How to contact us for advice

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Our advice service

Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.

Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.

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By phone or email

To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.

Discuss on our forums

Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.

Advice on our website

Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.

 

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Will making a complaint count against a parent or carer?

Making a complaint should not count against the person making the complaint.

Parents and carers have a right to complain where they are concerned children’s services or a social worker have not done the right thing for their child or family. It can be harder to work with social workers after you have made a complaint, however. This may especially be the case if the child still has the same social worker. So, it may be worth discussing things with one of our specialist advisers before making a complaint by:

  • Posting a question on our Parents Forum or Kinship Carers Forum
  • Calling our specialist legal and practice advice line on 0808 801 0366 (the advice line is open Monday to Friday, from 9.30 am to 3 pm).

Where a complaint is made, the person who is involved in looking into the complaint will not be the same person who manages a child’s social worker. For more information about the stages of the complaints process and who is involved in making decisions, see How are complaints dealt with? section.

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Our funding means we can currently only help 4 in 10 people

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