Children in Care

By being placed with other children in foster care without a full assessment of his needs, Darryl was put as further risk of abuse. Darryl was taken into care after being found living with his disabled father in a state of severe neglect. Having slipped through the net for over a year, nothing was known about the boy when he went into foster care, however he soon started showing disturbing behaviour that put other children in the foster home at risk. Darryl's journey in the care system exposed him to further harm and some levels of systemic abuse. Questions were raised as to whether he should have been left at home with support, others concluded he was already so damaged there was little that could be done.

How could Darryl have been helped? His situtaion raises a number of ethical issues discussed in the our social work values page below.