Climate of Fear

I was reading an article on Community Care website http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/07/14/rising-referrals-cope-climate-fear/ entitled Rising Referrals: How to Cope in a 'Climate of Fear'

This article is referring to the Social Workers Climate of Fear and how they are struggling!  It states that Safeguarding can only become more manageable if anxiety around decision-making and 'just-in-case' visits are tackled.  The article is written by Jason Barnes a Child Protection Social Worker, so you would hope that he would for the benefit of his article look at the two opposing arguments.  But no, he doesn't, he only looks at it from the perspective of a Social Worker.

Jason's article discusses a recent study into the number of referrals Social Services received and yes they are shocking 1 child in every 5 born in a single year is reported to Social Services before they start school.  

"The researchers at the University of Central Lancashire asked all English councils how many children were born in the 2009-10 year and how many of those children had been referred to social services. 114 of 150 councils responded. Half a million children were born in those areas and 115,735 were referred to social services by last year, meaning researchers could estimate that 150,000 children of that age, or one in five, across England came to the attention of social services before starting primary school."

These are shocking statistics in their own right.  But what Jason fails to acknowledge as a Child Protection Social Worker is the number of times his friends and colleagues have targeted a family because of false accusations.  Those who report you because they don't like the way your children are playing in your own back garden, or because they think that you aren't a good enough parent so they report you any way with no evidence.  If only it did just stop with a 'just-in-case' visit.  But sadly this is not the reality.  Social Workers are so focused on those who don't require such scrutiny that they are still missing those children who are at a genuine risk those children that are the "new Baby P" or "Daniel Pelka".

Can I remind you that this hyper-vigilance in why Social Workers are so stressed and why they are failing in their roles to protect the vulnerable and safeguard those at risk.

I know from experience, when a report from A&E or a DV101 came through the Child Protection Team, it was accessed.  Before it reached the interference of Social Workers.  A record is kept, you learn the regulars and you can spot the at risk vulnerable children.  But also sometimes its just a phone call that is needed.  A follow up to make sure everyone is ok.  No parent actually wants to end up in A&E, so a quick call to check on Baby Doe and Mum goes a long way.  You don't even have to complete a 'just-in-case' visit.

If social workers own their responsibilities and accountability then maybe they would be so anxious at making decisions.

‘The social’ at the door A knock on the door from ‘the social’ is, for many parents, a frightening experience. For many, perhaps worse than anxiety or fear is the stigma attached to having a social worker involved in your life.

But what is it like for the Social Worker?  It might be a standard ‘look-and-see’ home visit but for some parents, that visit is confirmation of their deepest fear: ‘I’m a bad parent’.

It is essential that they are not visiting families unnecessarily. So what can be done about it?
At the heart of each of these referrals is a child; a child who is potentially at risk of harm.  But not every child and that is what is lost in this day and age.  The enormity of that possibility looms like a dead weight over each assessment, causing stress and anxiety which leads to long hours and that haunting question at the end of the day: ‘Is there something I’ve missed?’

A newly qualified colleague in Jason's team described child protection work as “cutting the head off a dragon, only to find that there are three more heads underneath”.
There is no end to duty and assessment work in social services. There is no moment to say, “I have done everything I need to do.” Brief satisfaction following a successful case closure is quickly eclipsed with several new cases.

In my view, there are a few key factors which can make child safeguarding more manageable and ensure that social workers are only carrying out visits when necessary.

1. Ownership of decisions: Due to the level of risk associated with child protection work, social workers and managers can feel anxious about important decisions. Taking a decisive action when there is so much at stake and putting our name to that decision is a challenge, but it’s necessary. We need confident leaders and managers who are not afraid to identify when there is no role for social services.
2. Interprofessional practice: Unless we work together with the police, teachers, midwives, nursery staff and health visitors, we will never be able to tackle the issue of unsustainable referral rates. As social workers we need to be clear about – and able to communicate – what our thresholds are. Otherwise, how can we expect others to know?
3. Effective gatekeeping: When referrals are first received by local authority access points/front doors, it is essential that these are signposted to the most appropriate services. Rather than a social worker carrying out a visit ‘just in case’, better use should be made of universal services and health visitors, child and family centres, youth workers and early help teams.

I’m fortunate to work in an environment where these challenges are being faced head-on with creativity and openness to new ideas but more needs to be done by the government and local councils across the board.