It is certainly something we have mentioned before on Researching Reform, but the lack of care local authorities have been taking will inevitably come to haunt them, and it looks as if these floodgates are starting to creak open.
In an unsettling news article in Community Care, we are told that a council has had to pay one million pounds in damages for ‘shocking child abuse failings‘.In this case, Essex County Council had failed to protect four siblings from systematic child abuse – you can see the timeline of the case here. The case essentially revolved around the fact that the council did not discover the father’s conviction for sexual assault of his two young children from a previous marriage. A child protection investigation then took place, the conviction was uncovered, but regular contact between the siblings and the father was continued.We can only imagine the trauma these young children experienced, both in facing the reality of that contact and in trying, and failing, to find safety amongst the very adults who were meant to be protecting them. There must be a huge price to pay in terms of long-term damage to these children, not just in terms of the harm they suffered but also in terms of whether they will ever be able to trust anyone again.
This scenario is not new to us. We receive dozens of phone calls with distraught parents telling us their children are facing similar arrangements and social workers are just not listening. However, in order to compensate and deal with this, we sometimes see local authorities swing the other way and prevent contact outright, often without any convictions present, at all and no sound basis upon which to remove that contact. The truth is, social workers do a very difficult job, one, that in our opinion,often requires a great deal more training than they are given. Errors like this will continue to happen unless the government addresses this very point.
We also predicted last year that it would only be a matter of time before these floodgates would open and all the terrible errors made in relation to taking care of vulnerable families and children would come home to roost. It is not a prediction we relish coming true, but it is certainly a likelihood and others agree with us.
A very disturbing read. Please do take a look and as always we are very interested to hear what you think.
Let 2012 be the year of Justice.
Social workers in cases like this blame the judges in court who knowingly ordered children into contact and custody of rapists/torturers/abusers.
Judges blame social workers because their job is supposedly child protection.
It is all about passing the book, to avoid taking responsibility, while children suffer the consequences.
I witnessed it all myself and found it so hard to comprehend.
Yes, Natasha, I agree with you. My adult children are unable to trust the adults in Child protection or family courts.
They even avoid the buildings like the plague as their bodies quiver and tremble – triggered by memories of being failed by child protectors and family court judges.
You do grat work providing an open forum where we can hopefully learn from the past.
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Thank you, you’re very kind.
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At long long last local authorities are being made to admit and pay for their errors and those of their social workers. The fact that it has taken ten years and millions of taxpayers money for them to defend themselves shows the lengths that local authorities (and their insurers) will go to rather than admit they were wrong and to apologise. That is why following their internal complaints systems are such a complete waste of time and effort.
The fact that four children (now adults) could take on the power and resources of a local authority gives some re-assurance that there is some justice in British Courts and that individuals can take on State institutions.
I’m quite sure there will be many hundreds of children who have been ordered into the custody of violent and abusive fathers by Family Courts and will now take similar action to obtain a modicum of redress for their sufferings.
I hope the UK government will take notice of this judgement in their present plans to extend the rights of such violent and abusive fathers under the `Shared Parenting’ laws they are planning to introduce.
Such fathers in their `Father’s Rights’ groups have threatened and abused CAFCASS workers and lawyers and intimidated them into favouring such fathers in the Family Courts, such fathers have bombarded the Prime Minister in Parliament and threatened to kidnap his son, in addition to harassing and abusing their former wives, partners, and children and yet this government still plans to increase their rights to do so..
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As usual another brilliant piece of information from Researching Reform.
Thank you.
I also pray that 2012 will cause many Councils to admit that they made monumental mistakes in the taking of children.
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Thank you Phil, for your continued encouragement.
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Phil. it has come to my attention that some social workers who aided and abetted in removing children for no genuine reasons are now visiting the parents and trying to relieve their consciences by attempting to say they had little part in the kidnappings.
So something is changing behind the scenes and FEAR IS ON THE OTHER FOOT NOW.
This is of course due to work of people like Natasha and yourself and many others who never gave up and knew this daywould come.
As one Barrister said to me ” there is no such thing as justice- the only justice in 2012 is ££££££££. It took me days to get that concept, and on reflection saw he was correct.
So, open wallet surgery is what brings justice.
Sadly it is still the tax payer paying the bills for the negligence of service providers.
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Thank you, Portia, you’re kind.
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Dear Mam and Portia Barrett. By your actions and words you prove to MY BELIEF that the House of Commons WILL come to its senses and have a Parliamentary Investigation into the actions of Social Services and CAFCASS.
For too long MPs have turned a blind eye and not listened to their constituents on a widespread scale. Google:– Name and shame a social worker. I KNOW that SENIOR MPs in power past and present have knowledge of what has happened within Social Services. I am at a loss to know why with so much information they refuse to investigate.
Portia Barrett, I am very pleased by your mention of Social Workers NOW dipping their fingers in the SILVER PLATTER and trying to absolve themselves. Perhaps more will join and speak out. Thank you both. You CARED.
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Case Tracker for Civil Appeals
Summary Case Details for 20111405
Another case where the children were knowingly placed with violent father by Local Authority, when the battered mother was hospitalised due to his violence.
The protective mother has not been allowed to see her children- rarely- in 10 years.
Hopefully the media will be in attendance.
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Pingback: Council pays £1m damages for ‘shocking’ child abuse failings | This Nigerian Family wants to go Home – WITH their Six Kidnapped Children!
Dear Natasha
I’d like to join those who applaud your remarkable efforts, after I put a link to your story on the site of the Nigerian couple whose six children were taken. See http://bit.ly/wMIbeT
With sighs,
Sabine
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Dear Sabine,
Thank you for your kindness and your encouragement. Our efforts are very tiny in relation to what’s being done and what needs to be done, but we will keep trying. I have no doubt that the many families you help, Sabine, can feel that much needed support and in turn consider you priceless. Thank you for the link. I shall go over and take a look now. I can’t imagine it’s good news.
I did briefly note that you mentioned Researching Reform was produced in close collaboration with John Hemming MP. Just to clarify, Researching Reform has interviewed John for the blog and we’ve carried out research and other work with John’s office but John doesn’t oversee the blog. I hope that clears things up a bit. In any event, this info is available on our CV, which I think we’ve plonked on our About or our Welcome page, one of the two!
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