Just turned 19 and I've been in care myself. I'm having my first baby she's not born yet she's over due. And my partner in prison who's is due to be released on Tuesday and they are concerned about his behaviour and he has history of dv which I don't agree with. I don't think he's violent at all or aggressive person only been aggressive towards prison officers. They are saying hes high risk to me and our baby they think our baby will be neglected and he can harm the baby which I don't think he will act in any way around child like that he has nieces and nephews which he is good around them I don't see what harm he can do to our child it's really frustrating! So they wanted to me work with which I have been since April they did child protection plan then they did plo meeting and I had sign written agreement and now the baby not even here and they are saying my partner really high risk that they are very concerned for the baby so they are taking it to court to share parental responsibility on my child and if I don't agree with going into mother and baby placement they take the baby from me but even if I do accept it theyre still going court. I just feel like they jumping from one thing to another I feel like they aren't giving me chance or my partner i feel like they wanna take her away from me. As they said there finding it hard to find a placement as my partner that of high risk and so I said I don't mind residental placement I do anything to not be away from her but I would like to be able to see my partner and my partner to see his daughter but they are saying contact centre saying they won't accept him because he posses a risk to other families which I don't see it he's not harm to anyone he's not like that at all and he's willing to work with them! They wAnna do full risk assessment on him to decide if he can see her whenever and if I can go back to my flat i am not allowed to leave the hospital till theye decided where am going. They said if the baby doesn't come before he's out he can come to birth but when the baby is born he would have to leave as soon as she born which I don't agree with when I spoke to my solicitor about it she said you have signed the written agreement to ssy he wont have contact with baby but i asked cant there be security about or he be supervised while he's there apparently the hospital said no?? I really don't understand why he would kick off when he's daughter just been borned he even ssid to me he doesnt want no one swearing around our baby or no shouting whuch must show them something! I am really scared! I just need some advice and if this is correct what there doing. He's 32 years old and he he's in prison to finish off his license got recall for poor behaviour.
Any other information or questions to know the situation bit more please ask.
social worker concerned with my partner and taking it to court!!
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missunknown
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 2:37 pm
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Suzie, FRG Adviser
- Posts: 4234
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm
Re: social worker concerned with my partner and taking it to court!!
Dear missunknown,
Welcome to the Parent’s Forum and thank you for posting. Congratulations on your pregnancy.
I can see that your baby will be born very soon.
In this post I will deal with 3 things.
• 1-your question about whether I think children services are being reasonable.
• 2-the care proceedings- what you need to know.
• 3-what else you can do.
1-You ask whether children services are being reasonable.
Children services are right to do a risk assessment of dad first before he can have contact with his baby. They have no choice but to do this.
Children services cannot take any risk with your baby given dad's history of violence.
I know Dad has not been violent to you and is always fine around his nephews and nieces but he does have a history of being domestically abusive to other women in the past and he is in prison for a violent offence. He is also still being violent-he is getting into fights with prison officers. His history may dictate that he may become violent towards to you in the future. That is a current concern.
For example, what happens if only once dad became angry with you and pushed you while you were holding your baby? You might then fall over or drop your baby. Baby could suffer an injury or worse. He may never have pushed you before, but the pressure of having a baby may impact on him.
Or, if he got into a fight with someone else-another man- when your baby was there and she suffered trauma from hearing or seeing this.
Even being in prison may have affected him-since last time you saw him outside. He could have changed-suffered a further trauma.
You as mum would want to know he is now safe.
You also say he was fighting with prison officers. So children services and the hospital will be worried that he may fight with health workers or security, for example. They will want to check that it is safe for their workers. This is why, at the moment at least, they cannot find a contact centre who will take him. They want to risk assess him first.
As mum it is important that you work with the plan put forward by children services even though you do not agree with it.
2-The care proceedings.
As mum, you will have legal parental responsibility for your daughter once she is born. You say children services are also take court proceedings and will be asking the court to give them a court order giving them parental responsibility for your baby.
