Asked to do psychological assessment

[Midlandsdad]

So a little background on the situation. I have two children with my ex partner, one biological and one non biological. Since me and their mum split over 12 months ago I’ve had regular contact with both children. I still continue to see and fund my sons unbringimg despite me not been his biological father as I have been there since the ex was 10 weeks pregnant with him and I feel that father-son bond.

Anyway, so social services became involved with the family on the back of an anonymous referral from a worried neighbour. This initial referral was centred around my exes ability to look after the children and the suitability of her new partner.

Six years ago long before I had my children I made a very silly mistake, I was living with my ex and her two children. I created a fake profile to find out what my step daughter was doing as I was concerned about her friendship group etc and like a fool I sent some images that were deemed inappropriate. I owned my mistake and I went to the police voluntarily and was given a caution and placed in the sor for 2 years. During this time I followed all guidelines of the register and I did not pursue any relationships so I didn’t have to legally disclose things etc.

I finally come off the register and felt like I could put this whole mistake behind me and move forward with my life. I subsequently met the mother of the children a few months later and we went about making a family.

Once ss become involved I knew it was a matter of time before my past come out and I’d have to answer some serious questions and be assessed. So when the social worker put to me about the historical offence I owned it again and set about explaining my errors. The risk assessment was done in my home over a period of about 10 weeks and o was open honest and tried to support the process. I was evaluated with the children present and both the mother of my children and the grandmother have expressed how amazing I am as a father and that I am zero risk to children.

So following the assessment my sw advised me that she felt there was no risk and that her and the manager would be signing this off. She did say that as part of that they would speak to the children’s nursery manager to ensure they were aware to keep an eye on the children etc and of course I agreed and felt relieved that I could put this behind me and move on just been a good dad to my babies.

Then after my sw come back off holiday she called to say a new manager had taken over the cases and when she went to speak to him he had advised her that the council shouldn’t have done a risk assessment and instead should have done a psychological assessment with an external psychologist. Naturally I was annoyed at the fact that after 3 months of intense scrutiny of my past and my having to open up old wounds and revisit a time in my life I’d tried to forget of got to do it all again.

So I have some questions.

1, how can the council just change their mind and order a whole new assessment
2, what if I refuse, they have said that I don’t have to agree, I am obviously aware that will go against me and I am not trying to hide anything but this was due to be signed off and now I have to go through it all again.
3, what are these psychological assessments for and how do they differ from the questioning in the risk assessment? I’ve not got a history or mental health issues and I’ve clearly shown my ability to understand when my children are at risk and how I can support them?

I have been able to maintain regular contact with my children throughout this, I was advised that I shouldn’t have them alone but it was only advice and there was no courts involved, for months I decided off my own back to support their processes and not have my children alone. It’s had a massive impact on the children that love time with me. We always have so much fun making memories together. Then eventually just before her manager went on holiday the sw said to me it was fine to take the kids away to X on my own, and that she felt it would be good for the kids to have time with me one to one.

I’m so confused as mixed signals seem to be coming out of social services, one min I can go away with my kids on my own, next I need a psychologist assessment etc, emotionally I’m been pulled left right and centre and in the middle of it are my two babies that don’t get the attention the deserve.

Anyone with advice regarding the assessment and if anyone can share opinions on how I’ve been treated if they think this is acceptable? I don’t want to be seen to be against ss and I fully understand why I needed the risk assessment. I’ve 100% complied with everything they asked. Met them whenever they wanted, and answered every question they had, I have my authority to speak to the police, my dr, the children’s nursery, I feel like I’m been persecuted.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any advice and support

Y

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Midlandsdad

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser. I am sorry to hear of the difficulties your family is experiencing and that you feel persecuted. I know that it can feel very stressful when children’s services are involved. However, from what you have said you understand their role and have worked in partnership with them.

