System abuse

System abuse refers to policies and practices that harm the families they are supposed to support or protect. It shows itself when people's problems are made worse by the services that are intended to help them. System abuse takes many different forms. The Social Services Inspectorate cites some examples bearing on parents with an intellectual disability:

- eligibility criteria for receiving a service that were very restrictive and did not take their parenting into account;

- staff who undertook parenting assessments without the necessary skills;

- decisions about removing children from the family being taken on the basis of inappropriate or inadequate information

(Goodinge, S., A Jigsaw of Services, Social Services Inspectorate, Department of Health, 2000, para. 1.29)