Former social worker criticises Alvesta municipality after attempted murder of two children
A recently departed social worker has levelled sharp criticism at the social services in Alvesta after two children were seriously injured in a suspected attempted murder. Resources for tackling domestic violence are said to have been cut significantly.
Departed social worker accuses Alvesta: "How can this be allowed to happen?"
With the words "How can this be allowed to happen?" a former social worker in Alvesta opens a letter addressed to the municipality's managers and politicians. The letter is a direct response to the suspected attempted murder of two children in the municipality over the weekend.
The two children were seriously injured and are being treated at hospitals in Skåne with life-threatening and serious injuries respectively. The suspected perpetrator – the children's father – was found dead later at the residence.
SVT Nyheter Småland reported on Monday that the children's mother had contacted social services just days before the incident to report their father's aggressive behaviour.
Specialist expertise halved
The letter writer, who recently left his position as social worker in the municipality, points out that the department working with domestic violence has been severely reduced in recent years. From previously consisting of two full-time posts, only half a position now remains.
SVT Nyheter has been in contact with the person, who states that work on domestic violence is now distributed among all social workers instead of being handled by specialists. This is confirmed by Lavinia Strömberg (S), chair of the committee for work and learning in Alvesta. She tells SVT that the restructuring is a deliberate choice to spread out the work tasks.
However, the letter writer argues that the change undermines the specialist knowledge required, and that social workers themselves express that they lack sufficient expertise for these cases.
Criticism of police report requirement
The letter also contains criticism of an internal directive on protected housing. According to sources speaking to SVT Nyheter, a manager is said to have stated that protected housing should not be granted unless the person subjected to violence has first made a police report. The information is said to have come from current management and have been presented during the past year.
No responsible representative from Alvesta municipality was willing to take part in a recorded interview with SVT on Tuesday.
Source: SVT Nyheter