You have explained that children’s services became involved with your child and your ex-partner’s child following a referral about her ability to care for the children. However, your history, which relates to a caution and a period on the Sex Offenders’ Register, led to a risk assessment which you cooperated fully with. You and your ex-partner have taken on board the recommended advice that you are supervised around the children. Recently, you have been given a different message by the social worker who suggested that you could take the children away on a holiday by yourself. When children’s services are simultaneously suggesting that the risk assessment they undertook is not sufficient and are recommending a specialist psychological assessment this seems unusual.

I would recommend that you ask children’s services to clarify in writing what their current recommendation around contact is; you refer to mixed messages and this is not helpful for you or your family. I would suggest that you keep to supervised contact unless it is confirmed in writing by children’s services that they do not require this. It appears that you have acted responsibly and transparently throughout and I would encourage you to continue to do so.

You have not said what process you are involved in with children’s services i.e. child in need or child protection, just that there are no court orders involved. It may be helpful to clarify this.

In response to the questions you ask :

1) Children’s services can review your children’s plans and make further recommendations about what work they believe needs to be undertaken. However, they should be able to explain more about why they are making their current recommendation.

2) You do not have to agree to the psychological assessment and it cannot be imposed upon you. You would need to ask children’s services to tell you what the outcome of your refusal would be. This may help you make an informed decision. However, if they believe that this is a necessary piece of work to ensure your children’s safety then it is likely to be interpreted negatively if you choose not to take part, as you yourself have identified. But ask the social worker to tell you, from their point of view, how they would respond.

3) Here is a brief definition of psychological assessment; in your situation I guess it would explore your behaviour, motivation, triggers, insight etc. A social work risk assessment is different to a psychological assessment but you would need to ask children’s services to provide you with written information about what they would be asking the psychologist to assess and how this would be carried out. It is reasonable for you to need to know more before you can decide whether or not you want to agree to this.

You may find it helpful to speak to the Stop it Now service as they have a lot of expertise in this field and may be able to provide you with a better understanding of what may be involved.

I hope this is helpful.

If you have any further queries please post again or if you would prefer to speak to an adviser please call our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, the lines are open Mon to Fri (except bank holidays), from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm or you can seek advice via webchat or our advice enquiry form .

Best wishes

Suzie

[Midlandsdad]

Hi,

Thank you for the response,

At the minute there is a children in need in place, the initial assessment that was carried out due to the allegations against mum has been closed.

I have a meeting to discuss the next steps regarding the need for a psychological assessment on Tuesday so I will put the questions you posed to my social worker. My frustrations mainly stem from the fact that it was made clear to me that the case was about to close and then when a new manager took over they suddenly changed their mind.

Do you know how long the social have to assess the case? This case opened against us in mid January, by the time this further psychological assessment is completed we could be taking upto 6 months. Mine and my families life has been turned upside down for far too long already.

Do you think it would be beneficial to get some legal advice regarding this?

Again thanks for the response

M*
(*edited by Suzie for confidentiality)

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Midlandsdad

Thank you for your further post regarding your case with children’s services.

You have more questions about the process you and your family are in now. A new manager at children’s services appears to have reached a different conclusion about your case which you say was about to be closed. It is not unusual that a new manager or new social worker can have a different view when they review a case.

If there is a suggestion that there should be a psychological assessment then this means that children’s services still have some concerns and want to be sure before closing the case. Please read the information already provided to you in the previous response relating to this assessment.

It is good that you have a meeting arranged (which would now have happened) with the social worker and will be able to ask the suggested questions which I hope will mean you are clearer about the process.

In response to your specific question about how long children’s services can be involved, there is no time limit. There are limits for assessments to be completed, in your case they have completed an assessment and the children are on a child in need plan. Children’s services remain involved until satisfied they can close a case as the concerns have reduced or no longer exist.

Six months I understand is a long time for you but in terms of children’s services involvement it is not. For example, if there was a child protection plan the first review after the initial conference would be 3 months and thereafter a review at 6 months depending on whether the plan is being followed. It is not possible to give a limit to how long children’s services might be involved. You can have this conversation with the social worker as different local authorities have their own policies in place.

