Children’s social work caseloads predicted to soar as living costs rise
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Social work caseloads could become “unmanageable” as the cost-of-living crisis pushes more children into care, professionals have warned.
A survey by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) of hundreds of its members reveals a “shocking and an important insight into the impact of the crisis on real lives”, chief executive Ruth Allen said.
Responding to the survey, 75 per cent of social workers strongly agreed that more children will come into care due to the crisis and 55 per cent said they think caseloads will become unmanageable.
Meanwhile, 95 per cent strongly agreed with the statement that vulnerable people may die this winter due to the crisis and the same proportion predict that domestic violence will increase.
Social workers also shared concerns over their own challenges in the face of soaring costs with 43 per cent saying that they fear they will struggle to pay their own bills.
Some 20 per cent added that they expect to use a food bank themselves soon while nine per cent said that they have already done so recently.
One social worker told BASW: “Social workers cannot support vulnerable people when they cannot afford to put food on their own table or cover petrol costs to get to work. The impact on vulnerable families will be devastating.”
Another warned that “social workers themselves cannot afford to pay their bills and run their cars, most are having to get second jobs. It is not sustainable”.
Allen, who has written to Prime Minister Liz Truss to highlight the findings of BASW’s survey, said: “To hear of social workers being forced to use food banks shows how deeply poverty and governmental neglect has penetrated.
“This winter thousands of children and adults will be cold in their own homes and that simply is not acceptable in 2022. The time for talking is over. We need action from government.”
The statistics come weeks after foster care providers warned carers were considering quitting the role due to the cost-of-living crisis.
The survey of 1,064 foster carers by information service Foster Wiki found that 54 per cent had considered resigning due to soaring living costs.
Some 89 per cent said they are having to cut back on money spent on children, impacting on food, heating, travel and activities, and two-and-a-half per cent had resorted to food banks.
