Council where Logan Mwangi was murdered ‘worryingly dependent’ on agency care – The Guardian

‘A local authority involved in the care of Logan Mwangi, the five-year-old boy murdered by his mother, her partner and his stepson, spent more than £1m on agency social workers in the year the child was killed, it has emerged.’

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The Guardian, 5th October 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

West Sussex social care failings contributed to teen’s death – BBC News

Posted September 29th, 2022 in inquests, mental health, news, social services, suicide, young persons by sally

‘A teenage boy died following a catalogue of failings by social services, an inquest has heard.’

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BBC News, 28th September 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Coercive control: The women killed by abusive partners – BBC News

‘A new study, seen exclusively by BBC News, reveals the extent of coercive and controlling behaviour in cases where victims are killed by their current or ex-partners. Experts say organisations, including the police, NHS and social services, need to better understand the problem and intervene in abusive relationships earlier.’

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BBC News, 27th September 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Child protection agencies failed son of drug addict, review finds – The Guardian

‘A severely asthmatic seven-year-old boy who died “gasping for air” alone at night was failed by child protection agencies who “could and should have done better”, a serious case review has found.’

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The Guardian, 1st September 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court judge issues ruling on fairness of age assessment procedure – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 5th, 2022 in asylum, children, immigration, local government, news, social services by tracey

‘The High Court has found against the London Borough of Brent in a case concerning the age of an asylum seeker even though Mr Justice Swift said the council’s conduct was “not an error of the most serious nature”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Key information about adopting mother not shared before baby’s murder, report finds – The Guardian

‘Information about drinking, debts and mental health that could have prevented a baby boy being placed with an adopting mother who went on to murder him was not shared between agencies, an investigation has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 28th July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sheffield City Council repeatedly let down vulnerable woman – ombudsman – BBC News

‘A vulnerable young woman was told by a council investigation she could have stopped the abuse she experienced if she had spoken up sooner.’

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BBC News, 15th July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Councils pledge not to ignore families’ warnings about vulnerable children – The Guardian

‘Council officials have pledged to give more weight to warnings from wider family members about vulnerable children after the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, after alarms raised by relatives were disregarded before their deaths.’

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The Guardian, 28th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Review calls for child protection overhaul in England after two deaths – The Guardian

Posted May 26th, 2022 in child abuse, children, homicide, news, police, reports, social services by sally

‘Child protection services in England face a shake-up after an independent review of safeguarding failures that led to the killings of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and the toddler Star Hobson.’

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The Guardian, 26th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Independent Review of Children’s Social Care urges shift from crisis intervention, calls for ‘expert child protection practitioner’ role, regional care cooperatives and increased support for kinship carers – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 25th, 2022 in children, families, local government, news, social services by sally

‘The current system of children’s social care is increasingly skewed to crisis intervention and a radical reset is now “unavoidable”, the final report of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd May 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Overhaul of children’s social care in England urgent and unavoidable, review finds – The Guardianship

‘An urgent multibillion-pound overhaul of children’s social care in England is needed to transform the life chances of thousands of vulnerable young people and reform a system that is spiralling out of control, a government-commissioned review has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 23rd May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Woman convicted of murdering baby she wanted to adopt – The Guardian

‘A former care worker who used physical force and lost her temper with a baby boy she was in the process of adopting has been found guilty of murder.’

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The Guardian, 17th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Herefordshire Council social services separated twins despite expert warnings – BBC News

‘Twins were wrongly split up for adoption after social workers altered an expert report warning of the harm of separation.’

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BBC News, 16th May 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ombudsmen release joint guidance to tackle common mistakes in aftercare of mental health in-patients – Family Law

‘The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) have released new guidance to tackle common and repeated mistakes seen in the aftercare of patients receiving support under the Mental Health Act.’

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Family Law, 5th May 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Re H [2022]EWFC 10: Guidance in Learning Disability Cases – Transparency Project

‘The Good Practice Guidance for working with parents with a learning disability was first published in 2007 by the Department of Health / Department for Education and Skills. Fifteen years and two revisions later, awareness of it remains patchy. In Re H [2022] EWFC 10 (19 January 2022), where the mother’s learning disability was a central feature of the case, the children’s social worker admitted that she was unfamiliar with the Guidance.’

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Transparency Project, 26th April 2022

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Social workers failed to act quickly to protect neglected toddler, inquiry says – The Guardian

‘Social workers failed to act to protect a vulnerable toddler less than three weeks before she was hospitalised with a broken arm, despite warnings that she was neglected and at risk of harm, an inquiry report has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 26th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Observer view on failures of the child protection system – The Guardian

‘Two decades after the Victoria Climbié case led to an inquiry, recent deaths show we have learned little from such tragedies.’

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The Guardian, 24th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Logan Mwangi: mother, stepfather and unnamed teen found guilty of murder – The Guardian

‘A five-year-old boy was murdered by his mother, stepfather and a 14-year-old youth after months of abuse and imprisonment in the “dungeon” of his small, dark bedroom, a jury has found.’

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The Guardian, 21st April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ombudsmen release joint guidance to tackle common mistakes in aftercare of mental health in-patients – Family Law

‘The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) have released new guidance to tackle common and repeated mistakes seen in the aftercare of patients receiving support under the Mental Health Act.’

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Family Law, 11th April 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Ombudsman raps council for using incorrect information to place child on protection plan – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 11th, 2022 in children, complaints, families, local government, news, ombudsmen, social services by tracey

‘Buckinghamshire Council caused significant distress after it shared incorrect information and failed to suitably include a mother in its process when deciding to place her child on a child protection plan, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk