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Fury over fostered girl who has three-hour round trip to school
‘Our family has been ripped apart,’ says mother after daughter is put in care
SOCIAL services have come under fire after a schoolgirl taken away from the family home in Islington against her mother’s wishes was put in the care of foster parents in Essex.
The 13-year-old was placed with foster carers 12 miles from her school and friends after the Town Hall’s child protection department found she was suffering from “emotional distress” in August 2007.
Because of a shortage of foster parents in Islington, the girl is being looked after by a family from a different cultural and religious background to her own.
She makes a daily three-hour round trip alone on the Underground and buses to her school in Islington.
The single mother, who has made an official complaint to Islington Council, said: “I find it disgraceful that she has been placed in this way. She has to take two long buses and then the Underground each day to get to school. She is only 13. Sometimes I hear she has seen friends and is travelling back late at night.
She said: “I am worried about her being brought up in a home with a completely different cultural background to what she is used to.
“It doesn’t seem right. She is so young and she has been separated from her older sister. Our family has been ripped apart.”
Statistics unearthed by the Tribune under Freedom of Information rules show that in 2008 only six children were housed with agency foster parents inside the borough, compared to 60 outside the boundary. The figures show that the number of children looked after by council carers has dropped from 70 in 2006 to 29 in 2008.
The mother said her daughter was taken away from her when she went to the council for “help” after the schoolgirl became increasingly violent. Therapy sessions broke down and one night she called police.
“I haven’t seen her since,” she said. “There is a family desperate to get a daughter out of that mess. I’m not a drug addict, not an alcoholic. I am a decent mother.
“I’ve done everything I could to bring up my children with the best intention. It is not easy bringing up a teenager in this society. But there is no way a mother can be penalised when there has been a crisis in the family. They should be helping me, but they ground me down.
“She is still getting into trouble with the police. This is a failure in the system. Social services have so much power but I cannot say they have used it wisely here.”
A report to the council’s health and well-being scrutiny committee has revealed a series of problems facing its child protection department. It showed that staff working with children in care have to cope with heavy caseloads and red tape. They are based in a sub-standard temporary building in Essex Road.
The report suggested that morale in Islington’s looked-after children team could be improved if social workers had fewer cases. The council says caseloads are not high but union officials have said there is too much bureaucracy.
While the council has one of the best records in London for employing full-time staff, its own department has recommended a total review of training following a report made in the wake of the Baby P abuse scandal. It has also called for better pay for social workers.
A council spokesman said: “We won’t comment on individual cases like this involving young people who have been fostered, as they are confidential.
“Islington has many very dedicated foster carers who provide great support to young people. We have been successful in finding new local foster families although we’re always looking for more foster carers for teenagers.
“We always aim to keep young people living near to their schools though sometimes this isn’t possible.
“If there isn’t a local foster family available, we always check the travelling time between the school and the foster home to make sure it is reasonable before a young person is placed there.” |
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