The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has said that while it welcomes government efforts to improve the quality and confidence of the children and family social work workforce it has concerns about the way the accreditation system will be introduced.
Under current plans, the system will not be fully introduced until 2019, with the arrangements initially being introduced voluntarily at 31 councils first.
An ADCS response to a consultation on the plans states that voluntary implementation of the system "poses a number of risks which will further destabilise an already fragile workforce".
A chief concern raised by the ADCS around the National Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS) is that it will not be fully funded, leaving councils to cover the bulk of training costs for social workers taking part.
This would hit struggling councils in areas with high levels of deprivation particularly hard as they "are unlikely to have the resources or capacity to participate in a voluntary scheme".
The ADCS fears that this could result in a "tiered social work profession", based on those who are accredited and those who are not.
This could lead to social workers' professional judgment being unfairly questioned on the basis of whether they are accredited or not, the response adds.
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