NEED HELP ASAP!

[not happy.]

SS have been involved for over 16 months now, I have left another post on the 'General discussion' Page, SS say that they are worried about my child and think they will be at risk of emotional abuse. A few months ago, they thought my child would be at risk of physical abuse, this is all an absolute JOKE! My child has never ever been in any harm, I had a drug addiction in early 2012 and the SS made it very clear this was their concern, Now i have addressed these issue's by going to CDT twice a week and having 2 urine tests, and on medication which my drug worker said i am doing very very well on .I have not touched anything for over 9 months now, and have been telling the SS this for a very long time but they didn't believe me.

They asked me to do a hair follicle test to 'Prove' who was telling the truth as they kept telling me they 'Know' i am still using when i told them i wasn't. These tests came back all Negative, and seems to me as though the SS really didn't like this. Now because of arguments me and my family members have had in the past, the SS are saying my child is going to be at risk of emotional harm. We were only arguing because of social workers going to their home and making up loads of lies and saying i have said it about them, then coming to my home ad telling me they have said something. In the end we both found out this was all lies.
My child is currently living with my grandparents, I & my child's father still have PR, and we are not a part of any section 20, and no order is in place. The SS have been telling me, and my family since the start that they do not want to take my child into care, but have been reading through the assessments, and they have said they are looking to getting a 'Care order' on my child.

None of them listen at all, they make up lies about me, Its horrible. And now are saying that a £4500 hair follicle test is wrong! There's no getting through to them at all, they listen to what they want and don't listen or support any one else only themselves. They cover up all their mistakes all the time, They are punishing me for something i have not done! I#m doing everything to get my child living back with me, but they said if i remove her from my grandparents, then they will get an EPO and remove my child all together.
I just don't know what to do, and because of what the SS have done to me, I don't trust anyone anymore and just feel sick when people who haven't got the SS involved say that they are there to help and support you. THEY ARE NOT! Please, is someone out there who has been in a situation a bit like mine and actually got their child back and the SS aren't saying they are still in danger?
I don't know what to do, all i want is my child back and live a happy life just like we used to be.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear kellyxphil,

I am sorry that things are so very stressful and difficult. I can see that you have been cooperating with children’s services assessments –which is the best thing to do. But you have been very concerned that they have not made plans towards your child returning home to you.

I have given you some advice on your other thread-particularly around the drug testing, getting information from children services and solicitors. My advice still holds so look back it as well.

Care proceedings
However, since that post you say children services, having read through all the assessments have decided now to take care proceedings. Is that right?
If it is, this means they will be asking the court to be involved in making decisions about where your child will live permanently:
• First of all, the court will want to know whether your child return home to you or dad safely? If so, what support do you need to enable that to happen? Can you access the support that you need within a short timescale?
• If not, should your child stay with your family under a court order-such as a special guardianship order? What contact would you have? Or is there any other family or friends who could care for your child?
• What about dad’s family?
• Other options could include your child living outside the family-such as adoption.
Please have a look at our advice sheet about care proceedings. It sets out the court process as well as the importance of working with your children law solicitor. It also advises about the important role of your solicitor in any meetings that might take place before the local authority go to court.

Arguments with your family
As the social worker says, arguments that happen in families can be "emotionally abusive" to children. Do you know which arguments she is referring to? I know that you say the arguments are in the past-but is there a risk of them happening again? Can you and your family benefit from support, parenting courses, counselling or other types of therapy or mediation to help prevent such arguments happening again?

I have only touched on some points. If children services are planning on taking care proceedings-the most important thing is to seek a solicitor who specialises in children law. You can also call our advice line on 0808 801 0366 for advice and to discuss what is happening in detail.

Best wishes,
Suzie