Page 1 of 1

What can I do now

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:30 pm
by NannyLoz
Hi, I have not posted here for a while, as I can just about manage to deal with life each day. Since a place order was granted in January of 2013 and contact stopped on March 2014 as we were told that the LA had found a family. I have had no update from the SW (4th one) I did e mail to find out how my grandchildren were and to have an update as to the outcome of the family they were supposed to have identified. In response I had an amazing letter ( via the SW) from the foster carers with photo's, but nothing from the SW with regards to the possible placement.I did respond to the foster carers letter again via the SW and only hope that it was passed on. This is the hardest and most devastating outcome anyone can live and am at a lost as to what I can do next. As far as I am aware the children are still with the foster carer and we have been told that until a placement has been identified and the children adopted we can have no further contact with them. What if this takes years !! I have had advice about challenging the placement order but am not in a financial position to do so. I am not entitle to legal aid. There has been no support offered from the LA, the life story worker has not even contacted us in the 7 months she has been working with the children to help with their life story. I am living a life sentence and have committed on crime, even murderers done serve a life sentence and are treated better. Is there any way that we can resume contact ?? or get some kind of update from CS.

Re: What can I do now

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 5:19 pm
by David Roth
I'm sorry to hear that circumstances have become so difficult for you, with your contact with your grandchildren being stopped.

Unfortunately, as a grandparent you don't have a legal right to contact with your grandchildren in the care system. You would only be able to argue this if you had been their special guardian or had residence orders before they came into care.

You might want to make a formal complaint about the social worker not carrying out actions which were agreed. You could argue that even although the plan is for the children to be adopted by strangers, there would generally still be an expectation that they should grow up with some knowledge of their origins, and that would include having some memories of nice time spent with grandparents. You would probably need to give some sort of undertaking not to say anything that would undermine with the children the local authorities plans for them. Our advice sheet 25 takes you through the process of making a complaint: http://frg.org.uk/need-help-or-advice/advice-sheets

I am aware that The Grandparents' Association does have some support groups for grandparents who are being denied contact with their grandchildren. If this sounds interesting to you, it may be worth contacting them: http://www.grandparents-association.org ... roups.html

I am sorry to be unable to provide you with anything more hopeful.