The UK Child Protection system has been seriously defective and dysfunctional for almost 40 years, probably beginning with the death of Maria Colwell in 1973 who died whilst under the care and supervision of social workers. There has then been a catalogue of similar cases – Jasmine Beckford, Tyra Henry, Victoria Climbie’, Baby P etc etc. There have also been the considerable number of child abuse scandals where social workers have removed children without reasonable cause and driven by unscientifically-based `theories’ – Cleveland, (RAD), Orkneys, Nottingham, Rochdale, Isles of Lewis (Satanic Ritual Abuse), Shieldfield Nursery Newcastle (Multiple Sexual Abuse).
On every occasion, social work departments have received massive injections of financial resources, additional legal powers, and re-structurings of their services but to no avail, because the people providing such services have not changed, nor has their underlying ideologies of evading `risky’ cases, and focussing on weak and vulnerable parents and removing their children. Of course, they will always point to the `High-Risk’ cases and try to claim they are typical despite their being extremely exceptional – as Daisy has attemped to do below.
The Child Removalist ideology is generated by the Dept of Education advisers, and reinforced by the training structures in Universities, who of course are never blamed when things go wrong. There are undoubtedly many rogue social workers (estimate about 25%) who operate according to their personal biases and prejudices and more than a little malice, but the blame largely belongs to incompetent management and `advisers’ with their own ideologies to follow in order to gain career advancement and `fame’. It is almost impossible to have the rogue elements removed, despite their bringing the entire profession into disrepute, as they are staunchly defended by the majority and there is no mechanism strong enough to expel them or even hold them accountable for their cruel...