Essex compensates family for errors

A former foster family has received around
£190,000 compensation in an out of court settlement after a
teenage boy with a history of sex offending was placed with them
and assaulted their children.

In 1993 Essex Council placed the boy with the
foster carers who had four of their own children under the age of
12, even though he was considered dangerous and was thought to have
abused his sister.

The social worker involved in the placement
claimed that the family had been fully informed of the boy’s past
but the foster parents maintained that this was not the case.

The team leader and social worker involved in
the placement were sacked in 1994. Most of the compensation will go
to the four children with only a small proportion going to the
foster parents.

Director of social services at Essex Council
Mike Leadbetter said that the placement should never have gone
ahead.

“Many additional measures have been put in
place to ensure as far as is humanly possible that it doesn’t
happen again. We hope that finalising this matter in the out of
court settlement will enable the family to move on now and at least
put some of the pain behind them.”