Showing 1 Clear searchX
Digital copy of the Witness Statement of Danny Wherry to the Inquiry providing an account of his experiences of working for Children's Services. [Some details redacted].
| Reference | C/D/AW2/B3/13/WS000543 |
| Date | April 13th 2015 - April 13th 2015 |
| Scope and Content | Describes his appointment to the post of Child Care Assistant within Children's Services in 1981, referring to the application and interview process. Includes a description of his role and responsibilities as a Child Care Assistant and an explanation of the structure of the social work field team, recalling those Child Care Officers that he can remember from this period. Also includes comments about the Children's Sub-Committee. Recalls successful application for the post of Child Care Officer in 1988, detailing roles and responsibilities of the position. Includes comments about his caseload as a Child Care Officer, commenting on frequency of visits to see children for whom he had responsibility and details about recordkeeping of these visits. Includes comments about training and supervision over the course of his career within Children's Services and details of administrative policies. Describes three main routes by which a child may be received into the care system in Jersey: voluntary admission, Article 31 orders and via the criminal court. Includes a description of preventative work undertaken by Children's Services. Includes comments about the residential care homes in Jersey including Haut de la Garenne, La Préférence, Brig-y-Don, Heathfield, Les Chênes and the Family Group Homes, including with regards to the extent to which these residential homes were inspected. Details his involvement in the investigation and recruitment of prospective foster parents and adoptive applications, outlining practices adopted from the UK and problems faced with regards to housing and cost of living in Jersey. Recalls an adolescent fostering research project undertaken by him, detailing his conclusion regarding the introduction of a professional fostering service in Jersey. Refers to the establishment of the Child Protection Team in the late 1980s to early 1990s to deal with referrals relating to the possible abuse of children, detailing his involvement in, and the work of, the Child Protection Team. Also refers to the introduction of the Child Protection Register and Child Protection Case Conferences, outlining the purpose of these conferences in respect of child protection matters. Also describes the relationship between Children's Services, particularly the Child Protection Team, and the States of Jersey Police, detailing tensions between the two services and remarks about changing attitudes towards placing children in care. Recalls the formation of the Child Protection Committee in 1996 to oversee the work of the Child Protection Team, commenting on the membership, aims, role and work of the Child Protection Committee. Recalls a push towards greater multidisciplinary work over the course of his career, assessing Children's Services' work with other agencies. Describes increased training within Children's Services with the introduction of the Child Protection Team, detailing areas in which he received training and his own responsibility for delivering child protection training externally. States that he played an integral role in the development of the Child Protection Team. Describes an increase in the number of reports of abuse since the establishment of the Child Protection Team, stating that he has no experience of receiving complaints about abuse at children's homes or of hearing it from others. Comments on reports of children going missing from Haut de la Garenne, refers to abuse committed by Les Hughes at Clos des Sables Family Group and comments on the case involving allegations of abuse by Alan and Jane Maguire at Blanche Pierre Family Group Home. Refers to his promotion to the post of Team Manager within Children's Services in 2002, detailing his role and responsibilities in this post including comments about the Leaving Care Team and supervision of the Heads of residential care units, mentioning period running Les Chênes following difficulties during absence of the Deputy Head. Details his secondment at Property Holdings in 2007 and refers to various managerial positions in Health and Social Services since 2010. Finishes with comments about legislation, particularly in relation to how Jersey's child care system was behind the UK in some aspects and comments about his role and involvement the introduction of the Children (Jersey) Law 2002, remarking on the process of the implementation of legislation in Jersey. [For Exhibits DW1 to DW12 referred to in this Witness Statement, see C/D/AW2/A7/20/WD005386 to C/D/AW2/A7/20/WD005397]. |
| Names | Andrews, Jean |
| Keywords | Brig-y-Don, Coast Road | 108, Clos des Sables | Haut de la Garenne | La Préférence, St Martin | Le Squez | Les Chênes, Five Oaks | New Zealand | United Kingdom | abuse | adoption | allegations | case conferences | child abuse | child protection | Child Care Assistants | Child Care Officers | childcare | Children | children's homes | children's services | complaints | discipline | evidence | Family Group Homes | foster homes | fostering | IJCI | inquiries | interviews | investigations | laws | legislation | management | nurseries | physical abuse | Police | residential care | sexual abuse | social workers | statements | training | witness statements | witnesses |
| Dimensions | 1 pdf file |
| Language | English |
| Level of description | file |
| Access Restriction | PDF file - please click on the link to download |
| Closed until | 2100 |