Writing a book called Intervention

[blueplain]

Greetings. I am writing a book entitled intervention, Which discusses feelings and the mental effect the procedure has upon people going through intervention. I shall be submitting each chapter as I write it and I would appreciate any advice and opinions as I move towards completion.

Intervention
A story from a concerned parent





A note to readers

Dear readers

In my opinion due to the system in place, cases which had been involved with children services are difficult to publish publicly. Therefore this book will only discuss my feelings and thoughts in regards to the procedure the services follow rather then my case directly. You may also observe that I use statements such as In my opinion or other personal non general statements in order to give this book the best chance of publication. I am also publishing this book anonymously for the following reasons.

I am not looking for recognition. The purpose of my book is to help inspire changes to the children services system and the awareness of others. It is my opinion that the services needs to change, the reasons being will become apparent when you have finished reading this book and when you have formed your own opinion. I am not here to demonize children services. I am writing this book because I feel that there needs to be more awareness about the system so that people who are going through the system can feel more comfortable with speaking to others about their experience. I also feel that my thoughts and feelings are shared with many parents going through intervention. This book is intended to not to be their voice, for I have no right to speak for them. This book is intended to give the reader more information so they are able to assess and better approach those that are going through intervention.

Chapter 1
A knock on the door

A knock on the door is such a normal everyday occourance for most people. It can range from family and friends to cold callers and debt collectors. Each received with varying levels of acceptance. If you have ever had a knock on the door from a debt collector or bailiffs then you may have a slight indication to how it feels when a social worker knocks on the door. This knock on the door can come from a single social worker, or a collection of social workers accompanied by the police. The latter obviously a greater shock. When I received my knock on the door I expected a charity worker. You can understand my shock when I opened the door and was greeted by a social worker. I felt confused at the time, perhaps a miss understanding?

NOTE: This is where I must step out of a direct recollection of events and instead focus on my feeling and thoughts as to the procedure that would have occurred at this time.

A social worker would then inspect your home conditions as well as your children. This is if the children are present at the time. They will then inform you that they had received a report and that they must investigate every report they receive when a child's welfare is concerned.

Well how did I feel about the sudden invasion of my home? How did I feel about my children's welfare being reported. How did I feel about being probed with questions, being observed and having my personal life being recorded as the social worker began collecting evidence about my case?

I personally felt horrified. I spent a long time pondering how I could relay to you the realisation of that moment. In my opinion Anarchy had rushed through my door. My home, that was once a safe sanctuary for my family had instantly become a crime scene. Let me quickly define a crime scene for you.

"A crime scene is a location where a crime took place (or another location where evidence of the crime may be found), and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators (CSIs) or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_scene

Now I obviously can not state that children services are law enforcement personnel for that is not true. However it is my opinion that their practises relate in some way to law enforcement personnel. That relation I feel is in regards to collecting evidence about my family which they might later use in a court of law. A lot of this evidence was collected in my home. In my opinion, similar to the fact that evidence is collected in a crime scene.
I felt that the jury had been invited to the crime scene and was collecting the evidence themselves. I feel this is true because it is my opinion that a social worker decides your fate, similar to a jury. However I feel they differ from a jury in the fact that the social worker collects the evidence themselves. Upon reflection this greatly disturbed me. This one person was acting both as someone who collected evidence to hold against me and was also deciding my fate in regards to the evidence. It is also my opinion that when this evidence is presented in court then this evidence is held therefore to be a presentation of truth for the social worker acting as jury has already returned with their verdict. This is of course an opinion and I would never state that the closed family court was not as fair as other courts of law.

I feel I have presented to you a very clear picture of how it feels to be in this situation. In some circumstances I feel this is good practice. However it is my opinion that "neglect" has been too widely defined and that people can go through this intense emotional situation, needlessly. when the issues found within certain circumstances could have been resolved if the family was given free access to help and information without the sudden invasion to their home.
It is my opinion this occurs because of the media backlash the children services fall under if a child was to unfortunately loose their life due to the lack of intervention. Due to this the media deliver a double edged sword. On the one hand it makes children services more zealous, which in turn improves detection of child cruelty earlier. On the other hand families with minor issues are being picked up by the system and put through a great ordeal.

