More social workers will not keep children safe
OPINION: Having an overloaded child protection system would be very dangerous for children at high risk, writes HELEN BUCKLEY
IN RESPONSE to recently exposed weaknesses in the State child protection services, children’s advocates have called for an increase in the number of social workers employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE. Yet, however worthy this aspiration may appear, it is based on two somewhat dubious premises – that the principal deficit in the system is a shortage of social workers, and that HSE social workers are best placed to address the problem of child abuse.
Is Ireland the only place in the world where they actually do real social work research? At least Ireland may now avoid becoming like England. (The Irish wouldn't relish that anyway!) If Ireland can get it right they may become a real model for the UK, the US and many other commonwealth states.
ReplyDeleteI just found your website. If you look at the opinion published in the Irish Times you will that mine is the last comment under the name of Joe Burns. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0614/1224272433197.html
ReplyDeleteMy website is VoteNoTo42.com
I am determined that Forced Adoption will not become law in Ireland, please visit my website and lend your support, Thanks, Cheers, Joe
This is an interesting tread. I see you use Buckley of TCD to rubbish claims of more social workers. As an Irish qualified social worker based in the UK, I have the luxury of seeing both sides of your argument Unfortunately none of it stacks up.
ReplyDeleteForced adoption is a new concept and your must be a Sun reader or Daily Mail? I will give you a bit of a lesson. In the NOTW in the Sunday mag, it did a profile of a family that escaped the clutches of social work and ran to Ireland, where the social work system was seen to be more sympathetic. Two weeks later Baby P occurred and the NOTW and Sun vilified social workers for not doing enough, resulting in two Social Workers being suspended from the GSCC. Now the problem is, if we were to live by the double standards of the Daily Mail and Sun, we wouldn't be able to do anything for vulnerable children.
On Buckley's article, read it again, as it addressed how the whole community needs to take responsibility for child abuse. So nothing about increasing social workers to snatch children.
The Irish SW is so down in the weeds she doesn't realize the problem. The problem isn't that there are too few SWs its that there are too many children taken. Of 100 investigations the studies have concluded there are about 5-7% abused children, the rest are neglect which no agency can seem to differentiate from whether its due to poverty. The fact that 70% are returned within 1 year shows that at least 3 time too many children are put into care and its well known that foster care in such cases is more damaging than leaving them in their homes--there are studies that actually show that. Getting SWs to focus on the really bad cases and provide minimal services (safety plans, nanny help, housing and food aid, etc) in the neglect cases.
ReplyDeleteWhy do these agencies take so many children? Because they have care facilities and SWs that they need to keep employed and the government funds most if not all of the cost. The agency never has to justify their excesses to the legislature and cutting it has become like killing the sacred cow in India.
Social Worker under the name of "anonymous" says; "This is an interesting read" and attempts to discredit me as a Sun or Daily Mail reader.
ReplyDeleteYou just don't get it, social workers working as Prosecutors ARE the problem. I also have the luxury of seeing both sides and more objectively as I am neither a social worker or a parent, unlike you I have no vested interest in this.
You say "Baby P occurred and the NOTW and Sun vilified social workers for not doing enough, resulting in two Social Workers being suspended from the GSCC" I say don't forget Sharon Shoesmith who lost her £130000-a-year post after she tried to cover up any wrongdoing and in her appeal to the High Court whined about the experience had affected HER, to this day she has still not said sorry.
50 visits to Baby P's home by social workers was more than enough time to detect abuse but let's face it, social workers can't seem to detect abuse even when it's right in front of them.
In another forum you seem to keep avoiding the question of why the State is such a lousy parent, why is it that the outcomes for children are far better at home than in "Care". Why do so many children die? is it because social workers are no good at "Care" either?.
I'm sorry to have to tell you this but the experts are wrong, they have told lies to you and they have blood on their hands. The truth is starting to emerge and the tide is turning. The statistics prove the experts have lied, I think this is the beginning of the end for social work.
Could the person who published the comment "The Irish SW is so down in the weeds she doesn't realize the problem."
ReplyDeletePlease contact me through VoteNoTo42.com, Thanks, Cheers, Joe