when is the right time to complain about Children's Services?

[KatKat10]

My question is, when is the right time to complain about Children's Services, for their failings and lies? Should I wait until the final hearing, which may be months away or start the process now with stage 1. My concern is, if I start my complaint, they may start looking for things to make up about me. My complaint is not about the present social worker, but past social workers and lack of professional conduct.

I feel I have enough evidence to take legal action against them, but want to go through the complaints process first. I am aiming for compensation, for the trauma they have caused to my family and myself.

[brokenman]

hi
if i was in that situation myself i would start the pogress as soon as possible because it could take some time for them to deal with it but i would speak around and do some research into the progress of it and write stuff down so you dont forget it i hope this may help you along the way.

good luck

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

My question is, when is the right time to complain about Children's Services, for their failings and lies? Should I wait until the final hearing, which may be months away or start the process now with stage 1. My concern is, if I start my complaint, they may start looking for things to make up about me. My complaint is not about the present social worker, but past social workers and lack of professional conduct.

I feel I have enough evidence to take legal action against them, but want to go through the complaints process first. I am aiming for compensation, for the trauma they have caused to my family and myself.

Dear KatKat10

Thank you for your post. I am sorry to hear that you feel that children’s services have failed and lied to you.

There isn’t a particular time when it is best to complain but the regulations state that a complaint should be made within one year of the action or decision that is the subject of the complaint. Although complaints may be made later, you would need to provide a good reason for the delay and children’s services might refuse to investigate a late complaint.

We also advise that when a parent is in care proceedings they should discuss their proposed complaint with their solicitor first as, for example, it could affect legal arguments in the case. So if possible it is best to talk this through with your solicitor.
If you go through the three stages of children’s services’ complaints procedures and are still dissatisfied then you can take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.

You are interested in taking legal action against children’s services with a view to seeking compensation. This is not an area that we can advise on in any detail; most complaints against children’s services are addressed through their complaints process or where that has failed, by the LGO. However, our advice sheet 5a) and 5 b) here discuss legal routes to complain about or challenge children’s services’ decisions and signpost to specialist legal advice.. They are very specialist and complex areas of law with strict eligibility criteria and can be costly to run. In addition, an application for judicial review has to be made within three months of the decision being made that the applicant wishes to challenge. So they are not usual route to challenge children’s services. If you require legal advice about taking children’s services to court please see the contact details on page 11 of advice sheet 5a). If you are considering a human rights act claim then an application would need to be made as soon as you believe your human rights have been breached and within a year. As you are in care proceedings your human rights and your child/ren’s must be considered throughout the process and you can discuss any concerns with your solicitor. You can find details of specialist legal advice on human rights on page 4 of advice sheet 5b).

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes

Suzie

[KatKat10]

Thank you Suzie

I have delayed making the complaint for the simple reason, the courts are still involved and I don't trust children's services, as i believe if I start the complaint they will start making things up about me. I am also waiting on some vital documents I have requested from other sources, so that I can put together the facts and present them as evidence.

[Tryingmum21]

I was offered 3 times in one meeting by the new sw if I wanted a complaints form as they haven't been letting me know about lac reviews (I've made considerable amount of changes to my life ) with no acknowledgement or even a txt message back to say how my child has been. Also only allowed to see child for an hour and a half a month. Its heartbreaking for both of us. Also other organisations emailing them too with them not replying and have offered to help with complaints form. By this Tuesday if I don't hear anything from sw we are going back to court for more contact with my child as it seems the new sw is treating me the same as previous ones. By the time this gets to court though I want the order to be revoked and hopefully have child back home as there is no reason sw shouldn't be working with me now to make it happen. The lies from the start till now said by sw was the reason my child was taken in the beginning so I hope the judge sees this with all evidence I've collected over the last year to back me in this new case. As soon as I have my child I will be doing the complaint I wish u all the luck

[HH_Dad]

@KatKat10; a few years Children's Services were thrust upon my wife and I due to mistakes made by a nearby hospital. We were spoken to and treated like scum by Children's Services and the LA. They made so many mistakes too and blatantly told lies about us throughout the saga. Thankfully, our case didn't go the distance, as an independent expert at Great Ormond Street Hospital highlighted the hospital's errors.

My wife and I waited until it ended and then we complained to everyone; the LA, the General Medical Council, the Police, we wrote to our MP and we even contacted the BBC who sent a reporter to interview us. They were aghast at what had happened (we have evidence of everything).

Feel free to PM if you would like to know more or would like help.

[KatKat10]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I am still holding fire on the complaint, as the case is still going through the court. Even now, the LA are still telling lies. I scrutinise every document they have filed and identify where they are still telling lies, even the smallest of lies. I am getting ready to release the Kraken. These people are not used to people fighting back and they are in for a big surprise. Even those who are not linked to the LA but the case, can see the LA have failed.

What I have been through and I am sure everyone else who posts on these forums can say the same, is it is like your worst nightmare, it is horrific and terrifying what Social Workers put families through. They think they are above the law and are untouchable, but these days people have more access to information to fight back.