Social workers who work with vulnerable children are leaving care departments faster than predicted according to a new study by the Local Government Association (LGA).

Out of all councils who reported care staff retention problems, six out of ten are having problems retaining child care workers. This is a 33% increase on the figures from a year ago, and comes despite many councils boosting salaries to attract people to children's social work jobs.

A third of councils who were experiencing recruitment and retention problems last year implemented incentive schemes and boosted salaries to combat the shrinking numbers of qualified staff. Council leaders have said that they believe these have been overturned by public backlash and negative associations with the media outcry over the death of Peter Connolly (Baby P).

Councillor Shireen Ritchie, chair of the LGA's Children and Young People board, said that this had made workers feel like they had been "put through the mill".

Some of the initiatives set up by councils to attract qualified social workers back to working in this area include the creation of 30 new children's social work jobs by Liverpool City Council and a free return-to-work course for former social workers offered by West Sussex County Council. Hertfordshire County Council has also set up a training academy for newly qualified social workers, offering reduced caseloads and specialist training for 30 people a year.

Liverpool Council is also offering trainees free programmes to develop skills and confidence, giving them the chance to work as a social work assistant before they qualify and take on extra responsibility. So far it has seen 120 applicants to these programmes.

Describing the recruitment problems, Cllr Ritchie said that the "vilification of social workers has increased the risk of harm to some children by opening up gaps in the safety net which works so hard to protect them".

"People who care about the safety of children should understand that social workers are the solution, not the problem. During the past 12 months too many social workers have clearly decided the strain of this difficult work is more than they can handle. The commitment of those who have remained must not be underestimated".