Believe psychologist is colluding with opposite parent

[RobB]

Hi I am a grandparent of 3 young children. I am supporting my daughter in a very complicated case where her partner domestically abused her. She is accused of neglect two of her children because traces of amphetamine were found in their hair strand tests. Amphetamine was also found in her hair strand test plus she was found in possession of amphetamine 2 weeks after her children were removed into care. Her partner also admits to using amphetamine but only twice 5 or 6 months previous to the children being taken into care. His hair strand test was clear but since he has short hair that is only able to establish that he had not taken amphetamine one month previous to the children being taken into care.
They have both had psychological tests and though the psychologist stated the male partner had domestically abused my daughter which was likely to make her more likely to use drugs, cause mental health problems and parent less well she believed my daughter needed several years at least to address those problems therefore would not be able to look after her children for at least that period. My daughter was a total wreck and could barely function at the time she was assessed. She is back to normal now, though obviously is anxious about the proceeding and how her children are faring in foster care.
Her ex partner psychologist believed would be a good enough parent with some support and attended some counseling to address his anger issues. We strongly disagree with her conclusions. The LA and CafCass have agreed with psychologists report and are recommending giving residence of the children to the father providing he lives near his parents 200 miles away. My daughter also had a psychiatrists report which suggested she would be a good enough mother providing she had some counseling, did not again resort to amphetamine use and did not get involved in another abusive relationship. We are confident that she will not do that. She has improved in health physically and mentally hugely since the break up of her relationship 8 months ago.
We are offering to build an annex to our house where she and her children can live and we will be there to support her and her children. Because of this another psychological report is due to be made of us and our daughter. The concern we have is that during the last court appearance where our plan was discussed the psychologist was heard talking to my daughters ex partner and his parents amicably and socially. What concerns us is that she was heard clearly say " don't worry this won't change anything." The person who heard this was a witness to the case who is a family support worker employed by the LA so is clearly unlikely to make a distorted claim. She has written a statement to my daughter's solicitor of her account of the parts of the conversation she heard.
We feel this disqualifies psychologist from assessing us and our daughter. My daughters solicitor may be addressing this, we don't know yet but given the psychologists seeming collusion with my daughter's ex partner we feel my daughter should ask for an assessment from a different psychologist. The problem is that this may further delay the final hearing already delayed due to local authority's late statements and changes in circumstances. We feel that if the overheard conversion was correct, and we feel it extremely unlikely that the gist was not, not given the risk to the family workers job and prospects if she is making a malicious claim, that the psychologist is not fit to assess us or our daughter and is guilty of serious misconduct. So we think if it delays the proceedings to do that given the importance of a good assessment to the children's future lives that is still in the best interests of the children.
Please could you give your thoughts on the changing the psychologist
thanks

[David Roth]

RobB, if you believe that the psychologist is predisposed against your daughter and you, then you are within your rights to challenge her as the right person to do an assessment and make a recommendation. The court would probably not be happy with any further delay, as most courts are now trying to work to a very tight timescale for care proceedings of six months, in anticipation of the measure in the Children & Families Bill, so the court might take some persuading that more time was needed. It would have to be clear that more time was needed to ensure justice was done.

It might depend on exactly what was overheard. The psychologist being amicable and sociable with the other parent would not be enough, as most psychologists should be able to do this without showing professional bias. Even the comment you repeat, that was overheard, might not be enough on its own, unless it was heard within a context where it was clear that the psychologist was saying it was the recommendation that was not going to change.

However, if you don't get a postponement, then your daughter's barrister will still have the chance to put pressure on the psychologist to explain herself under cross-examination.

[RobB]

Thanks David, we now have the psychologists version of the conversation she was having. She says in effect that she was explaining to the fathers family that the possible delay ( from the not at that time decided adjournment then being considered by the magistrates; later granted) "would change nothing" and it happened all the time. She says she was was reassuring the parents not referring to the potential outcome of the case itself.
I still do not see this as an acceptable explanation as whatever the psychologist meant it still sounds to me as if she was reassuring the father and his parents that her view was that the position of the local authority, guardian and herself would not be altered by the different arrangements offered by the mother and the further assessments to be carried out.
However we have accepted advice from our solicitor that we should allow ourselves to be assessed by her, reluctantly. We will obviously try to forget our worries when we are assessed and I assume our daughters solicitor will cross examine the psychologist over her comments if she thinks it helpful.