Help/advice section 47

[Maskgirl39x]

Hi

I was hoping for a bit of advice of this current situation, my daughter has 2 children one has been placed with me and another with their other nan their is currently a section 47 in place and their is a police investigation undergoing as well , they have been in our care for the last 6 weeks and soon their is a core group meeting but their has been no update from police so far so I’m confused as to why we have this meeting ?
Also the daughter is saying to the social worker that if she is unable to get the kids back then she wants the children to be placed with their great grandparents who they don’t know and is old and ill or if not into care does she have a say in this if the police are involved in this case and they have been with us for 6 weeks so surely the social workers will see that will be disrupting both the children , also we have had no support financially the child’s school is over 2 miles from my house having to pay bus fare each week , new clothes , food shopping how do we go about getting financial help ? Before police got involved social wanted the children to be put on a child protection plan and be put back with parents we don’t feel social are taking this seriously as social was involved 2 years with a child protection plan !! Just need some help on what more we could do to make sure we are heard and we get the best outcome for the children

[Robin D]

Core Group meetings have to take place at least every six weeks until the matter is resolved. It's to ensure that its monitored properly and to prevent situations going on and on to the detriment of the children.

Parents are entitled to make their views on possible carers known but anyone will have to be assessed AND prepared to do it. Part of the assessment is that on the possibility that the children will never return to their parent(s), could they care for the children until they are eighteen and whether the health of the proposed carers is going to adversely affect the children. I suspect from what you say, that the assessment may fail on those points irrespective of the mothers wishes. The local authority should be looking for all potential carers within family and friends and they may well be parallel planning a number of options. I trust you and the other grandmother have told the social worker that you wish to be considered as permanent carers? If not, I suggest you do it writing. However, ideally the children should be placed together. Is it a possible solution that both grandparents could support the same placement, and provide mutual support, even if the care is 'shared'. Something to think about.

The police investigation could well take months. The police should be at the core group meeting, but if charges are being considered, they are unable to update the meeting with that sort of information as I understand it.

Best wishes .... Robin

[Maskgirl39x]

Hello robin

Thank you for your reply!!

The social is aware we are both grandparents are happy to care for the girls but we haven’t spoke about having both the girls as we thought that as the children have been with me for last weeks and other child with other nan for 6 weeks we assumed they would allow that to continue if all assessments was passed as it’s disrupting the children again moving them to and from different places the schools are even seeing a difference in them as showing they are thriving this was the main concern as one of the children isn’t related to other grandparent through blood the child has a different dad so would that make a difference because we want the child that’s with me now to stay in the family if she went to the other grandparent they are not really family through blood but we wasn’t sure how that work or if that even matters

[Robin D]

Hi again.

Any adult who has been significant in the life of the child can be considered, and does not have to be a blood relative, or indeed any relative. It's often called Friends and Family Care.

I know of two children placed in the last year or so with a special guardian who is the paternal grandmother of the youngest, but the older sibling had a different father so no blood tie.

Not sure if this is of any help, but at least answers your question.

Best wishes .... Robin

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Maskgirl39x

Welcome to the kinship carers’ forum. Thank you for your post. My name is Suzie. I am Family Rights Group's online adviser. I am sorry to hear about the difficult situation your family is experiencing.

You explain that there is a section 47 process in place with a core group due. My understanding is that there is a child protection plan in place for your grandchildren as a core group happens when a decision has been made at a child protection conference that children are at continuing risk of suffering significant harm. I understand that the police investigation is ongoing, but children’s services are the lead agency when it comes to protecting children and don’t necessarily have to wait for a criminal investigation to be concluded to put a plan in place to safeguard children. Police investigations can take some time. Just to clarify that while police attend initial child protection conferences they do not attend core groups.

You have been caring for your grandchild for six weeks and another grandmother is caring for their sibling. Your grandchild was ‘placed’ with you. It does not sound as if this arrangement is being treated as a section 20 voluntary arrangement. This would mean that your grandchild is Looked After and you have been temporarily approved as your grandchild’s kinship foster carer. If so, you would be receiving a fostering allowance and there would be a Looked After Child review process in place.

Instead, it sounds as if children’s services are treating the children’s stay with their grandparents as a private family arrangement which means they don’t have to provide you with much-needed support.

If you are unsure what the children’s legal status is, please ask their social worker to confirm as it is important. We have a template letter that you can use to make the argument that you should be treated as a kinship foster carer. Please see template letter (4) here . But this would require a parent’s consent (see below).

You are querying whether your daughter has a say in deciding where the children live as she is suggesting that if they don’t come back to her care then they should be placed with their great grandparents. As a mother, she has parental responsibility for her children and so is the main decision maker for them (alongside their father/s if they have parental responsibility) unless children’s services have a court order (an interim care order) allowing them to make decisions for the children including where/with whom they live. They would still have to pay attention to her views on where the children should be placed if this was to be with family members who would need to be approved as kinship foster carers.

Currently there does not seem to be a court order in place. So your daughter or the father’s consent is required for the children to stay with you or their other grandmother.

You are concerned at the possibility of the children being moved as this would be extremely disruptive for them and they also have no ongoing relationship with their great grandparents who are elderly and ill. It is understandable that you don’t want this to happen. As Robin has said any prospective carer (in a section 20 or court ordered placement) would need to be assessed and approved. Assessments are thorough and not all prospective kinship carers will be approved.

Robin is correct that in such situations children’s services should parallel plan e.g. consider a range of options for children.

I think that a family group conference would help your daughter and the extended family network understand the concerns and the possible outcomes for the children. It would help the family identify who could support your daughter to care for the children or who in the family could do so. It really is a helpful way of clarifying the options and prioritising who could care for the children. This could also explore the children potentially staying together or separately depending on their specific needs and circumstances. An FGC also needs parents’ consent.

I know there is a lot to think about here. You might find it helpful to call the freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm to talk to an adviser in more detail about the situation. Of course, you can also post back on this forum if you prefer.

I hope this helps.
Best wishes

Suzie