Vulnerable youngsters in Aberdeen will be the first in Scotland to experience a new scheme aimed at taking fewer children into care.
The city council officially launched its £3million overhaul of social services yesterday, with an expanded and restructured team of staff now expected to be able to spend more time with working directly with families.
The initiative is based on a model developed in the London borough of Hackney after the local authority was condemned over failings, including those which preceded a mentally ill mother killing both her children.
The “Reclaiming Social Work” system – which involves moving from a traditional team structure to smaller units of staff working with youngster and families – led to a 40% reduction in the number of children going into care in Hackney, and halved the sickness absence rate among social workers.
About £3million was also eventually saved from London council’s budget.
Aberdeen City Council, which is the first local authority in Scotland to adopt the model, hopes the shake-up will lead to similar results.
Councillor Lesley Dunbar, social care spokeswoman for Aberdeen’s ruling Labour-led administration, said: “We are confident that this will deliver a better and more family friendly service for the city.
“There is clear evidence that that has been the case in Hackney.
“This has also involved an immense amount of work for our staff across social work and children’s services directorate, all of whom have really responded well and undertaken the retraining that has been required.”
Large numbers of city council staff have already undergone additional training as part of the overhaul of the service, with further sessions planned later this year.
The system was designed to cut the amount of time social workes spend on paperwork.
The adoption of the small unit means that there are no families dependent on the service provided by just one specialist worker.
Council chiefs in Hackney set up a social enterprise, Morning Lane Associates, which has since worked with Aberdeen’s children’s services team.
It is understood that the city council currently has no plans to set up such a social enterprise in Aberdeen.