Judge hits out at social workers' lies
An angry high court judge has reported social workers to the social services inspectorate for lying to a magistrates court and to the mother of a one-year-old boy whose foster father had been arrested for downloading child pornography.
Mr Justice Wall censured the unnamed metropolitan borough council over the "extremely worrying sequence of events", in which social workers also denied the boy's independent guardian access to documents about his case and tried to invoke public interest immunity to keep them secret.
A court order protects the identities of all the parties, including the local authority, but the judge has authorised his judgment to be made public because of its importance.
The boy, S, was put into voluntary care by his mother, JJ, three weeks after his birth in October 2001. He was placed with the Bs, foster parents with 33 years' experience who were also looking after another, unrelated, child.
The council's application for an interim care order was due to be heard on October 17 last year. The day before the hearing, however, police arrested Mr B as part of Operation Ore, the international child pornography investigation.
Social workers removed the two children and decided to take them to hospital for medical examinations. JJ's consent was needed to examine S and to move him to another placement because the council had no care order for parental responsibility.
C, the social worker dealing with the case, was told by her boss to telephone JJ, but to let the telephone ring only twice. Then, assuming there was no answer, the magistrates could be told the council had tried, but failed, to reach her.
What the judge described as "this grossly unprofessional and wholly improper stratagem" failed, because JJ answered after the second ring.
But C told her that the placement was being changed because of "personal reasons" and that her consent was needed for a "welfare medical".
"Incredibly", said the judge, the magistrates were not told that S had been removed. C's statement, prepared before the police swoop, said that the "foster carers have been able to offer S a stable, loving home".
The judge described the council's conduct in "comprehensively misleading" the court as "quite shocking".
JJ opposed the care order and told the magistrates that her parents wanted to care for S, but the magistrates decided to make the care order.
Children involved in care proceedings are entitled to have a guardian, an independent social worker, to safeguard their interests. But because of the ongoing crisis in the children's court service, it took nine weeks to get a guardian appointed.
"Such a delay is unacceptable," the judge said. It was only when the guardian started his investigations that the behaviour of the social workers came to light.
Copy of THE GUARDIAN News Archive.
An angry high court judge has reported social workers to the social services inspectorate for lying to a magistrates court and to the mother of a one-year-old boy whose foster father had been arrested for downloading child pornography.
Mr Justice Wall censured the unnamed metropolitan borough council over the "extremely worrying sequence of events", in which social workers also denied the boy's independent guardian access to documents about his case and tried to invoke public interest immunity to keep them secret.
A court order protects the identities of all the parties, including the local authority, but the judge has authorised his judgment to be made public because of its importance.
The boy, S, was put into voluntary care by his mother, JJ, three weeks after his birth in October 2001. He was placed with the Bs, foster parents with 33 years' experience who were also looking after another, unrelated, child.
The council's application for an interim care order was due to be heard on October 17 last year. The day before the hearing, however, police arrested Mr B as part of Operation Ore, the international child pornography investigation.
Social workers removed the two children and decided to take them to hospital for medical examinations. JJ's consent was needed to examine S and to move him to another placement because the council had no care order for parental responsibility.
C, the social worker dealing with the case, was told by her boss to telephone JJ, but to let the telephone ring only twice. Then, assuming there was no answer, the magistrates could be told the council had tried, but failed, to reach her.
What the judge described as "this grossly unprofessional and wholly improper stratagem" failed, because JJ answered after the second ring.
But C told her that the placement was being changed because of "personal reasons" and that her consent was needed for a "welfare medical".
"Incredibly", said the judge, the magistrates were not told that S had been removed. C's statement, prepared before the police swoop, said that the "foster carers have been able to offer S a stable, loving home".
The judge described the council's conduct in "comprehensively misleading" the court as "quite shocking".
JJ opposed the care order and told the magistrates that her parents wanted to care for S, but the magistrates decided to make the care order.
Children involved in care proceedings are entitled to have a guardian, an independent social worker, to safeguard their interests. But because of the ongoing crisis in the children's court service, it took nine weeks to get a guardian appointed.
"Such a delay is unacceptable," the judge said. It was only when the guardian started his investigations that the behaviour of the social workers came to light.
Copy of THE GUARDIAN News Archive.
Link to THE GUARDIAN Newspaper.
Clare Dyer,
legal correspondent
Thursday May 29, 2003
The Guardian
Disclaimer: Content on this site is placed Without – Prejudice.
Search this site.
Click Here to email Us if you think we can help you in any way.
No child can be identified by any posts on this website. Every child should be able to move on in future without reminder of past intervention by any authority. Many victims of the U.K. System are the children.
We are indeed aware of Article 170: Privacy for children involved in certain proceedings.
but also Section 62: Publication of material relating to legal proceedings
(251.252.)
Which means that nothing can be published that may identify any CHILD during court process yet; Council's can publish photographs and detailed profiles of children online in advertising them for adoption.
To save this information on your computer so you can read another time – right click on mouse anywhere on this page – click on Select All. Right click mouse on highlighted text and click on Copy. All information on page is now in your clipboard, open a new Document or Notebook page – Right click mouse on empty page and click on Paste. Simply delete any text above and below the text you now have and save this document with a title.
Now you can read off-line at leisure.
This website is built for a parent who went through the system and wishes this information was there for them when it was needed.
This right is protected by law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 19), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (article 19).
Download the PDF READER you will need it to view all PDF files.
Simply click the button below and follow the information, this will download and install the PDF reader onto your computer. This will allow you to read all these large PDF documents on any website. If you are not using your own computer and want to view any of these files simply email us and we will give you a link where you may read in web format.
Other web-sites built as hobby.
Both Community Sites below have very helpful Message Boards.
Entertainment Links. Add us to your list before you go.
Disclaimer: Content on this site is placed Without – Prejudice.
Search this site.
|
|
No child can be identified by any posts on this website. Every child should be able to move on in future without reminder of past intervention by any authority. Many victims of the U.K. System are the children.
We are indeed aware of Article 170: Privacy for children involved in certain proceedings. but also Section 62: Publication of material relating to legal proceedings (251.252.) Which means that nothing can be published that may identify any CHILD during court process yet; Council's can publish photographs and detailed profiles of children online in advertising them for adoption.
This website is built for a parent who went through the system and wishes this information was there for them when it was needed.
This right is protected by law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 19), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (article 19).
Download the PDF READER you will need it to view all PDF files.
Simply click the button below and follow the information, this will download and install the PDF reader onto your computer. This will allow you to read all these large PDF documents on any website. If you are not using your own computer and want to view any of these files simply email us and we will give you a link where you may read in web format.
Both Community Sites below have very helpful Message Boards.
We are indeed aware of Article 170: Privacy for children involved in certain proceedings. but also Section 62: Publication of material relating to legal proceedings (251.252.) Which means that nothing can be published that may identify any CHILD during court process yet; Council's can publish photographs and detailed profiles of children online in advertising them for adoption.
To save this information on your computer so you can read another time – right click on mouse anywhere on this page – click on Select All. Right click mouse on highlighted text and click on Copy. All information on page is now in your clipboard, open a new Document or Notebook page – Right click mouse on empty page and click on Paste. Simply delete any text above and below the text you now have and save this document with a title. Now you can read off-line at leisure.
This website is built for a parent who went through the system and wishes this information was there for them when it was needed.
Simply click the button below and follow the information, this will download and install the PDF reader onto your computer. This will allow you to read all these large PDF documents on any website. If you are not using your own computer and want to view any of these files simply email us and we will give you a link where you may read in web format.
Other web-sites built as hobby.
Entertainment Links. Add us to your list before you go.