Worried about upcoming ICPC and possible Section 20 – advice needed

[Pilot1]

Hi,

We are due to attend an Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC) in two weeks and are very worried about what might happen, particularly around Section 20 and concerns Social Services may raise.

Our eldest daughter is 14, profoundly deaf, and we strongly believe she may be autistic and have ADHD. We have been asking Deaf CAMHS for neurodevelopmental assessments for nearly two years, but there have been long delays. Over the last 6 months her mental health has deteriorated significantly, including severe paranoia (believing she is constantly being watched or photographed), OCD behaviours around contamination and cleanliness, and intrusive thoughts that appear to cause her significant distress and can contribute to her lashing out during periods of overwhelm.

These difficulties sometimes lead to violent outbursts at home, mainly directed towards me and her mum, which have also affected her younger brothers.

Our social worker introduced a safety plan, including calling police and one parent taking the boys somewhere safe if incidents escalate. We have followed this plan whenever needed.

Social Services now say the threshold has been met for an ICPC to decide whether all three children should be placed on Child Protection Plans.

We have also been asked to consider a voluntary Section 20 arrangement for our daughter while her mental health is further assessed and treated. We can understand why this is being suggested and can see possible benefits for family safety, but we are worried that without us advocating daily, support may reduce further, especially given the delays we have already experienced with CAMHS. We are also concerned about whether any placement would understand her deafness and possible autism/ADHD.

Another major concern is that during some violent incidents, my daughter has told police that I hurt her. On a small number of occasions, I have physically intervened to prevent injury or serious property damage. My wife witnessed incidents and did not agree with what was later reported, and to our knowledge police did not identify injuries or pursue concerns. These allegations have only arisen during periods where she is extremely distressed, but she later continues to remember events this way and repeats them to the social worker. We are worried about how this may be understood at conference and want to approach it appropriately and transparently.

We are also unsure whether to seek legal advice or a family law advocate before the conference, particularly regarding Section 20 and the ICPC process.

Finally, our social worker asks for details of where family members are staying during breaks from the home, including addresses and timings. Is this normal practice during a CIN/CP process?

We would really appreciate advice on:

1. Whether we should seek legal advice or an advocate before the ICPC.
2. How best to approach concerns around Section 20.
3. How to handle the allegations issue if raised in conference.
4. Whether the level of monitoring by Social Services sounds typical.

Thank you.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Pilot1,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the parents’ forum.
I am Suzie an online adviser replying to you today.

I am sorry to hear about the difficulties your daughter’s mental distress and the difficult situation for the whole family.

You explain that the children are currently on a child in need plan, but children’s services feel that threshold may now be met for a child protection plan to be considered. You are nervous about the forthcoming initial child protection case conference where professionals that know you and your family will come together with you to discuss the risk of significant harm for the children and the most suitable support.

You can read more about initial child protection case conferences here.
A short explanatory film showing one family’s experience of the process is here.

Although, you could engage a solicitor to attend the conference, they would not be able to speak or represent you there, and no legal aid would be available to cover the cost.

You could consider your support options for the day. Will both of you parents be attending together? Is there another family member or friend who could also help on the day?

You could discuss this with the children’s social worker and should have an opportunity to meet with the case conference chair before the conference so that you can know what to expect and how some sensitive topics will be handled. This would be a good opportunity to raise the episodes when you have had to restrain your daughter and she has subsequently made allegations of physical abuse, so that you can agree how this can be presented and discussed at the conference. It may be a good idea for you to write down the dates and details, so that you have the facts to hand. I can fully see it’s an emotive topic and you are wise to be thinking through how it can be best be addressed.

You should be given a copy of the social worker’s report for the initial child protection case conference in good time so that you have a chance to read, review and correct any inaccuracies. You also need time to consider how you will address any differences of opinion that may exist about risks for the children and the best support plan for your children.

You can read information about how children’s services should work with children with mental ill-health here.
How children’s services should work with children with disability (including possible neurodivergence ) is addressed here.

You can read more about S.20 (voluntary arrangements) here. You are understandably vigilant about whether this could meet your daughter’s complex needs.

I wondered whether any kinship care options have been considered? Is there anybody in the wider family or friends’ network who could offer support or care? As your daughter can be challenging when overwhelmed it may be that another family member or friend cannot step into a full-time caring role, but perhaps respite could be thought about.

A good way to explore possible options would be to request a family group conference. This is a family decision-making meeting to bring the informal network together with the help of a professional chair to elicit what help could be available. You can link to information about family group conference here.
Information about kinship foster care (which can be an option under S.20) is here.

If non-family foster care is the most practical option for your daughter – the support of her informal network of wider family and friends is still relevant and could be talked about in depth via a family group conference.

Young Minds have a parents helpline that may prove useful to you here.

You ask about levels of monitoring under both child in need plans and possible future child protection plans as children’s services are asking you to provide details of any people that the children may spend time with. You can read about child in need plans here and child protection plans here.

As you may already know participation in a child in need plan is voluntary, whereas participation in a child protection plan is not. Under a child protection plan a social worker could require you to give details of where the children would be staying and with whom. You can look up the details of the procedures and levels of monitoring for your local authority children’s services on a website called Procedures online here.

However, the most important aspect is to talk with the social worker as to the reasons for the monitoring. It is quite valid that you need an explanation for any intrusion on the privacy of your family arrangements. Equally, the social worker may well have valid reasons for requesting this information – but they should be explained to you fully. The Family Rights Group guide to working with social workers may help you to plan your communication and working alliance with the social worker. You can link to it here.

I hope this was helpful. Options for follow up advice are detailed below.
You can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm) to speak in person with an adviser. We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons, and an advice enquiry form.
Best wishes,
Suzie