I wanted to make this point clear because it may so happen that you may hear a knock on your door. You may be faced with children services. How clean is your house right now? Did the children throw all the cushions off the sofa while you went to answer? Have you missed any of your children's doctor or hospital appointments? Have you not got round to dressing them as they have just come out of the bath? Did they just spill something all over your carpet? I can keep making examples. The point I am trying to make is that if you receive a knock on your door and any of these things have occurred. Then in my opinion you could be seen as needing intervention.

It is also my opinion that when this ball starts rolling then it is difficult to stop. You could of course refuse this service, however would this not look suspicious?

In summery and in my opinion a knock on the door from children services is very overwhelming and an emotional event. I also feel that there is not enough procedure in place that helps manage the mental and emotional knock on effects this can bring. I can state that I felt a huge increase in anxiety and frustration and I also believed that speaking to a councillor about these new sudden feelings would help give more evidence to the social workers against me. In fact the main aim of this book is to push the government into implementing a councillor for everyone who becomes part of intervention and that this councillors findings are not to be used as evidence or presented to a social worker unless a child's life is at risk.

[frustrated mum]

looking forward to chapter 2

[wizardiva]

Very accurately written...it almost feels like my own words.

[wizardiva]

Very accurately written...it almost feels like my own words.

[blueplain]

Chapter 2
An Assessment

As was covered in chapter one, you have been through the process of having a social worker knock on your door and come into your home. This rightly is a difficult situation to deal with in itself. However if the social worker was concerned about her initial observations, you will now have to bear the brunt of an assessment which lasts up to 45 days. They used to have an initial assessment then a core assessment but that has now changed to the single assessment. You do not get a moment to absorb the situation. There is not a measure of days for you to come to terms with this sudden event. The process is immediately started.

The assessment procedure varies from region to region. It is my opinion that the quality of services also varies from region to region and even from social worker to social worker. I came to this informed opinion after being through intervention in multiple authorities and from going through multiple social workers. Due to the assessment variations across different regions I cannot generalise how long exactly this procedure may take for you. However it should take 45 days. After which you should receive a copy of a completed assessment before anything else. I say should because in my experience I did not get my assessment until during a child in need meeting.

In my opinion this is the greatest issue when facing intervention. In my experience and from numerous conversations I have had with other parents. It seems to me that even though there is a clear cut procedure to which social workers need to follow in regards to paperwork for parents. This procedure appears to be the least adhered to. Please do not just take my opinion. I recommend that you read various Ofsted reports that are available to the public and see if any of them state any issue with time frames upon paperwork and the quality of this paper work.
In my experience the paperwork I received came late. It is also my opinion that a good quantity of the information within this paperwork was incorrect.

So how did I feel when I received information about my own family late? How did I feel that not only was this information delivered to me late but it was delivered in a room full of professionals who would be reading and discussing this information and finally, how did I feel about all these professionals reading this assessment of my family which I felt was partially incorrect?
I was mortified to say the least. I was put into a situation which felt very uncomfortable, very intrusive and very overwhelming. I would like to think I am a confident person. When reflecting upon my own confidence I dread to think of how this situation would have been to someone who lacked confidence. Who lacked the skill to be able to speak for themselves. It is part of the procedure to allow you to take someone to this meeting with you, to act as support and to help you put your opinion across. However you need to ask yourself this question. Would you want to invite a friend or a family member to a meeting which your personal situation was going to be discussed? Would you want to have more people knowing about your situation?

Again I would like to stress that in my own situation and of others I have spoken to, that there was again no offer or attempt to help deal with the anxiety and frustration this event had built up. At this point any confidence I had had was depleting and was replaced with anger, resentment, frustration, anxiety, insecurity, vulnerability, fear. A great concoction of negative emotions that ate at my mind and further impeded my ability to care for my children. Where was my councillor? Where was a doctor to help me deal with this? At the time I felt that if I approach any medical professional that the prognoses of my difficulty would reach my social worker and I would be deemed unable to cope and unable to provide for my children’s needs. As such I continued and kept these emotions inside in hope that this nightmare would end.

