SOCIAL WORKERS - PROTECTORS OR PREDATORS?

I believe Social Workers have become PREDATORS - but it wasn't always like that!!

Social Services were originally put in place to help families stay together and it worked. I believe that common sense is no longer a part of the decision making process when tearing children away from their families, if it was then we wouldn't be seeing what we are seeing today!

Social Workers seem to work from the same hymn sheet, they work to rule, which means they tar us all with the same brush! We are not the same, all families run on a very different dynamic to each other, disability doesn't seem to be taken into account, death of a parent, single parent, working parents, unemployed parents, parents who take drugs, have alcohol issues - none of these issues are looked at on an individual basis and that's where the problems begin...

14 years ago I met a lovely girl called Elaine, she had just lost her husband in a motorcycle crash, they were both 29 years old. His untimely death left her almost penniless (no life insurance) and 2 kids aged 8 and 5. The eldest child had ADHD, she had no family and a part-time job. She was struggling to keep a roof over their heads and after a few months felt suicidal. She voluntarily went to Social Services for help feeling desperate.

Elaine told me that the Social Workers made her feel small and inadequate, a bad mum, even though at that point it was just an informal chat. Elaine was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, she didn't want her kids to see this so she asked Social Services if they would be prepared to place her kids into foster care short term so she could sort herself out. They agreed to place the kids locally so she could visit them and said they would help her find affordable housing. Elaine had 3 months to sort herself out, she explained what was happening to her kids, promised she would visit them everyday. When she told me what happened next took my breath away!!!!

They placed the kids with different foster parents so for the first time ever, they were separated from each other!! Are you ready for this? Remember me mentioning about common sense earlier in my post? One child was placed 62 miles away and the other was placed in a foster home 101 miles away!!! So much for promising to keep them local. Elaine was devastated, Social Workers had just made her life more unbearable than it already was.

She couldn't afford to travel to see her kids on a daily basis, she couldn't see one without the other, so she travelled to see one on a Saturday and the other one on a Sunday, she had to rely on public transport because she didn't drive! She did phone them everyday which kept her going! She still had her part-time job but the cost of travel to see her kids meant she couldn't save anything towards affordable housing, something the Social Workers promised they would help with.

Three months soon came around but she was still in the same position and was more stressed than ever!! She was summonsed to a meeting with Social Workers who then accused her of NOT making enough effort to see her kids and NOT making enough effort to improve her situation. She was distraught!! What a bunch of idiots!!

Elaine told me that she felt like crumbling into a heap but after a good cry she actually felt angry and able to stick up for herself. She felt fire in her belly and demanded her kids be returned to her. Social Services had no choice, she had gone to them for help voluntarily so there wasn't an order attached to the kids, they were returned to her that evening. She quit her job, applied for benefits so her rent would be paid and that kept the roof over their heads. She rolled up her sleeves and slowly improved their lives, eventually going back to work. She made friends with the other mums at the school and got herself a social life. I haven't seen her for about a year but I do know she has met another fella, the kids have both grown up happy, the youngest is at university. The eldest is still at home, attends the local college and has a part-time job.

A prime example of Social Workers working from a text book and not taking an individuals circumstances into consideration!!

To treat someone like that who came to them for help voluntarily beggars belief really. Luckily Elaine managed to draw strength from her experience but it could have been a very different story.

I believe that Social Workers failed in their duty of care, Elaine was a young grieving widow, she had two young kids, one of which had ADHD and was struggling to make ends meet. Instead of helping they made the situation a thousand times worse. If that's the way they operate now, they should be ashamed of themselves.

If you missed yesterdays post please feel free to check it out here ----> https://steemit.com/familyprotection/@nikkijmurphy/stolen-babies-secret-closed-courts-families-ripped-apart

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