some daft decisions in our fight to get Gracie and they were mothers themselves. The only one actually listened properly to what Gracie was saying was a lesbian lady with no kids, she really cared.

These days the fear of being blamed
The over loaded case books
The lack of real life experience
And lack of money all add up to a very dangerous time in social care.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

Terrible. Drug takers should never be permitted to look after their children, who are in danger if their parents are too spaced out to care for them properly.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

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I agree. The addicts first priority is drugs not children or anything else.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

Lesson will never be learnt.

After any issue / atrocity, or whatever, all we hear is lessons will be learnt.
They never are - it's just the usual worthless soundbites from incompetent authorities.

Nothing will change.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

The social workers don't always have placements due to lack of funding. Many have to work without the right management support because their managers are off sick with stress. So they have to make decisions about people's lives without the right governance in place and nobody to talk to. You're supposed to have counselling etc. A friend of mine was in this position and she ended up leaving the profession because she was constantly stressed and had no manager to turn to. She wasn't working in child protection but with addicts, but you're still making decisions that affect people's lives. There are limited resources and you are vulnerable yourself. My friend is extremely conscientious and it tore her up. It's not an easy job, it's not always possible to know how things will turn out. The textbooks all say the child is better in the family environment than with strangers.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

I think if there is any doubt that a child would be cared for properly by their parents or other relatives, it is best to look for another more suitable placement.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

We'd have more kids in care than with their families at that rate T ! Parenting isn't a one size fits all, my parents were fairly bad at times because they liked a drink and their drugs but other family looked after us when they were too sozzled. None of us suffered because my nan and grandad would swoop in.

Looking back we'd have been taken away if we were kids now. That's a shame as it all worked out in the end and by end of their lives I was able to care for them and forgive them. If I'd been taken away that may never have happened.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

My friend was asocial worker for many years and it is a stressful job.
Why did it Take 38 contacts with Social Services before the Police acted?
It means there is something very wrong with communication
Also some mothers do not have the Mothering instinct, and find them a nuisance and neglect them especially if with a drugtaking alcoholic partner who they put their children.
A great deal of care s taken in Adoption Services the same care should be taken returning children to their natural parents.

Re: Lessons will be learned? When?

Bad parenting can damage children for life. I am so very glad that many years ago I alerted the social services when I had reason to believe the parent who had custody of his two daughters was abusing them. They were removed from his care.