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01/09/02 - Social worker in
Climbie case tore my family apart
DAN EVANS
Sunday Mirror
THE social worker at the centre of the Victoria
Climbie abuse inquiry arranged for a toddler to be wrongly
snatched from her mother. Carole Baptiste failed to check
evidence in the case before approving the removal of the
child and her bosses later had to apologise and pay out
pounds 1,000 to the mother.
Social services chiefs in Haringey, North London, allowed
Baptiste, 39, to continue working after the incident
until Victoria's death despite a string of complaints
about her conduct over a five-year period.
The revelations come days after Baptiste was fined
pounds 500 for failing to help the inquiry into the
murder of eight-year-old Victoria, who was found dead
in February 2000 after suffering more than 120 injuries
to her body.
Her great aunt Marie Theresa Kouao and lover Carl Manning
are now serving life sentences for the murder.
Last night investment administrator Blanca Duindam,
43, of Tottenham, North London, revealed how Baptiste
arranged for her daughter Amanda - aged three at the
time - to be taken from her on the word of a "
jealous" childminder.
Even though Baptiste had never seen Amanda's home life,
she accepted the childminder's view that Blanca was
depressed and not a fit mother.
It led to Amanda being taken away by police and Haringey
social workers from her family home.
Four days later, on January 9 1994, mother and daughter
were reunited and received a grovelling verbal apology
from Haringey social services.
Blanca said last night: "I am one of the lucky
ones.
"How many other children are either in care when
they shouldn't be or, like Victoria, not in care when
they desperately needed it?
"A little girl died who shouldn't have died and
the same people were involved."
Blanca came home from work on January 5, 1994 to find
a handwritten note from Baptiste.
It said that Amanda's childminder had called social
services to say Blanca appeared tired and depressed.
Baptiste wrote: "If we don't hear from you, we
may be forced to take out an emergency protection order
for the safety of Amanda, just so you can get on your
feet."
It was the first time Blanca had ever been involved
with social services and she was shocked by the threats.
Blanca said: "I just felt the whole approach was
very aggressive.
"I couldn't understand why one minute I was seen
as a perfectly fit and hard-working single mum, and
the next a menace to the daughter I love more than anything
in the world.
"I had split with my partner and had to bring
Amanda up on my own. I worked as a receptionist at a
TV production company at the time and paid the childminder
pounds 400 a month to look after Amanda.
"There were major elements of jealousy with that
childminder. I was doing well for myself work-wise and
had a beautiful daughter.
"The childminder was trying hard to adopt two
little ones and seemed to think she was the 'perfect
mother'." Blanca immediately called Baptiste to
explain she had been having some trouble with noisy
neighbours but that she and Amanda were coping well.Baptiste
reassured her the letter was a mistake and told her
not to worry.
But days later - on the strength of the childminder's
claims - Amanda was taken from her home and put into
the minder's care.
"They came mob-handed into my home - three policemen
and a duty social worker who did not know about the
situation," said Blanca.
"They were insisting Amanda had to go with them
- nothing I could say could make them see their mistake.
As soon as I tried to phone a lawyer, they yanked Amanda
from my arms. She was screaming and sobbing. I was left
in complete shock. I didn't knowwhat to do and found
myself waking at night thinking I could hear Amanda
crying."
Blanca added: "According to the police's papers,
I was diagnosed with acute depression.
"But I had never even seen a doctor about feeling
low, and the claim was an utter fabrication.
"The police who raided my home and took my child
had no psychiatric or medical training - the whole set-up
was a shambles."
Amanda's removal came at the same time as a public
outcry over Jason and Natalia Dalson, two young children
from Tottenham killed by their mother in a chilling
prelude to Victoria Climbie's death. Blanca believes
officials were paranoid about makingfurther mistakes.
She claimed that while she was in the council-registered
minder's care Amanda suffered a serious cut to her left
eye which needed stitches.
No explanation was ever offered for the injury. In
2001 - seven years later - Blanca received a payment
of pounds 1,000 as a "goodwill gesture" for
that and the distress taking her daughter away had caused.
"The whole incident effectively marked the end
of Amanda's childhood, " said Blanca. "I have
had to make constant phone calls to Haringey social
services since 1994 just to get some recognition of
what it had done. But when I heard Carole Baptiste's
namementioned in the Victoria Climbie case I almost
started hyperventilating.
"I knew I had complained about this woman so many
times and I could not understand why no one had listened.
I just felt so desperately sorry for Victoria's parents.
It was grim reminder of how lucky I am."
A Haringey Council spokesman said last night: "Mrs
Duindam did make a complaint and there were protracted
discussions. A 'without prejudice' payment of pounds 1,000
was made available to her to bring the matter to an end."
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