The Child Minder

This family is indeed to be congratulated for choosing debate in preference to vengeance. However, it should be pointed out that this case hardly reinforces the notion that child protection is a secretive and inflexible steamroller. After all, this family didn't agree with the decision to place the child on a child protection register, took advantage of the statutory appeal procedure that is open to all, won their appeal, had the decision revoked and even won an apology and a small amount of compensation. Mistakes will always be made but it is refreshing to see that the system is capable of admitting and correcting them.

I only wish that it had been that easy! It is only possible to appeal a decision to place a child on the ‘At Risk’ Register on procedural grounds. However, to do this you need a good knowledge of the child protection protocols. We had to learn quickly. Through our complaints we exposed many systemic and professional failures that lead to the production of a totally inaccurate and unbalanced assessment report and the wrong decision at the Conference. That these errors and failures happened at all shows why the system needs to be properly monitored and open. It should not be up to those undergoing the process to have to identify to social workers where professional failings are occurring. There is no legal aid available to fund appeals or any complaints. My daughter’s legal assistance ran out after the appeal was lodged. We therefore had to proceed on our own for 18 months and produce a 1500 page dossier for the Complaints Review Panel. We had to analyse long complicated reports; I wonder how many vulnerable parents would have the time or skills to do that. The Department opposed us at every turn. As a result of the Department’s actions, our daughter was labelled as a potential child abuser and all health records recorded this. The stigma is difficult to overcome and we are still fighting to have records amended. The whole point is that appealing a decision like this is not easy to do or success easy to achieve. We exposed systemic problems with Child Protection. The Complaints Investigating Officer constantly supported the social workers and, when we finally had access to source documents, we found he had ignored evidence in our favour. A Complaints System needs to be properly independent if it is to be effective. It should be remembered that it takes longer to obtain documents under Data Protection release than it does to take a baby away from its mother at birth. How, therefore, can the innocent currently protect themselves if the system is not properly policed? The complaints and appeals system must be made accessible and effective. We do not believe that most vulnerable parents normally stand a chance and this is supported by many comments we have seen in the Press. Our experience has proved conclusively that social workers can get things very wrong, that the present system backs them up and that achieving redress is a mammoth undertaking.

I am sorry, but JG as usual is clutching at straws trying to defend a system that is massively broken.

In this Norfolk case (one of three or more than I am aware of [this one], Websters, [another that has gagging orders]) the social workers abused process. However, noone has had disciplinary action against them.

The system as it stands fails almost everyone. Particularly black children that are victims of abuse. I can understand why JG supports the system wanting to have things done to protect children. He ignores that I also want things done to protect children.

What I want, however, is a system that works.

I can understand how the family feel as i am going through the exact same thing but social services have allowed my 6 week old baby in the care of a suspected child abuser who unknown to me untill recantly was the childrens father as i have one child in foster care and thay have placed all the blaim on me for suffering abuse from the childrens father aswell as depression after haveing my 1st child thay placed both children on the register for neglect so if the family could give me some advice on how thay won there case it might help me like it helped them i mean how could socail let a suspect child abuser have a baby i think the whole system needs investergating if it can happen in so meny diffrent areas and so close in time

At least Sally Gillen understands that there's a problem. She should be congratulated on that: given the prevailing attitudes in the profession her modest comments probably constitute a brave stance. Perhaps she should have words with Janet Snell.

John Hemming,

If, as you say, the 'system' is massively broken, then so is the criminal justice system, the health service, the education system, the armed forces and I could go on. Every one of these systems can provide examples where things went wrong, when professionals have erred - by comission or omission - but it does not necessarily follow that the whole system is bankrupt, and the child protection/care system is no different. Not to mention, on the one hand you're saying the system is broken and on the other you're trying to find individuals to blame. You can't have it both ways, if the system is massively broken how do you expect the social workers who work within it to do the right thing? You ask the impossible.

I support your efforts in making the family courts more open but you do appear to keep using a few examples of where things went wrong to prove your central thesis. I would welcome some of your thoughts on how you think the system should work, bearing in mind that the current system did not just fall out of the sky but has 'evolved' over the years - with input from health, police, education and children's services - into what it is now.

On another note, I think the grandparents are to be totally commended for seeking to raise a debate rather than playing out these issues in the tabloids. I fully support more openness in statutory social work as do most - if not all - of the social workers I know. The worry for social workers is less about being 'caught out' doing something wrong than it is about more tasks on top of already unwieldy complex caseloads and bureaucratic functions.

In the excellent post above, grandmother states:

'Our experience has proved conclusively that social workers can get things very wrong, that the present system backs them up and that achieving redress is a mammoth undertaking.'

The fact that social workers can get things very wrong was proved conclusively a long time ago. I think the second part of the sentence is the most important part. If the system isn't working well enough then it just becomes that much harder for social workers to get it 'right'.

This family is to be congratulated for opening this debate.
I would think that members of the public who have no experience of social work or child protection, in practice, would take the use of tape recording, in this field, as a given!
I would bet that if you asked, most people would think that all child protection 'interviews' and case conferences were tape recorded and cam recorded.
There is no question a real need to make sure that anyone who has to make a child abuse report is given the option of having what they have to report and the concerns they have to raise for the children, recorded on tape.
So many of those who have reported the abuse of a child will tell you that what they reported and what was documented and taken on board by the relevant authorities was 'lost in translation' or just seemed to go missing.
It is possible to record any child abuse report, on tape, without compromising the identity of the person who has had to report.
I am sure that many of those who have to report that a child is being abused would have no problem with being tape recorded or named!