Social services for children

[cromwell]

What is the purpose of the SS as far as children are concerned? Today on the news we have heard of two children killed by their mothers, by neglect and out and out murder. On local news another child has been found dead at home; I believe the parents have been charged. Earlier this year a child was murdered by it's parents just down the road in Pontefract.
Yesterday C was telling me about a child being brought up by relatives because the mother was unfit to care for him.
Today I was in a shop in Castleford; behind me in the queue was a middle aged lady with a child in a buggy. she was explaining that she was the child's great aunt but she was "raising her as my own".
We have a massive problem in this country with parenting, in some areas. The social services just cannot cope.
So here's a plan. Stop child benefit; either totally or in part. We are encouraging people to have children for the benefits they bring in. There was yet another case in the papers this week. Six kids, £27k in benefits and boasting on Facebook about working being a mug's game.
Then, disband social services for children; keep only those parts which deal with children who have a genuine disability. They need help.
The SS can't keep children safe; it's not feasible. It's not the job of the state to raise children.
We have to put the blame and the onus back where it belongs; with the parents. Let's have no more of "this child was let down by police, social services and doctors", let's focus on the real issue - why is the UK producing so many inadequate parents?

[TheOstrich]

We have to put the blame and the onus back where it belongs; with the parents. Let's have no more of "this child was let down by police, social services and doctors", let's focus on the real issue - why is the UK producing so many inadequate parents?

Here in Birmingham, Social Services have now passed breaking point, and both the number and the quality of child protection social workers is now recognised as totally inadequate. That's per the Birmingham Child Safeguarding Unit .

Jane Held, the independent chair of the Birmingham safeguarding children board, said .....
there were not enough properly trained child protection professionals and .....
we failed as senior managers, individual organisations and collectively as a board to ensure staff knew what to do and were actually doing it.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013 ... u-williams

But nevertheless, I couldn't agree more that we have now become totally adept at passing the buck / blame onto "organisations" when the truth is that the blame for child cruelty is solely with the parents / partners.

We need to concentrate minds .....

For starters, how many of the cases have arisen with "single parent families"? I'd like to see BOTH parents prosecuted for child neglect, and if the biological mother or father have previously walked out of the relationship - then that is no defence, the absentee is up there in the dock as well. If there's a new person in the relationship at the time of death, well that's three up in the dock. These people need to be challenged with the concept of responsibility.

And from there, enforced sterilisation of anyone convicted in a child cruelty case - including any absentee partner.

[Workingman]

There are not enough cynics and sceptics working in child services.

Anyone who is brought to their attention, whether it be by a school or GP surgery or even neighbour concerns, should be treated with the utmost suspicion from the very beginning. Only when they are cleared of any wrong doing should they be left in peace.

We should also stop supporting serial single mothers, often with multiple fathers, from living off benefits. The fathers should be forced to support their children, even if that means ending their benefits, and the mothers should be housed in hostels not council houses.

[Aggers]

There are not enough cynics and sceptics working in child services.

Anyone who is brought to their attention, whether it be by a school or GP surgery or even neighbour concerns, should be treated with the utmost suspicion from the very beginning. Only when they are cleared of any wrong doing should they be left in peace.

We should also stop supporting serial single mothers, often with multiple fathers, from living off benefits. The fathers should be forced to support their children, even if that means ending their benefits, and the mothers should be housed in hostels not council houses.

I quite agree.

I also think that the punishment should fit the crime. The woman who starved her child to death should suffer the same treatment, and be88er her human rights.

[KateLMead]

No one in any government department is interested in WORK! During the period of our meet in Birmingham I was mortified at the number of unreported cases (until then) of the Children, little girls, who had savagely been mutilated and who as a result suffered infection "and agony", these shocking practices that are common in ethnic communities are ignored and this mutilation goes on and virtually ignored. The children brought to our notice are mostly the result of an ethnic relationships
The sheer horror fills me with dismay of what is allowed to go on without question. We are dominated by the customs of ethnic communities with which we are expected to comply we must not interfere Uman Rites you know!
We have churches that deal with supposed possession little children whipped terrified subjected to inhuman treatment.
This country has become a hell hole, and no one is brought to book when these shocking practices are brought to light, ignoring abused babies and children, must not upset the ethnic communities who have their own courts here who are aware of the evil practices that take place daily in our communities. Diversity what a laugh, what a farce l

[debih]

Sadly one of the reasons that SS can't cope is because of the amount of cuts in their departments. The government has made so many cuts that there are not enough staff to cope.

Our local authority is due to lose thousands of jobs over the next five years - and the main departments being targeted are adult care and childrens services. The two most vulnerable sectors of society.

I think it is easy to blame the social workers for missing things - when the main reason they are missing things is because they are so bogged down with cases because there isnt enough money to employ more of them.

Also, even if the money was there who would want to be a social worker? They are damned if they do get involved (being blamed for forced adoptions) and damned if they dont.

[KateLMead]

Cameron congratulated the councils who are gifted 1million a year if they meet the adoption targets, and we see methods used to wrench babies away from distraught mothers and parents "many considered to be of low intelligence" loving parents
What a society. The SS? Nothing has changed, they were as useless when I was a child as they are today.

[Aggers]

The only response we get today is "There are lessons to be learned".

But they don't learn, do they?

People today, in general, don't know what it is to do a fair day's work.

Things are getting worse day by day.

[cromwell]

Sadly one of the reasons that SS can't cope is because of the amount of cuts in their departments. The government has made so many cuts that there are not enough staff to cope.

But it's more than that imo. You could spend £100 billion a year on children's social services and children would still die at the hands of their parents. Partly because not only are the numbers of social workers going down, but the number of cases they have to deal with in going up and up.

Also, even if the money was there who would want to be a social worker? They are damned if they do get involved (being blamed for forced adoptions) and damned if they dont.

Which is my point. They are being asked to do a job that isn't do-able.

Politicians and I think some genuinely, believe that the State can and should do everything for everybody; but it can't and it shouldn't.

[KateLMead]

Cromwell, this abuse is not new, go back twenty years nothing has change go back 80 years nothing has changed, these people think they are untouchable, and indeed they are. Gang masters bring young girls and young boys here with the promise of work to be raped filled with drugs and forced into prostitution, what do the police do ". Nothing.!!
I was in London, saw a pretty young girl standing in tears, and her minder a few yards away ensuring that she did what she had to do,sell herself, she was not English I was tempted to go and ask her whether she was ok but my daughter stopped em from doing so.her pitiful situation worried me even to this day...what do the police and the SS do about these situations, ?Nothing...I do not believe that they are understaffed, they are full of their own self importance on big salaries and with no comeback when they fail to do the job they are paid to do, and those at the top in the SS and Councils get promoted when their constant failures and deaths come about and are exposed through negligence and them failing to do the job they are a paid to do.. Remember the holidays they have taking young offenders off overseas? The whole damned system is a farce.