Social worker sacked for pregant teen comments

A (Ghanaian) social worker in UK, has been fired for making inappropriate comments to a pregnant teenager.

Michael Yankson allegedly told 17-year-old Leanne Law she was his ‘ideal girl’ and asked her to move to Ghana with him.

Her outraged mum Theresa Law is now demanding answers after the council refused to reveal details of an investigation into Yankson's conduct which led to his sacking.

Mrs Law contacted the child care department of social services when Leanne became pregnant in 2007.

The family were allocated duty social worker, Michael Yankson, in May of the same year, who arranged a visit to discuss the family's needs in June. He visited the family home in Lomax Street to meet with 17-year-old Leanne and asked to be left alone with her, but Mrs Law refused.

She said: "When he came to see Leanne he asked me to go out of the room, but I said no because he was asking her if she was a good cook and could she clean up?

"Then he asked her to go to Ghana. He said he was looking for a young female, but she had to be a non-smoker and Leanne would be the ideal girl to look after his mother. He asked if she had a passport.

"To me all he seemed interested in was taking Leanne to Ghana."

Leanne added: "He made me feel uncomfortable. He asked to take me out for a meal and take me to his country - Ghana.

"He wanted me to go to look after his mum.

"My mum took my passport off me, then every time I went out my mum was on the phone every two minutes."

Mrs Law later reported the comments to a social worker during a social services visit, but no further action was taken until she raised the incident again to the school nurse at Springhill High School in 2008.

Ms Law claims that she later found out that Mr Yankson had made the same propositions to other girls.

She continued: "Michael Yankson was allowed to carry on working, but he had to have another member of staff present during assessments.

"He wasn't allowed to be on his own with the girls.

"Then because he was being investigated he went on sick leave. As far as I know he doesn't work for the council anymore."

An internal investigation was carried out regarding Mr Yankson's employment and Mrs Law received a letter on April 3 2009 from his team manager stating that Mr Yankson had left employment at Rochdale Borough Council.

The letter stated: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing your concerns to the attention of the local authority.

"Children's Social Care endeavours to provide a high standard of service to the borough's residents and depends on customer feedback in order to do this."

Labour party leader Councillor Colin Lambert has been investigating the allegations and confirmed that Michael Yankson was dismissed for making inappropriate comments to Leanne Law.

He said: "I have checked the constituent’s allegations with the head of children's services, Steve Titcombe, and I've had it confirmed that Michael Yankson was dismissed in line with the allegations.

"This reflects on everybody and does nothing to build trust in the many excellent social workers that we have."

The Rochdale Observer has issued a request under the Freedom of Information Act regarding Michael Yankson's dismissal. Rochdale Council has refused to give any details about the investigation or any subsequent disciplinary procedure stating that the requested information was not in the public interest and could not be disclosed under section 40 of the Data Protection Act.

Steve Garner, Head of Children's Social Care, said: "We take any complaints about council employees very seriously. In this instance a thorough investigation took place, and I am satisfied that appropriate action was taken."

Mrs Law believes that the children's services department has failed her family and is concerned about the support that they offer to families in Rochdale.

She said: "I want an explanation from the council. People are going to social services for support and they're not giving it to them.

"There are a lot of people who need support and are scared to go to social services in case they get their children taken away."

The Rochdale Observer has appealed against the council’s decision to refuse our Freedom of Information Act request and we are awaiting a response.