Before I wrap up this chapter I would also like to mention that you are given the chance to have information within your assessment changed if you feel it is incorrect. I would also like to state that during my experience when I attempted to have information change; that I had proof was incorrect. I found that the information remained and that no attempt was made to correct the points I had issues with. I know of others that have had the same issue. It is due to this that I reinforce my informed opinion that there is a large issue with the paperwork that children services prepare and present. I only wish that the threat of inspection was enough to prevent this from ever happening. Perhaps in the future something with be implemented to ensure that this information is kept to the highest of standards. At the end of the day it is not just paperwork to a parent. It is a measure and reflection of the parent and can be very hurtful and demoralising to say the least. Miss information can cause frustration and desperation. Both of which I feel are serious emotions which need to be prevented.

[blueplain]

Chapter 3
CAF and child in need

So you have had a knock on the door and your home inspected, you're not very happy. You get your assessment, again it is a very stressful situation to read negative findings about your family after a 45 day investigation, especially if some points are incorrect. You would think that you have gone through enough and that there would be some concern about how this is effecting you mentally? Well there are now three possibilities. The findings of the assessment shows that your family is managing fine and you do not need any form of intervention. If this is the case they will explain everything, hopefully give you your paperwork and be on their way, leaving you with all the emotional baggage they left behind. The second outcome is that they find you need some support and place you on a CAF level. A CAF or (common assessment framework) involves a collection of professionals but no social worker. These professionals will work with you to help any weak areas they deem you have. A CAF can be upsetting and frustrating like the rest of the levels of intervention, accept this level is voluntary and you are on a minimum level of concern. This level still can bring anxiety or upset for they may find during your progress with CAF that some areas have slipped and these faults will be discussed among the professionals. Some of these professionals could be your child/children's teacher. In my experience I was very distressed that my teachers new my personal situation. I had to see them everyday and have some form of professional relationship with them. It was quite daunting and uncomfortable to see my children's teachers after everything they had learned about me in these meetings. However if these concerns grow enough you could be placed onto a child in need level. This also brings me to the third possible option. If it is felt that your child/children have multiple needs not being met or a disability then you could be placed on a child in need level.

So what does a child in need level involve? This level of intervention involves all professionals that work with your children, from health visitors right up to doctors. These meetings are overseen by your social worker. Within this meeting everyone will be given paperwork which involves the assessment the social worker carried out and any targets that have been set for you. The various issues will be discussed, perhaps new issues will be brought up during the meeting and some issues could be put to rest. Either way during my meetings I felt very intimidated and out numbered. I was asked many question, probed and also advised in many different area. I felt completely out of control of my families fate. I felt that my voice as a parent had been drowned out and the opinion of all these professionals was directing me on how to steer my children. The advice went far beyond their needs but also touched upon parenting style, which as we all know can widely vary from person to person. This situation was very frustrating to me. I felt overwhelmed by all that was expected of me. Instead of moving forward with one issue at a time I was expected to improve a wide range of issues they believed effected my children for the worse. My anxiety during these meetings was intense. I was overwhelmed by what was expected by me and most of all I was concious of how I was viewed and judged during each of these meetings. It felt as though I was stuck in a long drawn out trial in which the prosecutors had most of the say.

The timing of these meetings can vary depending on the area. Some times they can be more frequent if there are a lot of current concerns. I have had child in need meetings that was every month where as in a different region my child in need meetings had been every 3 months.

Either way during these consistent meetings my mental health or well being was never considered. In fact if I was to have a very degraded mental health condition then in my opinion the intervention would then be escalated and only then would my mental state be considered. I did not understand how they could continue to put me through all these negative emotions but concentrate entirely on my children. The welfare of my children are in my hands, why then is there so little attention paid to my well being?

