Do Social Workers Have Too Much Power? What Unchecked Power Does to Ordinary People.

This week Sarah and Louise ask a difficult but important question: what happens when any profession is given significant authority without enough challenge, accountability or independent scrutiny?

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, this is not an attack on social workers. Far from it. Thousands of dedicated social workers care deeply about children and families and do extraordinary work every day.

But Foster Care Uncovered has always been about having honest conversations about the realities of the care system, including the uncomfortable ones.

Sarah and Louise explore the psychology of power, how unchecked authority can affect decision-making, and why foster carers, adopters, kinship carers and birth families across the country have repeatedly described similar experiences of feeling unheard, dismissed or powerless when challenging professional decisions.

They discuss the difference between criticising a profession and examining a system, the importance of accountability, and why questioning power structures is essential in any service where decisions have life-changing consequences for children and the people caring for them.

Plus, there’s the usual Foster Care Uncovered mix of honesty, humour and a little “Word Salad Corner” - where Sarah and Louise attempt to translate professional language that sometimes manages to say very little while using a lot of words.

A thought-provoking episode about power, accountability, human behaviour and why protecting children means being brave enough to look at the whole system.

Listen, reflect, and join the conversation.

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JOIN FOSTERWIKI TODAY https://fosterwiki.com/register/

If you'd like to chat about this episode or any of our past episodes, feel free to reach out to us at info@fosterwiki.com. We’d love to hear from you!

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.

While the Westminster set enjoy salmon blinis, caviar and £100 bottles of Pol Roger, the people holding children’s social care together are exhausted, undervalued and walking away.

This week on Foster Care Uncovered, Sarah and Louise look at the politics behind children’s social care reform, the arrival of new leadership, and whether the promise of listening to people beyond Westminster will finally reach the frontline.

We ask whether glossy announcements, photo opportunities and symbolic reforms are replacing the difficult work of actually fixing a system in crisis.

Then we tackle the uncomfortable conversation nobody likes to have: are foster carers being exploited by the very system that depends on them?

From hidden costs and emotional labour, to fear, power imbalance and feeling disposable when things go wrong, we explore what happens when a workforce built on relationships is left without enough power, protection or voice.

Plus… we investigate the important questions. Who was at the party? Who got the blinis? And has anyone remembered to ask the foster carers?

If you'd like to chat about this episode or any of our past episodes, feel free to reach out to us at info@fosterwiki.com. We’d love to hear from you!

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.

Useful Links

JOIN FOSTERWIKI TODAY https://fosterwiki.com/register/

The Exploitation of Foster Carers: How Has It Become Normalised?

This week, Sarah and Louise begin by unpacking the latest fostering news, including the Government's latest announcement on Regional Care Co-operatives, what it really means for foster carers, and the proposed rewrite of the National Minimum Standards. Is this genuine reform, or simply another restructure that leaves the real problems untouched?

Then they tackle one of the most uncomfortable questions the sector has ever faced: are foster carers being exploited? They explore whether decades of reforms have unintentionally created the conditions for exploitation to become normalised. As fostering has become increasingly professionalised, with more regulation, governance, commissioning and management, the role of the foster carer has remained remarkably unchanged, often still treated as though it belongs to another era.

From hidden financial costs and emotional pressure to power imbalances and a system increasingly reliant on carers' goodwill, this powerful first part of a two-part series asks whether compassion has become something the system quietly depends upon and takes for granted.

If you'd like to chat about this episode or any of our past episodes, feel free to reach out to us at info@fosterwiki.com. We’d love to hear from you!

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.

Useful Links

JOIN FOSTERWIKI TODAY https://fosterwiki.com/register/

FosterWiki Parental Responsibility (PR): https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/parental-responsibility-pr/

FosterWiki Delegated Authority: https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/delegated-authority/

FosterWiki Delegated Authority – Decision Support Tool: https://fosterwiki.com/assets/uploads/2021/07/Delegated-Authority-Tool-Example-Published-07-2021.pdf