Partner with a criminal record

[CV4TG6]

My children are on a child in need plan. I have been in a relationship with my partner for 3 months. The father of my children is raising concerns as my partner has a past with domestic violence. He has been arrested for this but was always found nfa. The childrens services are now going to do a police check on my partner and I was wondering what will happen next. He was arrested for abh last month for an incident that happened in 2021 which his ex partner has only now decided to report this due to her finding out about our relationship. He is on bail until June and the allergations are all false and there’s obviously no evidence of this incident but how will this effect me and my children and what childrens services will take from this. There has never been any offences involving children. Please advise me. I’m a massive overthinker and don’t want to end this relationship due to malicious lies and my partners past being used against my parenting.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear CV4TG6,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

You say that your children are on a child in need plan. You have been in a relationship with your partner for 3 months. The father of your children has raised concerns as your partner has a history of domestic abuse - he was arrested for this but this resulted in no further action. Children's services are now going to do a police check on your partner and you are wondering what will happen next. Your partner was arrested for ABH last month for an incident that happened in 2021. He is on bail until June. You say the allegations are all false and you would like to know this will impact you and your children.

Given what you have said about your partner and his alleged domestic abuse related offences, children's services are likely to be concerned that he could pose a risk to you or your children. They may also be concerned that you do not believe the allegations could be true and therefore may not act in a sufficiently protective way.

The social worker should work with you to further your understanding of their concerns and to communicate what actions they would like you to take to keep you and your children safe. If you do not agree with this, you can say so, however the social worker may become even more worries and could escalate the level of their involvement. This could mean initiating child protection enquiries. You can read more about this here.

You could ask for your partner to undergo a risk assessment, so that any recommendations or decisions that are made are based off the current risk he could pose.

You may also find it useful to read our page on domestic abuse

I hope you have found this helpful.

Best wishes,

Suzie.