Ruth Stark, professional officer at the British Association of Social Workers Scotland, also said that the high-profile inquiry into the killing of Edinburgh baby Caleb Ness by his father had made people "more cautious" about child abuse, so they were reporting suspicions at an earlier stage.
She was speaking after new Scottish Executive figures showed a three per cent rise in the number of looked-after children in Scotland to 11,675.
This was the third successive year the figure had risen.
Stark said: "If you have the kind of staff shortages we have in children and families work that support families in the community, this is the net result."
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