Woman convicted of impersonating a social worker…

9th March 2011

A woman from Hertfordshire has been convicted of pretending to be a qualified social worker.  It is now six years since legislation making ‘social worker’ a protected title came into effect, and this is the first ever conviction for this kind of offence.

The Care Standards Act 2000, made ‘social worker’ a protected title, but this did not properly come into effect until 2005, when it became compulsory for all practitioners to register.  It is now a criminal offence to pretend to be a member of the profession.

Harrow Magistrates found that the woman in question, Tracey Smith, had misrepresented herself as a social worker while working as a fostering social work assistant, and she was fined a total £230.

Penny Thompson, chief executive of the General Social Care Council (GSCC), said: “It is important that the public has faith that someone who uses the title ‘social worker’ is qualified, trained and adheres to high professional standards.

“This outcome demonstrates that there are consequences for anyone trying to abuse public trust by deliberately misleading others about their professional status.”

You can read more about this story on the Guardian website.