Family Rights Group | Parents’ Forum

Hiya I would just like some advice, I had to sign a section 20 I’m living in a mother and baby foster placement it’s been a month, I spotted bruising on my 7 week olds baby’s back so I took him into A&E because I was concerned, baby was in my mother in laws care the day before alongside my sister in law as far as they are aware nothing happened to the baby.
Social services are of course involved and before they were saying they’ll take this to PLO so I rang a solicitor and they got into contact with social services, two days later my social worker is saying they aren’t taking it to PLO and that they are being lenient with me, obviously this is good news because all of this has been overwhelming because I know I never hurt my child I love them too bits and it’s broke me that ide be accused of something like this.
I was told they would do a parenting assessment I’m not sure how long that will take I was wondering if you knew? Another problem I’ve had is my mum has falsely accused my partner of domestic violence to me so the police are involved and are going to interview me and him in regards to this allegation which isn’t true at all, I was wondering once the parenting assessment is done would they allow me to leave even if police have not finished there investigation in regards to the domestic violence and child neglect or do I have to stay until that is cleared, if I did withdraw section 20 after parenting assessment would they try take it to court? I’ve just read the statement the consultant wrote on my son and it says that he has no other injuries like broken bones or anything everything came back clear, she also wrote she doesn’t know the mechanism of injury but she says it indicated excessive force she also said she cannot date the bruises but says it indicates a non accidental injury, she also said it’s impossible to say wether the injury occurred in parents care or the care of others if the matter was taken to court would this work in my favour? Any advice is much appreciated

Dear Sunflower_1,

Welcome to the parents’ forum and thankyou for your post. I am sorry to hear about the stressful situation that you are currently in, and I hope that the following advice is helpful.

Firstly, you say that you have been told that children’s services plan to do a parenting assessment and you would like to know how long this might take. There is no fixed length of time for a parenting assessment to be completed so I am afraid I cannot directly answer this question for you. It will be dependent on various things, including how often the social worker meets with you, what information is shared by other agencies (such as the mother and baby placement or medical professionals) and what issues (if any) might arise as a result of the parenting assessment process. It might be a good idea to ask the social worker in your first session with them so that they can give you a rough idea of the timescales they are working on. However, remember that this will be flexible and could change.

You don’t say if you have any additional needs or a learning difficulty, but if you do then please see information HERE about a specific type of parenting assessment called a PAMS assessment. These assessments usually take around 12 – 16 weeks and half-way through there may be a review.

You say that your mother has alleged that your partner is violent towards you. You deny this however the police are investigating and you are waiting to be interviewed. You ask if children’s services will want you to stay in the mother and baby placement until the police investigation has finished or whether you would be able to leave before then. I cannot guess as to what the outcome of the police investigation might be and what children’s services recommendations might be, however it is important to understand that children’s services do take concerns about domestic violence very seriously. Your baby is very young and vulnerable and unable to protect himself. He also cannot tell anyone what he has witnessed or experienced. Children’s services will need to assess your ability to protect your child from any domestic violence and it is important that you are not seen to be minimising any risk or trying to protect your partner. You can see information on our website HERE about children’s services involvement when there are concerns about domestic violence.

Ultimately children’s services cannot legally force you to stay in a mother and baby placement and you are within your rights to withdraw your consent to the section 20 agreement at any point. However if you decide do this then children’s services may apply to court for an interim care order or an emergency protection order. If either order is made then this would give them parental responsibility and they could then decide to remove your son from your care if they feel this is necessary. Given the concerns that you have outlined and the fact that your son is so young and vulnerable I would strongly encourage you to try and keep working in partnership with children’s services.

Lastly you ask if it would work in your favour that a medical professional has said that it cannot be established that the injury occurred whilst your baby was in your care or in the care of someone else. If the case does go to the family court then this will be a significant issue that the court will want to explore. They will try to determine, on the balance of probabilities, who the perpetrator is from the group of possible suspects. Medical reports will be considered alongside other assessments such as parenting assessments and psychological assessments, and the judge will make a final decision at the final hearing as to whether the evidence provided demonstrates that your baby is safe to be in your care or not. You may find it helpful to read our website pages HERE as they have advice and guidance for parents when care proceedings are in action. We also have guidance HERE about children’s services involvement when there is concern about physical abuse, including non-accidental injuries.

I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries, or you can call our free helpline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm) to speak with an adviser in more detail.

Best wishes,
Suzie