A Dundee social worker’s misconduct hearing into alleged failures in practice, including not reporting concerns about a child’s sexual behaviour, has begun.
The Scottish Social Services Council’s conduct sub-committee hearing in Dundee into Shona Ritchie should last three days. She faces six charges in connection with her involvement in the cases of five children in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
They occurred when she was a social worker with Dundee City Council but she is no longer employed by the authority.
She is said to have failed to carry out tasks and duties required of a case responsible social worker to an acceptable standard.
She indicated she was admitting some of the charges and denying others, and proceedings continued with evidence from four witnesses.
She is accused of failing to visit a 20-month-old child until six days after concerns were reported about the family circumstances, not recording home visits, not referring the case to the community support team and other failures in record keeping.
In connection with a two-year-old child, she is accused of failing to carry out a home visit, not keeping proper records, not completing child protection investigations and not making proper arrangements before stopping the family’s contact with the child.
She is accused of not responding to concerns about a 14-year-old’s sexual behaviour and progressing the child’s referral to a specialist service.
She is said to have not visited a 10-year-old child until a month after the child’s case was referred to her, not recording contact with the child and her family and not carrying out an assessment on the mother.
In the case of another 14 year-old child, she is said to have not made a referral to the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service or record and respond to concerns about the child’s welfare and behaviour.
Ritchie is finally accused of failing to inform her manager about her failure to carry out the tasks specified in the charges.
The hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday.