Its hit the fan!

[frustrated mum]

Cut a long story short my daughters who are on child protection stayed out thursday night didnt tell me so i had to report them missing to the police. Social services phoned yesterday afternoon to tell me they were coming for the girls. They would split them up out of area. They had already sorted places for them either give them up or they would come and take them by force. I asked where out if area they wouldnt tell me. I asked about schooling they wouldnt tell me. They had reports about my family but wont let me see them. I asked if this was a section 20. No answer she just said ill give you 10 mins to decide. I called my solicitor who put a stop to it straight away. She said to me next time they ( ss) call you mention my name. I did on next call and no other phone call. If had out of hours ss phone me. My dad has taken one of my daughters for the weekend for me im taking unpaid leave from work. My prediction is that on monday they will go to court to get an order. I wont see my girls again.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear confused mum,

I am sorry that things are so difficult at the moment but I am glad that you are able to work with your solicitor. She sounds like she is working well for you.
Your children are on a child protection plan. This means that the child protection conference decided that your children have suffered significant harm or are likely to suffer significant harm and that this there is a continuing risk of harm (ie that the risk of harm or the harm is still there).

The purpose of the plan-is to provide support to you and your family but also to monitor you and your family with the intention that any risk to your children will be reduced. It is hoped that at the child protection review meeting that a decision can be made for the children names to be taken off the plan and for ultimately the children services to close their files. Here is our advice sheet about
child protection.

 When can children go into the care system?
You are worried that children services will go to court and remove your children and that you won't see your children again.
Your children can only be removed from you-if you agree or if they get a court order giving them authority to do so. (in urgent situations the police can remove children and place in children services care for up to 72 hours).However, the court will only order immediate removal-if the court thought that your children had suffered “serious” harm or were at immediate risk of “serious” harm.
Here is information about significant harm.
If your children were removed you, then children services have to try and place your children either with another parent or within your family and friends network. You mention your dad taking one of your girls. Could he be assessed to look after this girl or both girls-if needed ? Do you have any other people in your network or extended family who could be assessed? Has there been a family group conference to look for support for you?
.Family Group conferences. These meetings are often used to look for family who could care for the children-if any parenting assessment of you was not successful as well as for family to support you to care for your children at home and so avoid them being removed from you.
 
Contact with your children
I know that you are worried that you will not see your children again if they went into care. However, for contact to be stopped-is very rare when court proceedings are first taken. Usually contact will continue on a regular basis-and research has shown the importance to children of seeing their family. If children services removed your children by court order-they must allow reasonable contact to you-unless the court ordered no contact. Have a look at our advice sheet about contact-when there is a care order or interim care order. contact with children in care
 
If your children were ever to go into the care system with your agreement-please have a look at our advice sheet here contact with children in accommodation.
 
I have only touched on some of the issues that you have raised so please post again if you need more advice.
Suzie

[frustrated mum]

just had family support round to see the girls. The girls told them they would rather be in care than her with me and their dad as they hate us. They are going back to report to the sw I'm screwed. Feel as though I might as well pack their bags for them now. The sw is coming round tomorrow to do more of the assessment , my belief is that they will stop the assessment and go for a care order. If this is the case would it be easier to hand them over or fight. I admit they are out of my control its effecting family life , they disappear all the time and come home drunk. I'm trying my best , but doing it on my own and get no support off my partner. I'm even thinking about handing my notice in at work as I can't deal with a stress full job,( I work on intensive care) and deal with family life and trying to hold it all together. I know I'm not alone as there are so many families out there in the same position.
I feel that I must add that their dad doesn't have pr. we never married and our children were born back in the 90's. So as the law stands don't think he has a say. He doesn't believe this is the case and really isn't helping by not co-operating with ss which in the long run is causing more problems.