If the court decides your baby is at risk of suffering serious harm or is in imminent danger (from dads possible risk), then the court can give children services an “interim care order” which gives them parental responsibility.
With an interim care order, children service should consult you about decisions they make but they can also overrule you. So they can say where your baby will live-including away from you and in foster care, even if you did not agree.
In court, both you and dad will have your own solicitors who can put forward your cases.
Your daughter will also have a court guardian and her own solicitor who will be acting in your daughters best interests.
Here are FAQ’s about care proceedings.
The care proceedings are usually completed within 26 weeks. At the end of the proceedings, the court will decide where your baby live permanently.
• First, the court will consider you and/or dad.
• Second, if the court decided that you are not able to safely care for your baby, then the court will consider people who are
“connected” to your baby (such as relatives and friends)- who could look after your baby until she is 18.
• If there is no connected persons, then as a last resort, the court may decide your baby should be adopted.
So I cannot stress how important it is that you think about yourself and your baby. I do not think you have time to consider dad at this stage. Concentrate on yourself and baby. He has to consider his own contact and his own assessment.
Do you know anyone in your family or friend network (or dad's) who could be assessed to care for your baby long term-if the court decides you are not protective enough? If you do, make sure you ask them to give their names and contact details with the social worker, so she can assess them. These type of assessments can take many months so need to be done as soon as possible.
What can you do?
1) Ask about timescales. How long will the risk assessments take?
2) Work well with your solicitor, social worker and advocate. See our young parent’s website here about working together with these professionals .
3) As you are a care leaver, is your personal adviser helping you? Do you have an independent domestic violence advocate? If not, ask the social worker about this. They can help you access domestic violence support-in case you need this. Here are our FAQ’s about domestic violence.
Think of any family or friends who could be assessed to care for your baby, in case it is the worse-case, scenario and the court thinks that you cannot protect baby from dad.
Your main priority is to demonstrate that you can understand the risk dad poses to you and your baby and can take the necessary steps to safeguard yourself and your baby. Do as advised by your solicitor and the social worker.
I think it too late in the day to be disputing what children services are saying about dad. He may be safe-let him prove that by engaging with the risk assessment.
I am sorry this post is so long but hope you find it helpful. Please call our advice line for advice or post back if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Suzie
Welcome to the Parent’s Forum and thank you for posting. Congratulations on your pregnancy.
I can see that your baby will be born very soon.
In this post I will deal with 3 things.
• 1-your question about whether I think children services are being reasonable.
• 2-the care proceedings- what you need to know.
• 3-what else you can do.
1-You ask whether children services are being reasonable.
Children services are right to do a risk assessment of dad first before he can have contact with his baby. They have no choice but to do this.
Children services cannot take any risk with your baby given dad's history of violence.
I know Dad has not been violent to you and is always fine around his nephews and nieces but he does have a history of being domestically abusive to other women in the past and he is in prison for a violent offence. He is also still being violent-he is getting into fights with prison officers. His history may dictate that he may become violent towards to you in the future. That is a current concern.
For example, what happens if only once dad became angry with you and pushed you while you were holding your baby? You might then fall over or drop your baby. Baby could suffer an injury or worse. He may never have pushed you before, but the pressure of having a baby may impact on him.
Or, if he got into a fight with someone else-another man- when your baby was there and she suffered trauma from hearing or seeing this.
Even being in prison may have affected him-since last time you saw him outside. He could have changed-suffered a further trauma.
You as mum would want to know he is now safe.
You also say he was fighting with prison officers. So children services and the hospital will be worried that he may fight with health workers or security, for example. They will want to check that it is safe for their workers. This is why, at the moment at least, they cannot find a contact centre who will take him. They want to risk assess him first.
As mum it is important that you work with the plan put forward by children services even though you do not agree with it.
2-The care proceedings.
