Social workers in Croydon have been steering clear of complex cases for fear of recrimination in the wake of the Baby Peter death scandal.
More than £3m is set to be pumped into social care in Croydon to deal with the “significant” rise in referrals experienced in the past 12 months, with millions more earmarked to build a new “children’s hub” in Edridge Road.
An extra 60 social care staff will be hired in the next two years in an attempt to unburden existing staff of large amounts of case work.
Dave Hill, executive director for children and young people at Croydon Council, said the four buildings currently housing social care staff were “fundamentally not fit for the purpose” in a report to the cabinet on Monday night.
The council plans to purchase One Edridge Road later this month, with a view to moving in staff by March 2011.
Baby Peter was just 17 months old when he died at the hands of his mother, her lover and their lodger in Haringey in August 2007.
He was later discovered to have suffered more than 50 injuries, despite receiving dozens of visits from social workers, doctors and police.
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