Ombudsman Michael King has delivered the warning following a complaint from a parent who was asked to leave his family home by Newcastle City Council social workers, during a safeguarding investigation.
When asking a family member to leave a home, social workers need to be clear that this is voluntary, King said.
However, in the Newcastle case this was not made clear to the man, who had been subject to allegations, which were later withdrawn, that he had harmed his children.
After the allegations were withdrawn the man returned home and a support worker was allocated to help the family. But after seven visits this support was stopped without warning, according to the ombudsman's report.
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