CASE STUDY
You are a social worker in the Local Drug and Alcohol team and Natasha is a 22, year old woman from Croatia who has been
referred to you from the Child Protection team.
The referral states “Natasha is clearly not a fit mother to be looking after her son who is 2 years old.” Natasha has been in the UK for
about 7 years.
When she first arrived she was 15 years old. She tried to get help at that time from the LA but she wasn’t successful as she had no
documentary evidence to prove her age and all staff felt she “looked older’.
Since that time Natasha has been working in a local café where the owner has also allowed her to stay.
However 2 years ago Natasha gave birth to her son Karim and she has been drinking vast quantities of alcohol ever since. This has
resulted in her being sacked from her job and she has now been told she will have to move out.
The café owner has expressed concerns about her care of Karim to the local child protection team and they now want to pursue care
proceedings if Natasha does not stop drinking.
From the referral, it does not seem that Natasha has any other support networks in the UK.
The family support worker who has visited Natasha at home feels the child needs to be removed sooner than later but hasn’t been
able to ascertain why Natasha keeps drinking when she has such a beautiful little boy.
As the social worker, you need to explore what can be done to support Natasha and Karim.