Worried about upcoming ICPC and possible Section 20 – advice needed

[Pilot1]

Hi,

We are due to attend an Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC) in two weeks and are very worried about what might happen, particularly around Section 20 and concerns Social Services may raise.

Our eldest daughter is 14, profoundly deaf, and we strongly believe she may be autistic and have ADHD. We have been asking Deaf CAMHS for neurodevelopmental assessments for nearly two years, but there have been long delays. Over the last 6 months her mental health has deteriorated significantly, including severe paranoia (believing she is constantly being watched or photographed), OCD behaviours around contamination and cleanliness, and intrusive thoughts that appear to cause her significant distress and can contribute to her lashing out during periods of overwhelm.

These difficulties sometimes lead to violent outbursts at home, mainly directed towards me and her mum, which have also affected her younger brothers.

Our social worker introduced a safety plan, including calling police and one parent taking the boys somewhere safe if incidents escalate. We have followed this plan whenever needed.

Social Services now say the threshold has been met for an ICPC to decide whether all three children should be placed on Child Protection Plans.

We have also been asked to consider a voluntary Section 20 arrangement for our daughter while her mental health is further assessed and treated. We can understand why this is being suggested and can see possible benefits for family safety, but we are worried that without us advocating daily, support may reduce further, especially given the delays we have already experienced with CAMHS. We are also concerned about whether any placement would understand her deafness and possible autism/ADHD.

Another major concern is that during some violent incidents, my daughter has told police that I hurt her. On a small number of occasions, I have physically intervened to prevent injury or serious property damage. My wife witnessed incidents and did not agree with what was later reported, and to our knowledge police did not identify injuries or pursue concerns. These allegations have only arisen during periods where she is extremely distressed, but she later continues to remember events this way and repeats them to the social worker. We are worried about how this may be understood at conference and want to approach it appropriately and transparently.

We are also unsure whether to seek legal advice or a family law advocate before the conference, particularly regarding Section 20 and the ICPC process.

Finally, our social worker asks for details of where family members are staying during breaks from the home, including addresses and timings. Is this normal practice during a CIN/CP process?

We would really appreciate advice on:

1. Whether we should seek legal advice or an advocate before the ICPC.
2. How best to approach concerns around Section 20.
3. How to handle the allegations issue if raised in conference.
4. Whether the level of monitoring by Social Services sounds typical.

Thank you.