utterly appalling

[JBR]

I don't want to read the link again, but IIRC social services didn't want the child returned for a fair old while longer, but the courts overruled them.

Defence lawyers.  I suppose it's their job, but they always seem to be looking for reasons to excuse crime.
Not a job I would ever do.

[Michael Rolls]

This astonished and horrified me - it comes from the BBC News website report on little Finley's death

>>By Mark Easton, BBC Home Editor

Such tragedies almost defy comprehension but it may shock people to learn that the most likely age to be murdered in England and Wales is in the very first year of life.

On average 20 children under one are the victims of homicide each year. Each death results in an official review of what went wrong and then, as anguish over cases builds, a formal inquiry is launched.<<

It certainly shocked me.

[Diasi]

I don't want to read the link again, but IIRC social services didn't want the child returned for a fair old while longer, but the courts overruled them.

The Family Court makes a decision whether or not a child can return to it's birth family on the basis of what it's told about the case.

If the Family Court was involved it would have appointed an official guardian for the child & the guardian would be advised of all the findings of the social services involvement. 

Someone had convinced the court that it was safe for the child to be returned.

[Scrumpy]

Do Social Services wear blindfolds when visiting a home.. !
 If a child is being (watched) there should be  SURPRISE visits at any time .. not just a cup of tea and a chat..
The system is to blame..

I guess they will come up with the good old favourite  'Lessons learned'... They usually do..

[dextrous63]

Incidents like this have sadly been happening for decades, with the usual reviews and promises to review etc etc.

Part of the problem is the increased workload on social workers themselves, with unmanageable "client" numbers per worker.

It is a combination of a minor miracle, coupled with the diligent efforts of the vast majority of social service employees, that this sort of thing is relatively rare.

[Diasi]

Do Social Services wear blindfolds when visiting a home.. !
 If a child is being (watched) there should be  SURPRISE visits at any time .. not just a cup of tea and a chat..
The system is to blame..

I guess they will come up with the good old favourite  'Lessons learned'... They usually do..

Social services pick on families where their child has a genuine accident that's reported by the hospital as it's a simple tick box exercise, with fully compliant parents for a few months, with no risks to the child whatsoever.

Where the parents are violent you don't see social services for dust.