Contact

[Hopkins]

Hi I really need some advice,

After a lengthy fact finding finished on Wednesday I was notably upset at some of the outcomes and as a result my social worker cancelled my 2 visits with my child that were booked for thurs and fri on the grounds that if I was upset she would be upset.
They then decided that because my previous social worker didn't fill out the right paper work in regard to a phone contact agreement and they also said that my daughters carers said phone contact upset her they have stopped phone contact pending a court ruling which we were going to on the 31st January.

I spoke to the carers myself who i have a good relashionship with, and they have reported no such thing.

I will now not get to see my daughter until next Thursday if after a meeting on monday with my social worker she deems it ok.

My daughter is on an intruim care order and I still have pr, can they legally just say no to any contact for over a week based on these measly facts?
What rights do I have and how can I get what I'm intittled to???

[Hopkins]

I found this in the q+a

Is this correct if so what can I do about it as they have already told her carers not to let me have contact.

A. Your child’s social worker cannot stop contact without getting the court to agree. But Children’s Services do have the power to stop contact for up to seven days in an emergency, if they think contact with you will harm your child. If that happens, they must explain in writing why this decision was made, and how the decision can be challenged in court.

You may want to make a formal complaint and see a solicitor.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi Hopkins

Thank you for your post. I am really sorry to hear about the distressing situation you are in.

I am sorry, too, that it has taken so long for me to respond to your query.

From what you have described, it does sound as though Children’s Services were legally entitled to stop a week of your contact with your daughter. They should, however, have explained the reasons for this clearly in writing and informed you of your rights to challenge the decision.

There are more details about this in our advice sheet about contact

My advice would be to discuss this with your solicitor as soon as possible. Hopefully you have had an opportunity to do this already.

Again, I am really sorry that I wasn’t able to respond to you sooner. Please do let us know how things have developed and if there is any further advice that you would like at the moment.

Best Wishes

Susie
FRG Adviser

[ange301126]

dear hopkins,Although there isn't a lot you can do about ,in my opinion the C.S. have abused your human rights. Suzie says they were legally obliged to stop your contact for a week. However Q&a says they were legally entitled to do so in an emergency.Clearly there was NO EMERGENCY putting the child at imminent risk and there was no danger. If the social worker thought there was an EMERGENCY SITUATION then he or she should have discussed the situation with you fully and taken steps to alleviate it before making any decision. In my opinion this was a simple case of 'authoritarianism'. As I said there is little you can do about it now and you can only make plans for when it happens again in the future because it probably will!

[ange301126]

dear hopkins,In my previous message I wrote," Suzie says they were legally obliged to stop your contact for a week." Of course,Imeant to say, Suzie says it looks as if they were legally entitled to stop your contact. Sorry for the slip ,Suzie!

[Hopkins]

They went to a contested hearing and got our phone contact stopped due to our daughter being upset over the Christmas period they say that is our fault!

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi Hopkins

Sorry that the contested hearing did not rule in your favour, but the court supported the Local Authority's proposal to stop your phone contact. Whilst it may not be the outcome you had hoped for, perhaps once things have settled, you can raise the issue, at a later date.

What is key now, is for you to try to focus on any face to face contact you do have, being the best quality it can be. Think about how you can make it really child focussed; about the type of toys available to use (appropriate to your child's age, development, interests). What other activities could you include. It is about trying to think on your feet, but not about you being left out of pocket.

In addition, keep a written record of any concerns you have as they arise (preferably after the session has taken place), so you can concentrate on maximising your time together, and don't become unintentionally distracted during the session.

In this way, professionals are more likely to positively assess you as being able to demonstrate the ability prioritise your child's needs.

Furthermore, ensure you continue to raise any contact issues with your solicitor, at the first available opportunity.

Best Wishes


Suzie

[ange301126]

dear hopkins,all I can say is tt what is key now is that you have a good solicitor who will support you and argue your case vehemently re- contact issues when you are accused at contested hearings of upsetting your daughter. It is more likely that your daughter is upset because she is not at home with her natural parent!