Inspection of services: Sandwell

Social Services Inspectorate

Department of Health

Inspection of services to support disabled adults in their parenting role: Sandwell, June 1999

'We were concerned that some disabled parents were reluctant to approach social services about help with their children. They were afraid that social workers from families and children's teams would take their children away. This was in part simply a reflection of a more generally held view due to the poor public image of social services. It also reflected a view held fairly commonly by disabled people that some social workers in children's and families' teams might be over zealous in their assessments of risks as a result of a failure to understand the nature of their disability or its impact on their parenting.' (para. 5.6, p. 17)