Social Services Investigation Process
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| “Service User Feedback – Social
Services Investigation Process”. Please find enclosed a copy of a FASSIT commissioned research paper titled FASSIT UK Service user Feedback 232 KB PDF Doc Some pages/links included on the Fassit UK site are in PDF format. Download the Free Acrobat Reader Commissioned research paper prepared by Kurt Freeman - FASSIT Social Policy Researcher This paper was commissioned to address criticism arising from the media and statutory authority views of the FASSIT support website. The research aims to highlight a growing perception amongst families (including not only parents and children but also extended families – aunts, uncles, grandparents etc.) that there is a lack of rigor in the application of assistance and support to families with children and that investigations – ostensibly to improve the wellbeing and protect children – are being used as instruments of state sponsored family abuse. FASSIT nor its members have ever or would ever suggest that abuse does not occur! We do not condone any action by any individual that threatens the safety, wellbeing or emotional development of a child, this includes actions taken by Social Services Departments, Local Education Authorities, Child and Adolescent Health Services and Local Authorities. Where our views diverge from the prevailing political and statutory services view is in the belief that many of the problems we, as a society, face today are avoidable if social care agencies were given proper funding and were scrutinised more and held accountable for their methods and actions. The health and welfare of families, children and young people is not something that can be made ‘cost effective’ – the benefits of intervention are most often long term and the savings, in the long run, are less crime and more productive individuals with health pro-social skills. As far back as the 80’s government recognised the need to legislate safeguards to protect the vulnerable individual from overt or subconscious pressures when detained by the police. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) Codes of Conduct heralded a new era of protection for the vulnerable suspect and laid out clearly the role of the police as investigators not prosecutors of crime. No such code exists for social services investigations and abuses of power are believed to be commonplace. FASSIT's belief is that the role of Social Services as providers of social care is incompatible with the duties they discharge as investigators of alleged or likely abuse. There is no separation of powers, indeed many social services departments have dispensed with specialist child protection teams in favour of multi-tasking roles for individual social workers. Families are increasingly being faced not with allegations of abuse but of the potential to abuse, how such potential is quantified remains a complete mystery. From its early days FASSIT has campaign against ‘forced adoption’ where there is no recourse, in law, to return children home after an adoption order is granted if the grounds for the adoption are found not to have existed. Such situations do occur and on a more regular basis than social services would want the general public to know. The Human Rights Act enshrines the right for every individual to have a family; nowhere does it state that this is means tested or dependent on their IQ. FASSIT would implore you to understand that the families cited in the report and the members of the forum are still vulnerable and in pain. As you will read many of them were self-referrals where had they not brought themselves to the attentions of their social services department their families would most likely have remained undisturbed. If that isn’t a fact that makes you question just how well social services are discharging their duties to protect children and seek to help families that are in need then no wonder the system is going wrong. If social care agencies continue along the road of being seen as indifferent, unapproachable and ‘out of control’ then you can be assured that families will withdraw form any attempt to seek help with their problems. If this is the case then the future looks darker in terms of abuse but also in terms of young people continuing to become more anti-social, why should they care about society if it does not care about them. Not an excuse but a correlation of views. I have great pleasure in enclosing the report I trust you will find it interesting. We welcome comments and are actively looking to continue this research strand in the future. Yours sincerely, Kurt Freeman - FASSIT Social Policy Researcher FASSIT UK |
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