Already a negative assessment before it’s even started 😭

[mamaof5]

My 5 children were removed from my care under an interim care order in April.
They are in 3 separate foster placements.

My mum & stepdad have put themselves forward for child 1, 2 & 3

Child 3’s father has put himself forward for child 3.

Paternal aunt of child 4 has put herself forward for child 4 & 5 (no relation with child 5)

I am fighting to have all 5 children returned to my care.

My new partner (father to child 1 & 2) has put himself forward for a joint assessment with me for all 5 children as well as put himself forward for all 5 children alone.

I had a parenting assessment done last year (while I was in a mental health crisis) which was negative and last November she recommended children were removed.

Social care did not remove until April as, in their words, they needed to ‘tick boxes’ before.

We did not have an FGC until end February 2022 so only a few weeks before removal (one of their ‘boxes’ that needed ticking. So this was never given a chance to work as they only needed it to tick a box basically.

It was agreed that I would have a new addendum parenting assessment to ‘update’ my first negative assessment and was offered 2 discussion sessions and 1 observation session to address my mental health (main concern for removal and negative assessment)

It was also decided on a joint assessment with myself and my partner.

We had our initial planning meeting last week in which we were told by the assessors manager that the whole point of the assessment was to decide what support was needed so my children COULD return home and not to decide wether they could or couldn’t return home.
Pretty much the same was said by our IRO at the children’s 3 month review. The IRO also said the purpose of my psychological assessment was to see what support I may need so that my children COULD return home!

We had our first joint assessment today and the assessor made it sound as though my assessment (joint and alone) WILL be negative as my first one was!
She went along the lines of pretty much saying there was no reason for me or my partner to be assessed as there is other options for my children!

I understand it has to be what is best FOR THE CHILDREN but surely that is for them to return home especially now my mental health is managed/on top of. (I am on medication, have been since April so it’s 100% in my system and doing it’s job and I’ve not missed a single dose & had no bad side effects or drops in my mental health)

What do I do? I cant give up on my fight for what is RIGHT for my children but I feel as though I am being set up to fail and there is no hope.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Mamaof5

Thank you for your post. My name is Suzie, I am an online adviser and will be replying to your post today.

I am sorry to hear of the distress you feel regarding your situation. I hope the information below is helpful to you.

Managing your mental health needs is a positive step to addressing the concerns raised by children’s services. Well done for maintain stability in this area of need.

Your five children were removed from your care under an Interim Care Order. Care proceedings are ongoing and the children are living in three different, unrelated foster care placements. Your wish is for the children to be returned to your care however, if it decided that they cannot, then various family members have put themselves forward for assessment to care for them.

You had a parenting assessment completed last year which recommended the children do not return your care. Due to a change in circumstances, it was agreed in court that an addendum parenting assessment needs to be completed alongside a joint assessment with your new partner. You had your first meeting for the joint assessment today. At this meeting the social worker was negative and gave you the impression that there was no point in completing the addendum or joint assessment because there are ‘other options’ for your children. Following this, you feel you are being ‘set up to fail and there is no hope.’ This is especially because you were under the impression from speaking to other professionals that the assessments were being completed to assess what support would be needed for the children to be returned to your care.

You are also concerned that the Family Group Conference (FRG) arranged was rushed and did not have an opportunity to be put into practice and tested out.

A parenting assessment is to assess the children’s needs and their parents’ ability to meet those needs in timescales that are relevant to the children. This should have been explained to you at the start of the process. It is not helpful that you have been given mixed messages regarding the purpose of the assessments. I suggest you go back to the social worker to discuss your concerns and to ask for a written response. If you have not already done so it would be a good idea to request a written copy of the assessment schedule in advance. Also to request a review meeting so you can see what your strengths or areas to develop are at an early stage, then address these as they unfold. Do you know if the social worker will be assessing specific areas of your parenting, where previous concerns have been raised? It will be useful to know this as it will give you an indication of the areas to be covered and you will get the opportunity to prepare yourself.

Where it is safe to do so, children’s services should work with families to keep them together however, this is not always possible and other alternative options need to be considered.

I suggest you raise your concerns regarding the FGC with you solicitor within the care proceedings. They will have all of the information before them, including timescales and agreements, and will be able to raise within the court arena if applicable.

Regarding the family members who have put themselves forward for assessment to care for the children if it is decided that you cannot. The initial process for this is called a viability assessment. I have added a link HERE to further information regarding this and a link HERE to our template letter number 3 which sets out how to challenge a ‘negative’ assessment using the letter as a guide.

I hope you find this information useful.  Should you wish to speak to an adviser please call our free advice line: 0808 801 0366 (Mon to Fri 9.30a.m. – 3.00p.m) excluding bank holidays. You can of course, post again on here.
Best wishes, Suzie.