As mum, you will have legal parental responsibility for your daughter once she is born. You say children services are also take court proceedings and will be asking the court to give them a court order giving them parental responsibility for your baby.
If the court decides your baby is at risk of suffering serious harm or is in imminent danger (from dads possible risk), then the court can give children services an “interim care order” which gives them parental responsibility.
With an interim care order, children service should consult you about decisions they make but they can also overrule you. So they can say where your baby will live-including away from you and in foster care, even if you did not agree.
In court, both you and dad will have your own solicitors who can put forward your cases.
Your daughter will also have a court guardian and her own solicitor who will be acting in your daughters best interests.
Here are FAQ’s about care proceedings.
The care proceedings are usually completed within 26 weeks. At the end of the proceedings, the court will decide where your baby live permanently.
• First, the court will consider you and/or dad.
• Second, if the court decided that you are not able to safely care for your baby, then the court will consider people who are
“connected” to your baby (such as relatives and friends)- who could look after your baby until she is 18.
• If there is no connected persons, then as a last resort, the court may decide your baby should be adopted.
So I cannot stress how important it is that you think about yourself and your baby. I do not think you have time to consider dad at this stage. Concentrate on yourself and baby. He has to consider his own contact and his own assessment.
Do you know anyone in your family or friend network (or dad's) who could be assessed to care for your baby long term-if the court decides you are not protective enough? If you do, make sure you ask them to give their names and contact details with the social worker, so she can assess them. These type of assessments can take many months so need to be done as soon as possible.
What can you do?
1) Ask about timescales. How long will the risk assessments take?
2) Work well with your solicitor, social worker and advocate. See our young parent’s website here about working together with these professionals .
3) As you are a care leaver, is your personal adviser helping you? Do you have an independent domestic violence advocate? If not, ask the social worker about this. They can help you access domestic violence support-in case you need this. Here are our FAQ’s about domestic violence.
Think of any family or friends who could be assessed to care for your baby, in case it is the worse-case, scenario and the court thinks that you cannot protect baby from dad.
Your main priority is to demonstrate that you can understand the risk dad poses to you and your baby and can take the necessary steps to safeguard yourself and your baby. Do as advised by your solicitor and the social worker.
I think it too late in the day to be disputing what children services are saying about dad. He may be safe-let him prove that by engaging with the risk assessment.
I am sorry this post is so long but hope you find it helpful. Please call our advice line for advice or post back if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Suzie
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missunknown
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 2:37 pm
Re: social worker concerned with my partner and taking it to court!!
Thank you im in hospital right now
social workers have said they don't have no concern s with me they think I be great mother and be able to take care of her and keep her safe but its more to do with my partner.
They have not told me how long the risk assessment will take as they don't know because they want to do a physicolist assessment too (if that's how you spell it)
They would like me to go into mother and baby placement until they've done assessment on him agreed with this...but the manager has said to me the placement would be for 12 weeks and from there will decide if I can go back to my flat with the baby and if there still a risk the would move me out of area and safeguarding me and my baby. Depending on the out come she said. But there finding it hard to find me somewhere because of the risks so I asked them to look into residential as the baby due to be here and I don't know whats really happening.
My PA is not helpful at all I've tried to change my PA but the manager would never get back to my calls.
social workers have said they don't have no concern s with me they think I be great mother and be able to take care of her and keep her safe but its more to do with my partner.
They have not told me how long the risk assessment will take as they don't know because they want to do a physicolist assessment too (if that's how you spell it)
They would like me to go into mother and baby placement until they've done assessment on him agreed with this...but the manager has said to me the placement would be for 12 weeks and from there will decide if I can go back to my flat with the baby and if there still a risk the would move me out of area and safeguarding me and my baby. Depending on the out come she said. But there finding it hard to find me somewhere because of the risks so I asked them to look into residential as the baby due to be here and I don't know whats really happening.
My PA is not helpful at all I've tried to change my PA but the manager would never get back to my calls.
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