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[doreen]

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[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi

Thank you for contacting Family Rights Group. I’m sorry you are in such a difficult situation.

When police receive information regarding domestic violence they are under a duty to refer to Children’s Services, the new name for social services. As you say in your post, you were expecting this to happen. In this first instance Children’s Services were happy to continue through the child in need process but having received the additional information regarding the bruise on your son they have decided to change to the child protection process.

The difference with child protection is that Children’s Services are concerned that the children have suffered or are likely to suffer from significant harm. In those circumstances, Children’s Services must:
• carry out child protection enquiries if they suspect a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, and
• take steps to protect a child whom they have reasonable cause to believe is suffering, likely to suffer, or has suffered significant harm - either in agreement with the family or through the court.

"Harm " means "ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development". It includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, damage to mental or emotional well-being (emotional abuse), and neglect. It can include a child seeing or hearing another person being ill-treated.

As you can see from the definition of harm, this can involve seeing other people being badly treated, as in the case of domestic violence, which has very serious and damaging consequences towards children’s wellbeing. It is for this reason that the social worker has asked you to end your relationship with your husband. Children’s Services cannot force you to end the relationship but if you do not they might think that you are unable to protect the children and put their needs above those of you and your husband. If that’s the case, there is a strong chance they will go down the legal route and ask for a court order to remove the children form your care. Please be aware though, that is not what will happen at the conference.

A child protection conference is a meeting which takes place between Children’s Services, other professionals who are in contact with the child, and family members. The professionals present will include the social worker and their manager, a police representative, school nurse and teacher from each school.

Those at the conference discuss the risk to the child and decide what needs to happen, if anything, to make sure they are kept safe. This will be put into a child protection plan and reviewed regularly. There is more information about this in the advice sheet that I linked to earlier.

Also, in order to prepare for the child protection conference it might help you to watch the films that we made. It is a fictionalised case showing what happens prior to and at a conference. There are also interviews with the various professionals involved, including a conference chair.

In terms of the pre-conference report, it is good practice for you to receive this in advance of the meeting so you can prepare, there is now no requirement to say this must happen. If you don’t receive the report before the beginning of the conference, use the core assessment you already have to draw up a list of the points you disagree with and your version of events. You will get a chance in the conference to tell the professionals these things.

I hope you find this helpful. If you have any more questions please get back in touch or call our free and confidential advice line on 0808 801 0366. It is open from Monday until Friday from 9.30am-3.00pm.

Best wishes

Suzie

[ange301126]

Dear Laura, Logically the reason the social worker has asked you to split from your husband is not because your children have witnessed domestic violence between you and he .Work was already underway around that concern. The social worker asked you to split from your husband after your child suffered a bruise to his back during a play fight! Quite illogically that is the reason the social worker has asked you to end your relationship with your husband. Children’s Services cannot force anyone to end a marriage on a whim. There is no evidence the bruise was anything other than an accident and none that the accident was caused by your husband that I can see.
Susie says if you do not leave your husband there is a strong chance they may go down the legal route .If they do,I advise you not to lose sight of the true facts and not to allow them to conceal them. If they ask you to place the children into voluntary care with a warning that if you don't they will apply for an Interim care order or an Emergency order ,my advice is on no account agree. If they ask that,they will probably be intending to apply for an ICO anyway. If they do so they will do their level best to make the court believe wrongly that on the 'balance of possibilities' there is an 'unacceptable risk' that the accident to the child's back 'may' have been deliberately caused by your husband thus if you refuse to end your marriage you are unable to protect the children from him.
This is what you are up against and you must read all the advice sheets and rights you have from the Family Rights Group.Follow Susies advice and read the forum which will give you some insight into the system and how it works from a parent's viewpoint. Good Luck.

