will social services get back involved? help please

[l201812]

im new to this group and just looking for some reasurance when my son was 5.5 months old i noticed a mark on his leg only small but was unsure what it was etc so took him to out of hours just to check. he was also mobile at the time rolling over and being able to move about. i was told to stay over night for observation which i did and next day doctors come in to tell me they have contact ss as they couldnt rule out 'non accidentle injury' so i was completely broken as took him as concerned to what it eas they said it was 2 small linear bruises on bottom leg by his shin. i couldnt give a reason for it as i didnt know and didnt want to lie and as he was under 6 months old although they could see he was mobile they couldnt say he was due to age. long story short they help xrays head scan eye test to check for previous fractures or any broken bones. i was in hospital for just over a week. they finally let me go home on the terms someone eg my mum or sister supervise until an investigation / assessment was carried out which we came up with a written agreement to rules. they held multi agency meetings this took approx 2 months in which the hospital still couldnt rule out non accidental injury due to age and also as i didnt know how he did it all i could think of maybe he rolled onto something but til this day i still dont know. after this meeting the ss rung me to tell me it is ok for me to be unsupervised and that case is now closed as they think everything is fine and they have no concerns although hospital couldnt rule out due to me not having a reason.
so i received a letter on 18th june saying thnakyou for completing assessment with childrens services and that my case was now closed.

my son is now 11 months old and thriving and i have found out i am 12 weeks pregnant with 2nd when i went to booking they asked about previous ss involvement so i was honest and they said that is fine. i thought case closed. on my 12 week scan i seen a different midwife and she asked again so i explained same thing and ahe said she will have yo phone old sw to confirm etc.
i phoned sw to let her know she said unless there is anything new or any concerns they would not be involved again and midwifes asked if i was asked to do again i would as thats what mothers do. so as you can imagine ive been worried sick although i know im doing the best i can and my son is safe and loved i called HV she reassured me there is no concerns anywhere and that they will not be involved she promised me this. i cant seem to get it out of my head as last time was so traumatic being accused like that.
im just looking for reassurance and to know they wont be getting back involved like my HV said.
sorry for long reply but anyone with similar experience feel free to respond

[Kami2018]

Cant really say weather they will become involved again all though I will say it's highly likely just probably to see how things are going if they do become involved it will be around 5mths in your pregnancy hooe this helps

[Miserylovescompany2]

Hello

I can see that this is causing you distress. As Children's services have had previous involvement they might need to speak with you - this doesn't automatically mean they would then be involved in the same way they were previously.

As an aside from all your worry - I am concerned regarding how your case was handled. Do you recall if your child was placed on a CIN (child in need) plan or if this was ever a CPP (child protection plan). With CIN you would have regular meetings and the assessment would be to assist in determining what support you and you child would benefit from?

Neither of the above plans would be closed via a letter alone - there would of needed to be a meeting.

Did you receive a copy of CS assessment - were the meetings for professionals only?

Do you remember if they did a section 47?

It doesn't sound like your case was handled very well. I can understand why you are feeling the way you currently do.

Might I suggest you think about whether you'd wish to raise this as formal complaint against Children's services - because I believe your case has been handled in a very poor way.

[l201812]

it was all through just written aggreements no court orders and no i am not aware of if it was a children im need plan or child protection i think it was purely an investigation to see if needed to go further but in end the case was closed. i havent seen or heard off them since july when case officially closed i was investigated for 2 months.
my hv said she can promise nothing will happen and i got in touch with sw she said unless anything new they wont look to get involved. hv has no concerns at all and she said to stop torturing myself and enjoy christmas i think its my anxieties playing with me.
it was just a bad time and cant deal with it again especially since i proven myself last time.
any advjce please help me:(

[Miserylovescompany2]

Can you remember if the police were contacted?

I am so sorry, because the mental anguish and utter despair caused by such a serious allegation is every parents worst nightmare - understandably there will be anxiety surrounding this. Which will not simply disappear with a few words of reassurance.

Was/is this the same health visitor you have for your child? If so they have watched CS not follow the correct government guidance.

I think the very least both Children's services and your health visitor can do is to sit down with you and explain why they chose the route they did. If you don't feel comfortable with doing or asking for this - might I suggest maybe someone does this on your behalf and acts like an advocate of sorts to make sure your voice is heard.

Have you spoken with your GP about how you are currently feeling? Because you have experienced a prolonged traumatic investigation. Maybe speaking to someone about this would help reduce some of your anxieties. If you don't feel comfortable with that maybe you could write down what happened just like you've done on here. But this would be for you and there would be no pressure to share this with anyone else. This might help a little to ease the worst case scenario thoughts going around your head in a perpetual loop.

I know just the mere thought of future involvement is a terrorising thought! That's why I think the best way forward would be for a family member, friend or even a solicitor to act on your behalf.

