The McDougall`s children have been snatched by Fife social services on their return to Scotland after the council failed to get Kerry McDougall`s baby at birth. Is this GIRFEC in action and, more importantly, which aspect of GIRFEC in action is this?
Early intervention? (No, Kerry and her child escaped that because she fled to Ireland and they have now formed a loving bond which is irreplaceable. It would be damaging to the child to intervene.)
Getting it right for every child? (No. Fife social services lied when they told the MacDougall`s they would be left alone if they returned to Scotland. The alarm has been raised around the country that social services cannot be trusted. )
Fife social workers in enacting their revenge are not the Machiavellian manipulators they thought they were. As a concept, GIRFEC has been weakened and social workers in Fife have fallen into disrepute.
What is wrong with the child protection system?
For anybody interested in the wider implications, Dr Lynne Wrennall presented a paper to the All Party Group on Abuse Investigations in which she addressed the question: what is wrong with the child protection system and what are the indicators of the need for change?
She argued that the child protection system is harming children, families and communities because it has lost its focus. Social workers no longer do social work because they are acting out the role of child abuse investigators.
Some people would say: leave the police to do the policing - they are better at it - and let social workers provide the social support. The two roles are incompatible.
It`s worth another read.
http://www.academia.edu/339801/Wrennall_L._2004_Miscarriages_of_Justice_in_Child_Protection_a_brief_history_and_proposals_for_change._Paper_presented_to_the_parliamentary_conference_held_by_the_All_Party_Group_on_Abuse_Investigations_Attlee_Suite_Portcullis_House_2_December
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