You ask whether you should have a solicitor, this is a matter entirely for you to decide. I am unable to advise you whether to have a solicitor or not, we given information based on the poster’s post, we do not know the whole case, and our role is to offer advice so you can make an informed decision.

Do look again at the previous post and the links included. I hope that you had a successful meeting with the social work.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes

Suzie

[Midlandsdad]

Hi suzie,

So I have had an email back from the social worker today, and it has clarified a few things but not everything has been made clear.

I asked the SW why the ramifications were of me declining the psychological assessment, her reply was that they would have to consider wether the situation requires escalation, this isn’t particularly helpful as it doesn’t actually help me to make an educated decision.

I also clarified who was assessing me, and the council say they use a specialist trained in assessment of sexual criminals, the women that is to assess me is a social worker also by trade, but she has experience working with probation and the nspcc and has a wealth of experience in the field, she is not listed on her linked in profile as been a psychologist however? Not sure if that is relevant.

I was not given any indication of time scales which is fine, but no idea of what the council had hoped to gain from this further assessment was given either. I did get told that usually the assessment is done over one or two interviews only and that it could be conducted in my home setting if I’d prefer.

Not really a lot to go on really, my other concern is that when my case was going to be signed off, before the new manager decided this extra assessment was required the SW asked for my permission to disclose my conviction to the children’s nursery. The premise of this request was so that the safeguarding lead could watch for any signs etc of issues in the home. Of course I gave my consent but asked that the information be shared only with the nursery manager.

Now I find out that a second staff member has had my data divulged to her and obviously there was no need for either of them to know at this point as the case was never closed, is this a point that is perhaps up for some complaint? I feel mislead and am certainly not happy that even more people know my history than should.

I look forward to any advice and support,

Many thanks
M

[KatKat10]

Midlands Dad, If I was in your position I would request an independent psychologist is put forward to undertake the assessment, do not use their recommendations as there may be a conflict of interest, cutting corners ie friend of a friend doing each other a favour. The fact the person assigned appears not to have the qualifications required is a concern. If you have a solicitor, ask them if they are able to recommend an independent psychologist. Alternatively source your own, get quotes and CV profile of qualifications and ask the LA to pay for it. In my experience of the horror show I am going through, the social work world is very small and everyone knows each other.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Midlandsdad

Thank you for your further updating post.

I am glad to hear that you have had (some) clarification about the proposed psychological assessment. You have looked the person up on LinkedIn and their profile does not state that they are a psychologist.

You can ask children’s services to confirm that the person is a psychologist. You can also check on the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)register. But please see this information here. It sets out which ‘practitioner psychologist’ titles are regulated, protected by law, and need to be on HCPC register. The term ‘psychologist’ is not protected by law. So not all psychologists are registered with the HCPC. You can also check the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy register.

KatKat10 suggests requesting an independent psychologist and putting forward your own proposal or via your solicitor. As you are in a child in need process you probably don’t have a solicitor. You can ask children’s services to consider appointing an independent psychologist but they are not required to do so.

If you choose not to agree to the assessment, the social worker said that they would need to consider whether to escalate or not. I know this is not very helpful to you. It does not provide clear information about what action children’s services would take. If they were worried they would have to take a view based on the information they hold. When a child in need case is escalated this usually means to a child protection process.

It is not clear if children’s services’ shared information about you with a second person at the nursery or whether it was the nursery manager who did so. If it was the nursery manager then you would need to raise it with them directly. However, it may be that the second person is the deputy manager or safeguarding lead. Their policy may be that they need to be informed so that they can respond to any concerns in the manager’s absence. Professionals have a duty to share information to protect children. Of course it is much better practice to seek consent first. When you clarify who shared the information and why you can consider making a complaint to whichever agency was involved if you are dissatisfied. Please see this information about making a complaint to children’s services.

I hope this helps.

Please post back if you have a further query or call our freephone advice line if you would prefer to speak with an adviser. The advice line is open Mon – Fri (except bank holidays) and between 9.30 am and 3.00 pm. The number if freephone 0808 8010366.

Best wishes

Suzie