my son been taken away

[andyandy]

Hi my son had a accident in shower the water got too hot and did a small burn to bottom of his leg. The doctor called the ss and they made me go to get more medical advice and in the end my son got put on the at risk register and i only get 4 hours contact know. The police has dropped and my new ss work says it was an accident but because i got upset on the day they taken my boys i need to be monited and still cant have them back. ss tolds me that im working towards getting him back in may at next meeting if all gose well can i trust ss. Im sorry about the spelling i have a disabilty

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi andyandy

Welcome to the discussion board and thanks for posting. My name is Suzie and I am an adviser at Family Rights Group. I’m sorry it’s taken a little while for me to respond to your post.

It sounds as though you’ve been through a really stressful and upsetting time. From the information you have written, however, it also sounds as though things are looking more positive now. I am guessing that you have been working hard to show children’s services that it is safe for the boys to come home and it sounds as though this is paying off.

You say that the social worker has talked about working towards getting the boys back in your care and that it has been suggested this might happen as early as May. The social worker would not say this to you unless they felt things were going well and this was their plan, andyandy.

I would advise you to keep on co-operating with the social worker as much as you can. Make sure they know that having your boys safely home with you is your priority and ask them to be open and honest with you about what you need to do so that this can happen as soon as possible.

I’d like to give you some more specific advice but there are a few things that are not clear from your post. Do children’s services have a court order in relation to your boys? If not, they must be accommodated with your consent under section 20 of the Children Act. Are you clear about this andyandy? Where are they living at the moment- with foster carers or a family member?

Do post back with some more details. Or you might want to give us a ring on our advice line 0808 801 0366.

In the meantime, have a look at our advice sheets here on the website as they have also got lots of useful information.

Best Wishes

Suzie
FRG Adviser

[andyandy]

yes they are with family and there was no court order. they have now just givin me 12 hours aweek with me and my wife with kids and unlimited at contact at nana house and told we are working towards them coming home hopfully in may but not 100% so im feeling happier just want them home

[andyandy]

the only think thats worrying me is the secound conference will the chair man release my sons because i done everythink they asked and more

I was given unlimited contact has long as nanna with mr and 12 hours aweek with me and wife

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi andyandy

I’m glad to hear that the boys are with their grandparents rather than foster carers. And it sounds as though you having lots of good quality contact with them.

You ask about the second conference and if the chair will “release” your sons- I assume you mean will he allow them to come home. This decision isn’t really up to the chair although it will probably be discussed at the meeting.

The purpose of the second conference is to review the child protection plans that have been put in place for your sons. The conference will certainly look at all of the work that you have been doing and the progress which has been made. All of the professionals at the meeting will then decide whether your sons remain at risk of “significant harm”. If it is decided that there is still a risk of harm, there will carry on being child protection plans.

Even if the child protection plans do carry on, this does not mean that your boys cannot come home. It is up to the children’s social worker to recommend when it is safe and appropriate for the boys to come home by continually assessing how things are going.

As there are no court orders in place, the children are accommodated with your consent. This means that you must be fully involved in discussions and decision about the boys. Make sure you have been very clear with the social worker about wanting the boys home as soon as possible and emphasise why you feel this is in their best interests.

The fact that there are no court orders also means that you could remove your consent at any time and ask for the boys to be returned home. If you did this, however, children’s services may decide to go to court for an order allowing them to keep your boys in care, which would not be in your best interests.

Things seem to be going really well at the moment and I would advise that you keep doing the things you have been doing and working well with the professionals involved in your family. As long as things continue to go well, it sounds as though your sons will be home with you soon.

Do keep posting and letting us know how things are going.

Best Wishes

Suzie
FRG Adviser

[andyandy]

Hi,
so when my socail worker saying it's down to the chairman she lieing to me alittle and it's down to her. She seems to be holding thinks up know and this makes me think she not doing what she saying to me but the opersite. so what would you do.

I always ask when are they ok to come home every other day but never get answer just we woreking to bring them home

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi andyandy,

Have you tried asking her in writing? You could email her and send a copy to her team manager. Ask her:
What needs to happen for your children to return home to you? Do any further assessments need to take place? If so how long will they take?
Ask her to write back to you as soon as possible. If she does not respond, then you could send a copy of your email to a senior manager and ask that they answer your questions.
I hope this helps.
Please post back if you need more advice.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[andyandy]

Hi andyandy,

Have you tried asking her in writing? You could email her and send a copy to her team manager. Ask her:
What needs to happen for your children to return home to you? Do any further assessments need to take place? If so how long will they take?
Ask her to write back to you as soon as possible. If she does not respond, then you could send a copy of your email to a senior manager and ask that they answer your questions.
I hope this helps.
Please post back if you need more advice.

Best wishes,
Suzie

the socail doing assments now. I asked her how they are going and was told she was happy with every think this was her reply to me-

I understand that you are upset and frustrated by the situation but I can assure you that at present we are still working towards ****** returning to your care. Social Services work very different to the police. The police work on a 'proof beyond all reasonable doubt' when looking at charges. However in social services we work on a 'likely to be at risk of significant harm'. So as we work together I need to make sure that ****** is not 'likely to be at risk of significant harm'. I appreciated your explanation for J***** burn. I feel that you may have been miss understood which is why things escalated. I believe that your explanation of the burn is plausible and that this was a complete accident. However we need to do a bit of work around appropriate supervision of children. I will be discussing your contact with my manager in my next supervision and will look to increase this. Please don't be dis-encouraged because I have not increased it yet, it does not mean ******* will not return home, as all is going well at the moment.

Could the assments be holding thimgs up and i am being impatient and thank you for your help upto know

[andyandy]

dose every case have these assments or is it a bad think?

if the assment are done before next core meeting do you think they would relisase him?

What do you think we may end up with after review conervence?

should the manager meet me from socail before he or she makes a coment about what happens?

What do you feel we could do to help case?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear andyandy,

The letter from the social worker looks very positive to me. She says all is going well. She has ruled out deliberate harm to your son. It looks like she is going to be increasing your contact with your son. She says she is working towards your children returning home to you.
The work that she hasn’t done yet is assistance to you around supervising your children. She may want to assess how you supervise your children and whether you need any help in supervising or any training around supervising them.
• I would email and ask her:
• When will this work start?
• How long will it take?
• Who is doing it? Is it her or a family support worker or some other professional?
• Say you are keen for this to start soon.
• Is she still thinking of your children returning to your care by May
Or you could wait for the core group meeting and ask her these questions.
Yes it is completely normal that the social worker would carry out an assessment. She needs to find out what are your children’s needs and whether you need any help or support in looking after your children. She might want to see what support is available to you from your family or friends.
Child protection review meeting
It is possible that the social worker may want to keep your children’s name on a plan for a further 6 months. Before the review she should tell you what she plans to say and give you her written report setting out what assessments have been done, how the child protection plan has been met and whether the children are still at a continuing risk of suffering harm. You should receive this report well before the review meeting so that you can go through it and question anything that you do not understand.

I hope this helps but please post back if you have further questions.

Best wishes,
Suzie