The System Can Be Fixed With Some Common Sense In My Opinion

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I spent 26 years working within the system, not as a Social Worker, as a Foster Carer. In total, along with my own three children, I fostered seventeen troubled teenagers. I've seen a lot of changes over the years, not only within the system, but life in general.

I'm going to show my age now - back in the old days, before technology, human beings used to think for themselves, now, it seems the younger generation think "There is an app to solve everything", even common sense!!

Social Services aren't much different, I first became a foster carer because I wanted to help young people. The ethos was, to offer children a stable, loving home, initially short term, leading to a long term placement if all parties agreed and it was in the best interest of the child, including the parents in some cases - common sense!! The system was designed to help keep families together at any cost, Social Workers would spend time with families to try and assist with difficulties being experienced - not anymore!!

Towards the end of my time as a foster carer, that ethos was still in place, it just wasn't practiced any longer. This was the main reason I retired when I did.

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I believe that the system can be changed, if everyone is included in those changes, Social Workers need to be retrained, families are individuals and need to be treated as so, every case should be dealt with on it's own merit and the training manual, should be used only as a guideline, to enable Social Workers to think for themselves and use some common sense, every situation is different.

Family values have all but disappeared from the modern day family, educating families to value each other and not the material things in life would be money well spent, as would, parenting classes, health and nutrition classes, cooking classes, etc. This money is better spent to prevent children being taken from their families, instead of the billions spent worldwide, keeping them in the care system. Of course, there are those poor children that the system needs to protect, we often hear stories of children suffering horrendous injuries at the hands of their parents, that's when a child needs removing from the home! These cases are a minority compared to how many children are removed from their family homes, often for no reason.

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In order for the system to change, I believe we should get rid of the secret courts, they have no place in our society. In something as important as destroying a family, the system should be transparent. If a parent or parents have hurt a child, they are criminals, we already have a court system for criminals. If Social Workers believe that they are carrying out their duties in a lawful manner and in the best interest of the child, then there is no reason to hide in a secret court, instead they should be confident enough that a judge and jury will hear the evidence and decide on an outcome accordingly, the law isn't based on "What Ifs", therefore secret courts are operating in an unlawful way.

I was born in 1949, most of my generation would have ended up in care, along with teachers, parents and the local bobby going to prison for assaulting a child. Those were the times I lived in, I didn't grow up scarred or damaged because my ears got clipped a few times. I'm not saying that the old way is better than the new way, I'm saying, take elements from both, mix them together with some good old common sense. The world has gone mad, there is too much PC, sometimes I think I was born on a different planet!

Best Wishes
Doris