New head appointed to the children’s courts advice service

Anthony Douglas, social services director at Suffolk Council,
has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Children and
Family Court Advisory and Support Service, writes
Derren Hayes.

Douglas, who takes up the post from 1 September, has been working
in social services for 28 years and was a director at Havering
before joining Suffolk nearly two years ago. An adoptee himself, he
was a former spokesperson on adoption for the Association of
Directors of Social Services and is currently chair of Baaf
Adoption and Fostering.

Douglas takes over from Jonathan Tross, who has spent two years at
the helm.

The appointment was welcomed by Alison Paddle, chair of guardian’s
organisation Nagalro, because of his depth of personal and
professional understanding of child care issues.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National
Association of Probation Officers, said his social work experience
was a plus.

“Jonathan Tross was a career civil servant who didn’t have
experience of working with children at risk and that was always a
problem. Now hopefully we’ve got someone who has got that and
managerial experience as well,” Fletcher said.