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Demonised for caring
• THE call from Community Service Volunteers director Dame Elisabeth Hoodless to recruit volunteers to help families of children on the at-risk register is a move in the right direction (Government must volunteer funds to support vital helpers, May 30).
The hope that such a programme is successful has gained momentum in recent weeks following questions over the ability of social services to keep children safe in tragic cases such as that of Khyra Ishaq, the seven-year-old child in Birmingham, who appears to have been allowed to starve to death.
The initiative is being introduced at a time when more than 5,000 new foster carers are required next year alone to provide more children in care with the homes they need. The problem in recruiting sufficient numbers is hampered by the fact that a third of foster carers will be accused of child abuse during their work, with the vast majority of these allegations being unfounded.
To engage another army of volunteers to assist in child protection will again be severely hampered by the response from social services to an allegation of child abuse. This response offers little support to those falsely accused and invariably results in foster carers being deprived of their livelihood, the children they have cared for removed and the creation of so much stress that many do not return to fostering after a false allegation.
To ensure volunteers come forward to help vulnerable children, the system must change so it is accepted that false allegations of child abuse actually happen and that volunteer carers, particularly male carers, are not demonised and their lives destroyed because they wanted to do something to help these children.
Trevor Jones
Hanley Road, N4
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