Reunification from foster care

[poundedskate7]

That's great news, any chance you'll get your other children home too?

Our main point is that the police said no evidence of any crimes etc so ideally I want to appeal and am in the process of doing so, I know I only have a short period but having a baby loss as put us on the back foot and hopefully court agrees to retrial.

We literally were only asked to do some parenting courses before reassessment but that was biased and unfortunately the solicitors we had didn't argue against that, they even opted against the psychological assessment the LA wanted to do, even though we sat and agreed to it, they went to court and went against it.

It's been an uphill battle because our relationship with a certain children's services department we don't get on with.

[poundedskate7]

When is an independent social worker used, when we had a negative assessment last year we were told by our solicitor we couldn't do anything about it and that we would have to satisfy certain things for the judge to consider a separate assessment, we feel this was bad advice like everything from that solicitor. Thoughts?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi Suzy, Thank you for your response, after which on the same day i spoke to the IRO manager who as said we will receive the meeting notes this coming week.

Now in regards of contact between the children and grandparents, the plan states between 8-12 weeks, they pushed it over 16 weeks after court and now every 12 weeks, which shortens the period during the year, they have just rang them on Friday 25th to cancel for today (26th) am i wrong to think this shouldn't be happening at such short notice? They said one of the children is unavailable but not sure how that affects all of them? there is 4 in care.

Dear Poundedskate7,
Thank you for your further post on the parents’ forum.
I am glad that you have heard back from the independent reviewing officer about the meeting notes and that you will receive them soon. Thank you for updating.
You ask a further question about the care plan as it concerns the contact between your children and their grandparents.
You write that the original care plan, agreed in court stated that this contact should happen at intervals of 8-12 weeks and that has already been extended to an interval of 16 weeks. This week the grandparents’ scheduled contact session was cancelled at short notice as one of the children was unavailable. You are questioning why the whole session was cancelled if some of the other children were available.
I am afraid I am not able to answer as I am not aware of the circumstances. You are probably aware that the social worker and the independent reviewing officer are the people who could discuss this with you to look at the reasons for the cancellation and longer intervals between contacts for the grandparents. You have received links in previous posts on working with a social worker and the looked after child review process and it would be useful to read through those pages on the Family Rights Group website to prepare for your conversation. I will post them again here for your convenience.
• Working with social workers here
• Looked after child reviewhere
One issue that often arises with contact plans is difficulties with scheduling as children get older and have more activities and school holiday projects. Obviously, the bond with their grandparents and the time spent with them is vital for their family connection and should be prioritised – but this can take careful planning, and the social worker will need to liaise with the foster carers well in advance of each planned contact. Last minute interruptions can of course happen even with the best laid plans but in some cases more consistency might be achieved with better forward planning and adjustment of schedules as the children get older and their time commitments change.
In more extreme circumstances, if contact issues are longstanding and a considered response is not achieved through the dialogues outlined above it is possible for grandparents to seek leave of the court to apply for a S.34 Contact Order. You can read more about this here.
However, I would advise you to talk with the social worker and independent reviewing officer and talk through the practical planning for future contact sessions with the children’s grandparents.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[Smarie87]

Hi my children are in foster care but we’ve completed the assessment and I can tell you it’s been a long difficult road but the outcome was positive my oldest son is already home as he refused to go back to foster placement after one of the contacts and he as now been home 6months we’re currently waiting for repairs been done in a new property then the other 3 will follow.
My advice to you would be look at parenting coursers yourself rather than just doing what the local authorities ask, if unemployed try get a part time job. Admit to your mistakes and don’t blame any one else. And most importantly be open and honest if you don’t understand something they tell you ask them to break it down and explain each point.
Good luck for the future

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Smarie87,

Thank you for your post. I am Suzie, a Family Rights Group adviser replying to your post today.

It was so good to read your news that your son is back in your care and that your other three children are due to return when the repairs to the new property are complete.

It is very generous of you to share your update here, as hearing this positive outcome may be welcome and helpful for other forum users. You also explained how you worked towards this goal and gave some wise advice to parents hoping for reunification.

I hope that you and the children have a great start in this new phase of your family life in your new property.

Best wishes,
Suzie