Each child in care is required to have a named social worker who is responsible for all aspects of their day to day life in care, including their health, education and general well-being.
Social workers have some of the hardest jobs in the public sector. In many places, they are juggling a very heavy caseload with pressure from their superiors to reduce costs. Burnout and sickness are common. Periodic tragic cases from Victoria Climbie to Baby P lead to public social worker bashing, which do little to encourage new people into the profession.
Where new recruitment has taken place, it has sometimes been controversial. Community Care magazine reports that some newly recruited social workers are sent out to deal with complex cases with little guidance. They also speak about local authorities who are reluctant to appoint new recruits because of their lack of real world experience.
These difficulties are no secret. The government's Care Matters programme emphasises the need for social workers to have more time for children in their care. They want to introduce a 'newly qualified social worker' status, so that new recruits are guaranteed proper support and training.
Getting a good social worker who has adequate time for children in care is one of the 'make or break' factors in a child's care experience. Often the amount of help they are able to give is dependent on where they work. Harrow Council's drive for long term support of children means that social workers can give the help they want and are happier in their jobs.
At worst, loss of a social worker in an overstretched system means that some children disappear completely from view. Children's rights lawyer Mitchell Woolf comments: 'there are a number of children who get lost in the care system, where social services move them several times and then just forget where they are. I've seen it quite a number of times. A social worker leaves, no social worker replaces them, the child is in a different authority, and they get lost to the care system. It's shocking how often it happens.'