Senior agency social worker struck off GSCC register

A senior agency social worker who regularly dealt with the police and courts has been struck off for failing to disclose that she was a convicted thief.

Verona Reeves, 48, of Birmingham, did not inform her employer, Birmingham Council, that she had been convicted in 2006 of stealing cash and credit cards, and using the stolen cards to buy clothes and food.

A conduct committee of the General Social Care Council found she also failed to inform the GSCC about her criminal record when she applied for registration, and lied about it to social care recruitment agency BlueCare.

Reeves only revealed the truth when she was seeking a permanent job with Birmingham Council in February 2008, the committee found.

When the GSCC learned of the conviction, Reeves was made the subject of a six-month interim suspension order (ISO), effective from the date of the hearing in March 2008.

However, she continued to work for two days after the ISO was in place and gave an incorrect address to the GSCC.

Reeves, who was not present at the hearing in London, admitted in a letter dated 18 May 2008 that her failure to notify the GSCC of her previous conviction was “dishonest and misleading”.

The committee took the view that Reeves’ actions amounted to misconduct, as they involved “deliberate, systematic and prolonged” dishonesty.

Threatening and abusive

The conduct committee also found that Reeves had behaved in a “threatening and abusive” manner to her landlords, known as Mr and Mrs B, in 2006.

She said to the couple: “I know where you live and I know where your kids go to school and they better watch out.”

The committee decided to remove Reeves from the register because her behaviour “had significantly damaged the reputation of social workers as professionals”.

It concluded that, although Reeves had indicated some remorse for her actions in writing, her disregard for the ISO placed upon her in March 2008 demonstrated a need to protect the public.

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