[doreen]

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[ange301126]

dear laura,did the social worker inform the conference that doctors had found no evidence whatsoever that the bruise on one of the children was anything other than an accident and that the children are not thought to be at any risk of any physical injury from either you or your husband? If they did,why are the children thought to be at physical risk?Was it mentioned that you had a support worker and that you had demonstrated your honesty and ability to protect your children by spotting the accidental bruise and reporting it promptly to the support worker? Was procedure followed at the meeting? Were official minutes taken and circulated to you and all involved? Were you AND your husband both present and permitted to discuss the case and express your disagreements ( and have them circulated) or did you get the impression that the case had been discussed and decided in advance as so often happens according to many other parents? Did you inform the meeting that the social worker had quite unfairly decreed that you were to end your marriage or "face the consequences"?

The social workers appear to have looked at your case unfairly and are taking PREMATURE actions and issuing PREMATURE commands out of all proportion to the circumstances of your case in my opinion. This would not be the first time and you must watch out for them. If you look at the FRG advice sheets and watch the video you will see how conferences should be held.Were the rules followed or was it a sham?

[doreen]

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[ange301126]

dear laura,it is possible that social services have already or will make false statements on the child protection agreement which they will ask you to sign. It has happened before that they stated on a plan that the reason was an 'unexplained injury' to a child. I guess it is fairly common for them to use this ploy to raise unneccessary concerns and get the children registered under physical risk.
If they do it with you,you should insist the truth is told on any plan or agreement before you sign it ,I would if I was you! You gave a perfectly good explanation for the injury! It was caused during boisterous play. If the social worker ignores the explanation ,she is being fundamentally dishonest and ,of course,to question your honesty on the grounds that had you not promptly informed the support worker,it would have come our anyway is also extremely devious and shows a lack of integrity on the social workers part. That is surely not fair.
Laura, Suzie has explained CS are required to carry out these assessments and ,if necessary go to law to protect the children from harm. However, they have an absolute duty to the children to tell the truth, to follow legal procedures to the letter and to make fair assessments and decisions.
For example,they must listen to you AND your husband. Also they cannot interfere with your life unduly without a court order.I suspect they have no right whatsoever to tell your husband to leave home without an order.Surely ,if your husband was a danger to the children he would have been charged by the Police and either jailed or been ordered by a court to leave home. I suggest you get immediate advice from both a criminal lawyer and a family proceedings lawyer.If you have a family lawyer,ask him or her. In the meantime contact Suzie on the FRG advice line. Please note she knows much more about you and your husband's rights than I do.

[doreen]

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[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi Laura 84

I will attempt to answer some of the points you raise in your past two posts

-You say that the children are now subect to a child protection plan. Children’s Services have concerns about the impact of domestic abuse on your their emotional wellbeing. They have assessed that based on the past history, it is unlikely that you are able to prioritise the children’s emotional needs. This appears to be the Local Authority’s main concern. Since children can get caught up in the cross fire and become injured where there is a long history of domestic abuse, there can also be a risk of physical abuse.

-The fact that one of the children was injured in an unrelated and separate incident, I suggest you request further information about this from the social worker, child protection chair and/ or conference minutes when they are made available about this issue

-In relation to your husband’s position, (and him being asked to leave the family home), before signing any written agreement I suggest you seek legal advice on http://www.lawsociety.org.uk

-Regarding the special guardianship order (SGO), this could only be a possible long term care arrangement for your husbands child if you did not intend to reunite with them.

-A parent can not apply for an SGO, but perhaps you were thinking about a residence order may be in their best interests at this time. Therefore, I suggest you seek legal advice so you are clear this would work in your particular situation.

-The forensic risk assessment would identify any risks, action or support that needs to be put in place at this time. The social worker will be able to give more information on what they hope to achieve and the timescales for completing this, and by whom.

In the meantime, I suggest you continue to fully engage with the child protection plan and any assessments that take place, and be open to any support that is offered.

Please refer to my previous advice

Best Wishes

Suzie

[doreen]

no longer availible