The last ten years have been sobering for the family justice system, and the social work sector. Fighting to stay afloat, government agencies for each have tried desperately to find ways to generate income, often through misplaced incentives and a heavy emphasis on fostering, as well as adoption. None of their efforts have worked. And now, courageous social workers are speaking up about the child welfare system and what really needs to be done to make things right.
Simon Haworth is a former social worker turned academic. He left frontline practice to become a Teaching Fellow at the University of Birmingham, and whilst he doesn’t give a reason for leaving the sector, we did wonder whether the limitations within it were partly to blame. Simon joins a growing number of social workers questioning whether the system is really catering to children’s best interests by pushing adoption and by implication other forms of social care like fostering.
In an article for Community Care, Simon looks at the current child protection policies in place and talks about why he feels these policies are harming children, and society as a whole.
Simon makes several important points. He notes that phenomena like poverty and inequality are often at the heart of vulnerable children’s narratives. He goes on to mention that social work does not address these important grass roots problems or at least incorporate a deeper understanding of them in every day practice and that this in turn leads to decisions which are often not in the best interests of the children involved.
He also questions the care proceedings timetable with its 26 week limit and makes this insightful observation:
“It is explicit in government policy that there has been a drive towards more and faster adoption. We must ask whether this is taking place to the detriment of a social work model that favours family support and interventions to keep families together. Can we expect parents to address chronic difficulties within the 26-week time limit?”
There is also an interesting section in the article about dominant approaches to child welfare practice in the UK. This is the idea that dominant demographics are able to dictate process, policy and legislation which in turn lead to disadvantage and inequality, often for the most vulnerable.
Another important point Simon makes relates to the way we address underlying issues within vulnerable families. He says:
“We should ask ourselves how many children would have their legal rights to private and family life better protected through supportive and anti-oppressive approaches that address the glaring inequalities in our unequal society.”
What Simon is effectively saying, is that we need to be focusing on keeping families together, finding ways to support families and address the core issues they are dealing with, in order to improve society and reduce the enormous cost of social care.
The article finishes with an invitation to the sector to consider anti oppressive approaches which really place children and families at the heart of every decision.
Researching Reform has been saying these things for a decade, and so we are excited to see professionals inside the sector, and those who were once a part of it, coming forward to invite positive change. We very much hope more of you will join the movement.
Ian Josephs said:
What Simon does not mention is the horrific practice of UK social services of taking babies and young children from their parents not for anything bad that has happened but because nasty “know alls” have decided to predict that there is a risk that one day something bad just might happen to a child !
Alas we are all at risk and there is indeed a quite likely possibility that at least one person reading this today will be killed tomorrow by an unexpected accident or illness.
Punishment without crime is itself a wicked crime against humanity especially when babies are snatched at birth from lovingbut imperfect parents who have never harmed them and are desperate to keep them;
Both babies and parents are punished when social services take the risky step of dumping babies and young children with strangers and it is no good pretending otherwise;Many many kids are abused in care and some are even murdered but that is a risk that is always totally ignored !
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maureenjenner said:
It is time for all officialdom to stand back and take a concerted look at what is regarded as ‘standard-practice’. Much harm has undoubtedly been done by those who claim to ‘know-best. Parental instincts are rarely harmful, although ignorance can be lethal.
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Dr. Manhattan. said:
“Simon looks at the current child protection policies in place and talks about why he feels these policies are harming children, and society as a whole.”
I could not agree more with Mr Haworth.
the Harm this is doing to Society as a whole is going to have a long lasting effect leaving thousands of families feeling extremely bitter towards the system. its immoral and without doubt a crime against humanity.
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Natalie Teasdale said:
Well said Ian, as an adopted adult myself I can speak on behalf of most adoptees and i can also speak up as a birth parent the day my children were removed will always be the day my heart was ripped apart, as a mother i can tell you now nothing can ever put my shattered heart back together no amounts of compensation will do. The only way there can be any kind of ‘putting things right’ at this point is to return all children to their birth parents. It is extremely frustrating that no one can see the answer is simple, Children belong with their birth families if adoptive parents are so passionate about Adoption and are doing it for the right reasons then they will wait patiently for a child that has absolutely no family and truly needs the love that they can offer.
I was born in Cleveland, Stockton in 1988 I have no visual memories of my childhood and I have no answers as to why I had to be adopted. I suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of my adoptive ‘parents’ and now as an adult I have struggled with my mental health, substance use and domestic violence from my previous relationship. But its okay because the Local Authority will just continue this trauma by removing and adoptiing our children it began with my daughter in 2012, thankfully she was adopted by one of the most amazing couples I’ve ever met and she is truly happy and loved. Then after working extremely hard and succeeding in proving that I could cope with my son and going from child protection to child in need he was removed in 2015 and the Local Authority were having him adopted all because I relapsed! And finally the removal of our 5 day old daughter from SCBU in 2016 and apparently we can’t have even know the first names of our 2 youngest children’s prospective adoptive parents.
My partner and I have been treat like criminals and we were targeted by the Local Authority because of our childhood yet we were innocent children let down by the very same system that has the audacity to call us unfit parents.
We love our children and our children love us how much longer are the Authorities going to keep us from being with our children!!!!!
Kinship care, Contact orders etc will not solve anything in fact it is an insult to USAS parent and our children.
GIVE OUR CHILDREN BACK!!!!!!!!!!
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Natasha said:
I’m so sorry, Natalie.
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Ian Josephs said:
Sadly Natalie you are not an isolated case you are a very very typical case replicated by thousands of other unfortunate mothers from all parts of the UK .
We need 3 changes in the law as follows :-
1:- Abolish forced adoption (any adoption actively opposed by one or both parents)
2:- Outlaw the practice of taking children from sane law abiding families for future risk.
3:- Restore free speech and protest to both parents who have had their children removed and to children if fostercare ;
This would mean that Parents should be free to protest openly identifying themselves and their offspring in the media if they believe that their children have been wrongly taken from them.
Children in care should be free in contact to complain of abuse in care,free to discuss their case and the possibiliy of returning home ,and above all to speak their own language with their each other and with their parents at contact if they are foreign.
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[Name Withheld] said:
I totally agree I don’t understand why they can’t see the lifetime trauma they are causing.coming to terms with a death of your loved ones is worst thing anyone can go through not true the worst thing is seeing the life the love the happy contented sparkle fading in your kids eyes when you ignore their pleas to come home because you get suspended from having contact.the pathways is a waste of time where do you think the parents will be when they are released yes I mean released we are gonna be there with open arms ready to another them with all the love they were denied and every second of every day repair the damage even the system is a crime in plain site.people say id never let it happen to me .well you best watch out because mine went maybe future harm through seeing others argue in contact days.the kids father 3days a wk as social services said there was no injunction because he had done his time in jail for coercive behaviour stalking and threats to kill myself and the children they wouldn’t take contact over so they have him freedom to control again if you don’t take me no I’m make sure you lose the kids and every thing when he realised social had tricked him in to believing he would have the kids after the care proceedings 2days at the end he read their statements and he was unfit to even have a dog yet they just used him for the lies.I lost my home because I never realised they were charging me 2 bedroom tax I was evicted a wk during lockdown in March and that’s the last time I had physical contact with the kids it took a further 2 months to have a video chat and my youngest still gets to come home he seems to know when the call is ending they do not out the child’s wants and feelings first they violate their human rights
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