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Fears are mounting that Norfolk County Council's social services department could suffer because of a national shortage of skilled social workers. The shortage is so bad across the country that councils are paying for officials to travel abroad to find experienced staff, the co-president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, John Coughlan has warned. Some councils have resorted to paying new employees 'golden hellos' and awarding bursaries to undergraduates to encourage them to complete their social work degrees and Norfolk County Council has previously tried to recruit social workers from Canada to plug gaps. The news of the worsening national situation comes just months after it emerged that the number of looked-after children in care in Norfolk climbed to a record high of 849. It also comes seven years on from the tragic death of six-year-old Lauren Wright, who died at the hands of her abusive father and stepmother in May 2001. A post mortem examination showed Lauren had 60 bruises on her body when she died and had been hit so hard in the stomach her digestive system collapsed. David Wright, Norfolk's director of social services at the time, said it was clear the department had made wrong decisions and said it was a clear case of human error. Norfolk County Council was today unable to provide details of social worker shortages, but two years ago the vacancy rate was more than 30pc. That was before a recruitment drive in Canada brought in eight more social workers.
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