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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.
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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.
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.
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Having overcome a rocky time in life when her youngest children were removed from her care and adopted, Angela now campaigns for the voices of families to be heard within the system. She serves as Chair of Trustees for Family Rights Group and helped found our parents’ panel. Angela regularly shares her lived experience to drive change in the child welfare system, including on the Family Justice Council and in her role on the Government’s National Implementation Board for the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.
A birth parent is someone whose child has been removed from their care and adopted. At present, too many birth parents and wider family members are left with little to no support after a child is removed from their care permanently, leaving them to deal with the devastating aftermath alone.
Angela’s youngest sons, then aged 1 and 5, were adopted in 2004 after a very long and fraught battle with her local authority due to domestic violence and mental health issues. Since then, she has gone on to rebuild her life and has recently re-established contact with her eldest son. She is married with a young daughter who has had no local authority involvement whatsoever.
Her story is an inspiring example of how families facing adversity can, with the right support, turn their pain into action and change the system for those who come next. For this reason, her recognition in the King’s Birthday Honours is very well deserved.
“I am hugely proud to have been included in the King’s Birthday Honours. If you had told me in 2004 that I would end up where I am today, I would never have believed you.
“I hope this shows that we should be less judgemental and more supportive of birth parents. We still have so much to offer our children whether we are directly involved in their lives or not. We still love and miss them terribly.
“Involving birth parents in discussions about the wider system, and in particular adoption, can help bring about positive system change for everyone, in particular the children – who must remain at the heart of everything we do.
“Recent research on recurrent care proceedings showed the importance of reaching out to birth families, supporting them through their challenges and enabling them to make better decisions as they move on from a monumentally difficult point in their lives.
“I hope I am living proof that a challenging and traumatic past does not have to stop you from having a bright and happy future. We are all capable of change, some of us just need a little help to do so.”
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