I do hope Suzie the FRG adviser will be able to signpost you to some useful agencies that could help you move forward.

There are many parents on this forum that have experienced or are currently going through something similar. This is a safe space in which no person will judge you. I've had many a rant on here just to get rid of frustrations.

Everyone will have a different story - the emotional pain and anguish is something we all have in common.

[l201812]

i was never approached by police or any mention of them so i dont think so all. & yes still same hv but she was off on sick while this was happening and only was back as soon as investigation finished and was so apologetic to me as she knows im no risk to my son. as the case is closed and havent heard anything since can ss open a assessment or anything without new concerns?
sorry i feel trapped by this and so very stressed:(

[Miserylovescompany2]

From what you have written I think the investigation/case was badly managed. So I can not give you a definitive answer - in reality only Children's services could do that.

That's why I suggested other things in my previous posts - in the hope that by doing those things you'd be given a definitive answer.

My worry is that the same will happen to other families if this isn't challenged. I understand that the mere thought of dealing with Children's services again is very frightening for you. At this moment in time you are understandably feeling extremely vulnerable.

I wonder if your health vister could make enquires on your behalf? All the forms during pregnancy require the ticking of boxes - if memory serves one is concerning past or present CS involvement. The person (midwife) ticking those boxes will not know what actually happened - this then can lead to miscommunication between agencies. So in theory your HV (with your consent) could have a conversation with the midwife. So you don't need to keep telling your story over and over. There might also be the opportunity to get some support around the trauma CS intervention caused. Again you would need to consent to this.

Health visitors are supposed to be there to support you - do you think you'd feel comfortable or confident to ask your HV to do any of those things?

[l201812]

yes i have been in contact with hv over this as the booking appointment was when they mentioned past invilvement so i was honest then at 12 week scan they said they need to contact old sw to confirm case closed etc i rung sw myself to let her know im pregnant and midwives were going to contact to confirm she said unless there are any new concerns we wont be looking to get involved. midwives asked if i had to do another one i would so i said of course i would to show my cooperation but hv has assured me there are no concerns what so ever and to bring my case closed letter on the 7th jan to midwives and also as she could see how stressed and anxious ive become since ss have been mentioned. she told me to tell midwives if they need to query anythjng to contact her directly and she will be happy to share information. as i spoke to midwives to onviously showing my concern they wrote a note to midwife i am seeing to also make sure i stick with just 1 midwife as ive seen 3 already and same thing happens and i dont want to explain and try justify myself time and time again.
i think it is mainly my anxieties making me think they going to get back involved but my hv did promise and told me to stop worrying and enjoy christmas and to tell midwives contact her. there are literally no concerns.
i think ss handled my case so wrong to i was planning to put complaint in but after case closed i was to scared incase they come back.
i just dont need the stress of them they made me feel like a failure last time and as if i was a risk to my son and i though after putting me through that traumatic ecperience they would apologise but no just the letter.
what do you think will happen and do you think it is my worry and anxieties thinking they will become involved as theyre is no concerns what so ever
sorry for this im just a worrier

[Miserylovescompany2]

You have the letter formally closing all involvement. I would just keep that in your bag. If this has already been recorded on your notes then I can see no valid reason why Children's services would have any justified reason to become involved. There could not of been any concerns about you or your parenting ability - otherwise they would still be involved.

How you are feeling now is a natural response to trauma - the mention of CS is triggering a reaction that makes you feel threatened and vulnerable. So by me saying you should do x, y and z isn't really helpful.

Maybe if you look at the outcome - case closed. The case was opened via a concern raised through out of hours. No other professional or person who knows you have raised concerns. That means you are doing everything needed to meet your sons needs. The HV is offering good advice and supporting you.

Children's services don't give many apologies and certainly not very often in writing - but a simple 'sorry we caused you distress' might just of made a difference to how you are feeling. Even if a SW said sorry verbally I think that might help - but they'd no doubt counterbalance this with "they were just doing their job."

[QuestionMark]

I agree with Misery, the case does seem to have been handled badly as it does seem odd that they'd close a case with a simple letter. However, take my opinion with a pinch of salt as I have been involved with CS due to a much more serious injury my baby boy had and so I don't know how they handled scenarios like yours from personal experience.

Do you still have the letter they sent you? If you do, I suggest putting it in a file along with any other additional letters/emails they may have sent you. Keep a diary too. If you don't have the letter anymore you should be able to ring up and ask for it as it should still be on record or ask you HV to do so on your behalf.

To re-assure you, they dropped your case and made the decision to believe you over the uncertainty of hospital staff, you've had care of your baby for 5+ months now with no concerns and you acted appropriately when you found the mark itself. Look after yourself and your unborn baby and just keep putting your children first as you clearly do xx