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Supervision

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 3:26 pm
by JG1204
When my partners marriage broke down she was left to single handedly bring up four children, the eldest of whom was autistic and very violent towards her.

After a while she found herself unable to cope and had a mental illness requiring her to be hospitalised several times. Throughout these times she never posed, or threatened to pose any risk to her children and always strived to get adequate care for them whenever she was admitted.

Eventually though social services were involved and the children were put on care orders initially in local authority care until the useless ex husband finally agreed to take them. During the time the children were under care orders social services seem to have treat my partner like a pariah and demanded that she only had a few hours a month contact at a local authority contact centre.

This year the local authority took the three oldest of the children off the care orders (one is now over sixteen anyway) and they just hold Children in Need meetings for the youngest who is still under a care order.

Now that the three children are not on Care Orders my partner thought that she would now be able to see her children without the need for supervision but her ex husband keeps saying that the social worker is adamant that she must have supervision and cant see them at all at Christmas.

To make things worse, when we have emailed the social worker and asked her what legal power she has that allows her to dictate visiting rules we just hit a stonewall and get no reply.

So my question is, do social services have some arbitrary power that allows them to hinder a mothers access to her children?

Re: Supervision

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:23 pm
by Suzie, FRG Adviser
Dear JG1204

Thank you for your post and welcome to the board.

Children’s Services do have certain ‘powers’ relating to contact when children are under care orders but can only refuse contact if a court says so. Social workers should allow ‘reasonable access’ to children who are under care orders, our advice sheet about contact with children in care may be useful to you and your partner, as will our advice sheet about the duties that Children’s Services have to children in the care system.

You have said that the court order for two of the children has ended but the contact arrangements continue, perhaps mediation between the parents may help or a child arrangements order.

I hope this information helps and that the issue is resolved before the holidays.

Best wishes,

Suzie