How Could You? Hall of Shame-Wales-Social Worker Tracey Starling

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Clydach Vale, Wales, social worker Tracey Starling “missed compulsory “placements visits” to foster children’s homes, a Care Council For Wales hearing was told.” She “has been accused of falsifying documents to cover up the appointments she missed with foster children in her charge.”

“She then falsified foster care reports to give the impression she had made the visits, it was alleged.

Ms Starling, a former social worker at Rhondda Cynon Taff county borough council, did not attend the hearing and was not represented by legal counsel.

She faces allegations of “a failure to undertake regular Looking After Children (LAC) statutory home visits,” amounting to misconduct and falsely recording visits that did not take place on LAC forms.

In one incident Ms Starling allegedly filed a near-identical report twice to give the impression she had made two placement visits.

She is also accused of claiming on one LAC form that “stat visits … are now three-monthly” when this was not the case.

Other charges include dishonest actions due to “[attempting] to give the impression that [she] made visits that did not take place” and “attempting to mislead as to the frequency that statutory visits were required”.

The incidents were alleged to have taken place between October 2012 and July 2013, while Ms Starling was employed as a social worker by the authority, and were allegedly in respect of four foster children.

Ms Starling submitted a letter of mitigation to the Care Council’s committee that spoke of the difficulties she had faced in her working environment.

The letter described a culture of absenteeism, irregularity of supervision and senior staffing issues, the hearing was told.

Former colleague Jenna Allen, giving evidence to the hearing in Cardiff, spoke of her “alarm” at finding irregularities in one of Ms Starling’s LAC home visit reports.

She said that she realised “straight away” that the report was several years out of date because it referred to a child who had already been born as if it were still in the mother’s womb.

Another former colleague, Shila Millard said in evidence that Ms Starling “laughed” after she was confronted with the suspicion one of her reports was falsified.

Ms Millard said: “I needed to have evidence that Tracy hadn’t visited that placement. When I spoke with her on the phone … she laughed and confirmed she had visited lately. It’s almost as if she was dismissing this.”

She added: “It’s very important for the child’s social worker to visit regularly. She was a hard worker and did a good job of other cases that I was involved with.”

As Ms Starling did not attend the hearing she was not subjected to questioning by the committee’s panel, chaired by Islwyn Jones.

The Council’s Presenter David Mortimer said: “She has chosen, as is her right, not to attend the hearing today. But, by not attending, she has not afforded you the opportunity of asking her questions.

“I suspect there may have been questions that you may have wanted to ask her about her visits. But you haven’t been given the opportunity.

“You might, in my submission, consider her evidence with some caution, and should not treat what she says [with] the same weight as witnesses who have come here today and been subjected to questions at the panel.”

The hearing continues.”

Social worker let down foster children in her care and faked records to cover up the missed appointments[Wales online 11/17/14]

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