The impact of the decision on the social work profession The WritePass Journal

The impact of the decision on the social work profession Introduction The impact of the decision on the social work profession ). Although it was concluded that a serious error in professional judgment was a leading cause to the death of the infant, it was mentioned repeatedly that there was a staffing problem in the department at the time and as a result, an overburdened caseload. This is not a novel argument as it has been noted in a number of reports that under staffing and over burdening, coupled with a number of other issues, is a leading cause of failure to satisfy demand for social work cases (The Lord Laming, 2009; BASW, 2012; Munro, 2011). If one takes this further in light of policy objectives, surely these failures cannot be attributed then to the individual social welfare professional. Every Child Matters called for institutional accountability for failure to protect children which involves cross-organisational cooperation and communication. The failure therefore of social welfare professionals as a result of an overburdened caseload should be attributed to the organization that they represent, u nless there is clear evidence of professional negligence or an error in professional judgment. By failing to take account of organizational failure in these SCR one is declining to account for these resource constraints which may be described as the root cause of these failures. Until these causes are therefore addressed, the problems and failures will continue to surface and in turn, the policy objectives and sought outcomes identified by Every Child Matters will not be met. Since the decision of Baby P. it has been reported that there are thousands more children taken into care. The effect of the Baby P. decision has essentially had a chilling effect on the occupation of social workers, as now there is a much lower threshold for intervention in the lives of vulnerable children at risk of neglect and abuse (Butler, 2012). The effect that the case has had on public awareness has also raised a standard of care for children, and generally there has been a greater concern for the wellbeing of children (Flannigan, 2012). Despite this increased concern, a lower threshold for intervention and an increased awareness as a result of the Baby P. case, there has still been a 58% increase in the workload of social welfare professionals since the decision in that case, with reports of many professionals leaving the profession entirely due to the unrealistic workload (Ibid). It can be argued therefore that there has been a disproportionate effect on the profession whic h is severely impacting the efficiency of those professionals. On one hand, there has been a greater diligence with regards to child care because of the decision, clearly there has been a chilling effect on these social workers, however this has not been proportionately dealt with by the allocation of additional resources to handle the excess workload. This has been noted in the media, where the increased vigilance has been commended, however with a warning that there are further budget cuts in the near future making it unlikely that local councils will be able to meet the current demand on the system (Butler, 2012). This is particularly troubling as prior to the decision in Baby P. there were already concerns over the workload of social welfare professionals. The reality of working across organizational boundaries and cultures presents significant difficulty to all parties involved, not least of which is the heavy administrative burden that is placed on these individuals (The Lord Laming, 2009). Indeed, certain professionals have been cited as saying that they have little time to do home visits at all, because of this heavy administrative burden (BASW, 2012). The extent to which this affects the profession has even prompted BASW to call for local government intervention by assigning administrative staff to handle these administrative responsibilities in order to allow social welfare professionals to get on with their work that they were employed and trained to do. There is a continued argument that these professionals are not afforded the opportunity to do their work, because of the presence of alternative duties that carry sanction for a failure to comply with. Whilst these administrative duties are arguably necessary due to the intricat e nature of the work involved, burdening social workers with these responsibilities clearly is not having the intended effect. The lack of support and resources again has prompted third sector parties, such as BASW to call for simplification of role of social welfare professionals in order for them to get on with their jobs. The evolution of the social welfare profession into a bureaucratic monster is linked to the problem of administrative burden and under staffing. A paper trail of administrative documentation demonstrating compliance with the required procedures has become the primary means of accountability (Munro, 2011). Not only does this increase the administrative burden, or indeed constitute the large majority of that burden, it also blurs lines of accountability. In the same way that most industry has line managers and channels of accountability to ensure effective work performance, so too is this necessary in the social welfare profession in order to run effectively. Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards (DfES, 2010), the Director of Children’s Services and other key figures in local authority and partner organizations need to be identified for these professionals in order to account effectively. Without these clear lines of accountability, serious cases and review of circumstances will b e lost in this bureaucratic process between professionals (Munro, 2011). The need for reform in this area of the public sector is very apparent and the implementation of correct monitoring and review systems would be likely to avoid situations resulting in SCR. It is arguable that if there had been better communication and reporting structures in the case of Peter Conolly, the error in professional judgment attributed to the social workers would have been entirely avoided as the case would be reviewed by other professionals. A major concern in the attainment of policy objectives for the protection of children is the rising concern about the unqualified practice of social workers. Simply put, there is a growing consensus that the training provided coupled with the lack of support given and the intense bureaucracy of process, is wholly inadequate (BASW, 2012). A large percentage of social welfare professionals feel that the training provided did not adequately prepare them for the realities of working in the profession and further that unqualified professionals are being employed to attempt to fill staffing vacancies, however these professionals are not adequately trained, but hired as a cheaper alternative. Further highlighted was the idea that the dominance of prescribed administrative tasks is also inhibiting the further knowledge acquisition by staff (Munro, 2011). The attempt by the state to simplify the criteria and standards of judgment has had the effect of disallowing independence of these profess ionals in this industry and this in turn has inhibited performance.   It is therefore the recommendation of Munro (2011) that continued professional development is highly necessary, as well as a review of initial training. Conclusion It is clear that the government and third sector parties involved have a clear objective and mission statement for social welfare practices nationally. There is a very clear agenda to eradicate occurrences of abuse and non-accidental death such as those of Victoria Climbià © and Peter Conolly. The Lord Laming report (2009) highlights the successes of this area, however also the grave failures. The realization of these objectives and therefore full realization of children’s right is severely hampered by what can be summarized as budgetary or resource constraints. The intense overburdening, lack of staffing, assumption of excessive administrative duties and lack or inadequacy of training is all knock-on effects of severe resource restriction. The conclusion therefore is that the decision to dismiss social workers in a case such as Peter Conolly will more often than not be a case of lack of support for these social workers leading to errors with fatal consequences. It seems to b e an unfair burden on these professionals to hold them to account, when in reality it is an institutional failure that need be addressed. The impact of the Baby P. decision has increased the workload of these professionals whilst holding them to a higher standard of professional vigilance, without additional support in an already overburdened profession. This has had a positive effect on the care standards for children, however a significantly detrimental effect on the social workers themselves. The social workers therefore should not individually be held to account, but rather a professional failure of the institution. By ignoring the cause of these professional failures one is doing a great harm to the morale in the profession as highlighted by published statistics on the matter (BASW, 2012). Unfortunately, social welfare is evolving into a thankless task as there is great expectation on these professionals, however little support to encourage or motivate them. Until such time as these constraints are reviewed and the departments reformed, fatalities such as Peter Conolly will continue to be an occupational hazard. The evolution of policy prioritizing the rights of children is impressive to say the least, however without correct implementation of measures to realize these policy objectives, these goals may never be reached. The current burden on these professionals is unreasonable in the circumstances and ironically the quest to end abuse against children has led to a professional abuse in the social welfare profession generally. References Reports Butler, P. (2012) Thousands more children taken into care in wake of Baby Peter case The Guardian [online] (Last updated 25 May 2012 18.28) Available on: guardian.co.uk/society/2012/may/25/children-in-care-baby-peter [Accessed 19 July 2012] Christou Ward v London Borough of Haringey [2012] UKEAT 0298_11_2505 Flannigan, A. (2012) Baby Peter Connellys Anniversary: Five Years on Is the UK Safer for Children? The Huffington Post [online] (Last updated 2 February 2012 17:57) Available on: huffingtonpost.co.uk/andrew-flanagan/baby-peter-connelly-uk-safe-children_b_1727255.html [Accessed 19 July 2012] Haringey Local Safeguarding Childrens Board, 2009 (Serious Case Review ‘Child A’) (ref: March 2009) London: Department for Education The British Association of Social Workers, 2012 (The State of Social Work 2012) (Ref: 15/05/2012) London: sn The Department for Education, 2004 (Every Child Matters: Change for Children) (DfES/1081/2004) London: Department for Education The Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010 (Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children) (DCSF-00305-2010) London: Department for Education The Department for Education, 2011 (The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report, A child centred system) (ref: May 2011) London: Department of Education The House of Commons: The Lord Laming, 2009 (The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report) (ref: 15 March 2009) London: The Stationary Office Legislation International Conventions The Adoption and Children Act 2002 The Children and Adoption Act 2006 The Childrens Act 1989 The Childrens Act 2004 The Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 The European Convention of Human Rights 1950 The European Convention on the Exercise of Children Rights 1996 The Human Rights Act 1998 The United Nation Convention on the Rights of a Child