So that in a nutshell is child in need. It can be an intense period of investigation upon your circumstances. To help alleviate any concerns I would advise that you accept any services that are offered. Which will be discussed in the next chapter.

[blueplain]

Chapter 4
Professionals, services and courses

So what are professionals? Professionals are all those that work with and around your children. Such as Health visitors, school teachers, people from various services like portage. It is my opinion that professionals give with one hand and take with another. I say this because not only do they provide a service tailored for your needs but they also report all the observations and findings to your social worker. This in my opinion is a big flaw with the system. In my opinion, by accepting a professional you are also accepting another judge, another member of the jury who gather evidence for or against you. This can vary between professional to professional. In my experience I have had professionals that really back my corner and could understand what I was going through. I found others cold and clinical who only delivered negative evidence towards my case. This is unfortunate. I feel that if you could accept professionals without them reporting to children services then I think that the experience would be much less frustration and worrying. I felt very concious around all the professionals involved in my case. I was anxious, scared and insecure with every contact I had with them. The issue then spirals because you can become withdrawn in their presence and then they might see you as the insecure withdrawn parent that can not cope with their children's needs. When I reflect upon my experience I felt that I was much more active, confident and positive within myself when professionals were not observing me and my children. I think it is well accepted that people do not act themselves when they are being observed and analysed. Unfortunately I feel this face value carries far with professionals and as such you can be miss judged because you are not used to the unusual situation.

You get used to the intervention and observation though. The anxiety and frustration does not go away but you become more relaxed under observation. When I started to relax and act more myself I found that the reports about my character was becoming more positive. At the end of the day people cope differently when being observed and analysed. I unfortunately found it a bit overwhelming initially. I hope if you ever find yourself in that position that you are not so overwhelmed.

As far as services and courses go, you can be offered varying services/courses for varying situations. There are services if you are struggling with your home conditions, there are courses if you find managing your children's behaviour or household routine difficult. Parenting courses, professionals that visit your home and play with your children. A whole assortment of help that you are expected and encouraged to take. It is my opinion that any services I did not take which was suggested I should, reflected badly on my case. I felt that too much resistance would have lead to the intervention being escalated. I felt it difficult to accept these courses and services because I had already felt overwhelm with the invasion of my home, the probing, the analysing. Must I accept more of this? Unfortunately and not to take a line from a popular syfi series, resistance in my opinion is futile. I suggest you take the courses and services because in my opinion refusing to do so just makes things worse.

[blueplain]

Chapter 5
Child protection level

You thought things could not get worse? You thought that you have been through enough and that it would be cruel to burden you with more then you already put up with? Well I am sorry to say it can get worse and it did in my case.

Before you are placed on a child protection level you will be informed by your social worker that she wants to hold a child protection conference. Following this you should get a letter with the date and time of the meeting a week before the meeting takes place and also information on what will be discussed at this meeting. At this point you need to prepare yourself. In my opinion this meeting is a sort of trial. There will be a lot of professionals attending this meeting, including the police and an independent chairman. The police are only there to deliver any criminal history you might have, They will be there even if you do not have any history. During my meeting I had 20 professionals around the table.
At this point in time you have to give a defence against all the issues that are raised. This is a very daunting and a scary situation. After all you have been through, after all the meetings and feedback about how bad a parent you are. You now have to defend yourself in front of a large crowd of professionals, why you are not looking after your children's welfare to such an extent that they feel you need serious intervention. It was a very hurtful, distressing, frustrating and awful experience for me. All these people were discussing amongst themselves how much I had let my children down and providing evidence to the chairman in the form of opinions and observations. that I needed this level of intervention or my children would be likely to suffer. I found the whole situation ridiculous. My children were healthy, they was at the right weight, there was no concern about their physical health, they were very happy children. Yet it is my opinion that my families issues had been over exaggerated and the facts had no base of evidence.

