There are significant vacancies for social workers within Northern Irish children's services as the number of young people in care reaches a record high.
An Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services has been published today by Professor Ray Jones that has made over 50 recommendations to the Department of Health for the reform of children's social work.
This includes removing the services form the five health and social care trusts and the creation of a new social work led arms-length body of the Department of Health.
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It comes as social workers highlight significant concerns around staffing levels within the social work sector, with 10% of posts vacant across the board and some children's services teams having vacancies of up to 50%.
The number of looked after children in Northern Ireland has also hit a record high since the introduction of the Children Order in 1995, with 3,800 looked after children.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Carolyn Ewart, director BASW NI, said that social workers working within children's services in Northern Ireland are under extreme pressure due to high case loads and inefficient uses of their time, with many spending 80% of their time on paperwork rather than working directly with families.
She said: "There are pressures across the entire social work system due to the high level of vacancies, but particularly in the children's sector where some teams have vacancies of up to 50%.
"At present we would need around 550 new social workers just to cover the vacancies that we have within the sector.
"Social workers are also dealing with very high case loads, looking after upwards of 25 families, when it has been recently recommended that social workers should not be dealing with more than 15 cases each.
"This issue is combined with how social workers are having to spend their working time as they are spending around 80% of their work filling out paperwork and reports, rather than working directly with families. In an ideal world the reverse would be in effect and social workers would be spending the majority of their time with families providing support.
"Anyone who enters the social work profession does so because they want to help people and support the most vulnerable in our society, but at the moment they are overwhelmed and urgent reforms are needed to the service as a whole."
The independent review also recommended the diversification of staff within social work teams. During the review process, BASW NI, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council surveyed social workers to identify the staff that could best support social workers.
Orlaith McGibbon, Chair of BASW NI, said: “Social workers are highly qualified and extremely skilled professionals, but under current arrangements, they spend too much of their time on tasks which could be undertaken by non-social work colleagues. This is a poor use of social workers’ time and an inefficient way to allocate valuable resources.
“The overwhelming majority of social workers support an increase in non-social work staff to support their teams. BASW NI urges the Department of Health to respond to the views of social workers and introduce additional family support workers, social work assistants behavioural support workers and administrative support staff where they are needed.”
Ms McGibbon concluded by saying: “The public rightly expect the provision of high-quality services, not least of all children’s social work services. But the public’s expectations are not matched by the government’s willingness to fund our services. Whether we chose to reform, or transform, children’s services, we need additional resources to ensure families are supported effectively so fewer children come into the care system in the first place.”
Professor Jones’ key recommendations include the establishment of a region-wide organisation for children’s social care services with the capacity to draw in the services of other agencies and the appointment of a Minister for Children. Other recommendations consist of the development and deployment of multi-agency front-line teams and services and measures to address workforce challenges within Children’s Social Care Services.
Permanent Secretary Peter May said: “The Department clearly recognises that there are challenges within children’s social care services in Northern Ireland and commissioned this comprehensive review so that system improvements could be identified. We fully accept that change is necessary if we are to meet the ever-increasing demand for children’s services in Northern Ireland and ensure that children and families get the help they need, when they need it.
“I want to acknowledge the contribution of all those who work to support children, young people and their families in Northern Ireland every day. I am pleased that Professor Jones has highlighted many examples of the impressive services delivered by our skilled and committed teams.
“In relation to some of the report’s recommendations, the Department has commenced work to address the challenges facing our workforce. In March 2022, we completed a review of the social work workforce and established a workforce reform board. A priority for the board has been the stabilisation of the children’s services workforce and I am pleased that significant progress in this area has been made. Trusts are on target to end the use of agency social workers by the end of this month. A move that will support our key aim of stabilising our social work workforce and bringing about service improvements.
“The other key recommendations from this review will require significant service changes, and in some cases cut across a number of government departments. Therefore, these are decisions that will need to be considered by a Minister and an Executive. In the meantime, my Department will undertake a public consultation on the organisational and service changes recommended, and make the necessary preparations for an incoming Minister.”
In conclusion, Mr May acknowledged all those who contributed to the review process, saying: “This report is the culmination of a 16-month period of work by Professor Ray Jones and the Advisory Panel - Professor Pat Dolan, Marie Roulston and Her Honour Judge Patricia Smyth. I want to thank them for their work and the significant engagement they have undertaken to produce it. I would also like to record my thanks to all of the young people, parents and carers who engaged, contributed to, and shared their lived experiences with the Review Team – your insights have been invaluable. Finally, I am grateful to all those who work in our Trusts and across the community and voluntary sector who contributed their expertise and shared their experiences throughout the process.”
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