More social workers needed in schools

Social workers need to be present in all schools to uncover any hidden problems that may cause children to misbehave or get distracted in class, University students heard yesterday.

"Who is asking the children what's wrong with them? How do you expect a child to concentrate at school if, at home, they are the victims of abuse or neglect?" asked Anthea Agius, who chairs the Malta Social Workers Association.

She said the government planned to have one or two social workers per college. But this was not enough, she insisted, saying each school should be allocated a social worker.

Failing to tap into the suffering of these children meant they were more likely to live a life of social exclusion and poverty, she said, adding social workers should have a greater presence in the community.

Ms Agius was addressing students during a discussion organised to mark the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

The speakers agreed poverty in Malta was a reality people often refused to acknowledge. A recent study showed that over half of EU citizens believed people were poor because they were lazy or because it was inevitable.

Social worker Anthony Girard spoke about cases of poverty he witnessed first-hand, citing as examples a man who lived in a cave and went to Caritas once a week to have a shower, and a woman who lived on a farm with no water or electricity.

Mr Girard stressed that these people were victims of circumstance and, contrary to what some may be tempted to think, they did not bring their situation on themselves.

Ms Agius insisted people had to open their eyes and look at poverty in the face. Recognising it was the first step towards addressing the issue.

She stressed that poverty had many facets and was not just about the lack of material belongings. Social exclusion was one of the issues that could be addressed through commitment and courage.

"We speak about the waiting lists in the orthopedics department. But no one mentions the children on the child protection services' waiting list."

There were about 250 practising social workers with a caseload of between 35 to 50 clients compared to the 12-client caseload in the UK, she explained.

As social workers struggled to cope with their caseload, abused or neglected children remained on the waiting list for child protection services.

Cases were often referred to Appoġġ by schools or neighbours but, unless the abuse was considered to be serious, the child was put on the waiting list.

Apart from a need for more social workers, she said, social workers required improved legislative tools that would, for example, impose a time frame on child protection cases.

Another legal obstacle faced by social workers was the law allowing parents to smack, or reasonably chastise, their children. Unfortunately, this was being used as a loophole by abusive parents who beat their children.

Some months ago a child was hit with a metal object and whoever did it got away with it as reasonable chastisement, Ms Agius said.

Earlier this month, Commissioner for Children Carmen Zammit said children involved in court cases, such as their parents' separation proceedings, should have access to some form of facility that would ensure their concerns were heard by the judge.

As things stood legally, the commissioner said, she could not intervene in court cases to ensure a child's voice was heard in court.