Let me put this hypothetical situation to you. You are a fire watcher and at any time you see a fire and deal with this fire efficiently, you feel you know everything there is to know about fire and you are always looking to prove yourself. One day during one of your normal shifts you see a couple lighting some candles in the cafeteria. They are a couple who are celebrating there anniversary during lunch time at work. They obviously have plans for after work but they thought they would try and keep the whole day romantic. You are a fire marshal and you are aware of the dangers of candles. This is a potential fire hazard! You then think of the targets you have and the possible bonus, and you can not help but be drawn by this prospect. The couple leave for a moment leaving the candles on the desk. As a fire watcher this infuriates and excites you. How could these people not take proper care of there candles! Anything could happen! it is my opinion that they are lacking in skills and knowledge about fire safety! You then rush to blow out the candles just before the couple get back. When they get back you confront them. Why did you not look after these candles properly! do you know all the risks there are and what could of happened with these candles! The couple argue with you because your opinion is ridiculous. Just because all sorts of things could of happened does not mean you did not take enough care with the candles.
You are furious that this couple does not agree with your opinion. You know better you have been trained about the dangers of candles! At this thought you march to your bosses office and you say to him.
"You will not believe what I observed. This couple had left candles all over the cafeteria, around all that flammable material and they argued with me and did not understand the importance of what I told them and it is my opinion that this couple should go on probation and receive extra training. I feel that I have averted a potential fire and that the company would of had to pay out for all the damage it would of caused"

You are then complimented by the boss because he takes your opinion more seriously then the couple. You have had the training and know what you are talking about. The couple are placed on probation and you feel your career is heading in a good direction.

It is my opinion that the situation I described is exactly the mentality of the children services. During my intervention and in my opinion I was very aware of each exaggeration, each twisted fact and each opinion. I felt a lot of my situation had been taken out of context.

I wanted to give you an idea of this because I feel this was the mentality I was up against, whilst trying to prove that I did not need such drastic intervention.

Once all the evidence has been delivered and your opinion is heard the chairman will then come to a decision. The chairman will either decide that you do not need to be placed on a protection plan, or they will decide that you will require this level of intervention to prevent possible serious harm of your children.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi again Blueplain,

Well done on coming so far with your book. You are doing a good job of explaining how you feel as a parent. I just want to say though, social workers do not get bonuses for each family/child they are involved with or for meeting a certain target.

Best wishes

Suzie

[blueplain]

Hi again Blueplain,

Well done on coming so far with your book. You are doing a good job of explaining how you feel as a parent. I just want to say though, social workers do not get bonuses for each family/child they are involved with or for meeting a certain target.

Best wishes

Suzie

Thank you suzie, I have made some changes that does not give that impression they receive bonuses for their work. However I still feel and I am under the impression that they are career driven and put their opinion of there own skills so high that they do not budge when challenged. I am of course not speaking about all social workers because there are those that care. I however feel they are in the minority. I had seven social workers during my case and only one of them listened to me properly and supported me in terms of how I was feeling and how I saw the situation. This was across multiple authorities. There is no other way to explain their exaggeration on facts or any other signs that they do not have their own personal agenda to achieve certain goals themselves. I came to this opinion also when at the end of my child protection conference. When the chairwoman said she was going to place us on a child protection plan, our social worker at the time, who we only had for 2 weeks who instigated the protection plan, cheered when the chairman came to a verdict. Actually cheered. I mean I can understand that she could be happy about "protecting the children" but the joy on her face was so intense and it infuriated us. Completely unprofessional in my opinion.

Anyway I read on these forums so many twisted and exaggerated facts by children services I feel there must be some form of agenda. Could you explain to me Suzie why a lot of people feel this way? If they are incorrect then it is a very broad misconception. Even if they do not have an agenda I feel that they go out of the way to cover up any of their own mistakes and do this by twisted and exaggerating the facts.

I know due to your position Suzi and you can only state what needs to be done in regards to procedure. Are you able to however give your opinion. After everything you have heard as to how you feel children services perform on a whole? I would understand if you are unable to answer such a question.