contract of exspectations broken?
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dvsurvivor
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:57 pm
contract of exspectations broken?
My daughter is in a foster placement with her baby under a sc.31 the LA have shared PR under an ICO. The SW has put very strict restrictions on her for last 5 days. She cannot leave house with baby or be alone in house with baby. Their is a legal planning meeting in few days. Even though my daughter has no legal representative the SW said meeting still going ahead and the SW told her not to bring baby as the meeting will be upsetting. Also I'm party to proceedings and my daughter been told I can't attend! Also my daughter been told by the SW that another SW from the same team will be visiting her 2 days after meeting for a "chat" ? My daughter recived a letter from LA legal team saying the SW has told her my daughter broke the contract of exspectations she signed and that the SW has evedince my daughter was with baby dad with baby. So therefore putting baby at risk from significant harm. Does this mean they will take the baby? Or will they just give my daughter a slap on the wrist and give her a chance? If this is true or not I don't know. Surely they would need photographic evedince? Please help and advise as am very worried. My daughter is an excelant mum all reports been 100%. Never any concerns as regartds her care of baby etc...
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ange301126
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:27 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Dear dvsurvivor,
Your daughter should have an advocate ,relation or friend at these meetings to provide support,take notes etc.
Someone should inform the sw's that the father of the baby has not ACTUALLY been found to be a risk of significant harm to any child. The sw's (alone) SUSPECT he might be in the future,that is all.
Therefore,to remove baby from Mum's care on the basis she can't be relied upon to protect the child because she has met Dad will be both illogical and inhumane as was their original action when they forced her with threats to sign the Contract.
Watch out for them threatening and bullying her again in the same tone without advocacy or witnesses!
Keep a note of everything and tell your daughter to ask if the foster-placement lady can attend. She has stood up to the sw's before.
If the CS remove baby from your daughter's care, she should instruct her solicitor to object to the renewal of the ICO.Suzie confirmed for you that the CS don't have to apply for renewal every 28 days but I understand this does not preclude her from objecting to its automatic renewal.
As you know, Suzie has given you much valuable advice , much of which tells you of social worker obligations; duty to openness , honesty and so forth. They have failed in many respects and it is extremely concerning especially when you refer to the sw as telling 'lies'. At an appeal very recently, the High Court Judge refused it on the grounds that the parent ought to have brought it to the attention of the Court at ICO renewals! He agreed that had correct procedures been followed ,he would have probably not issued a full care-order but stated the lawyers should have brought it to the court's attention.
Alternatively,advise her to continue cooperating with them as before and see what else develops.
Unfortunately, the harm already done to baby's emotional well-being by the CS which has deprived the child by interfering with your family life and formation of bonds,attachments etc. is irretrievable. This time with mum and dad can never be recovered.
Things could be so different were sw's to follow procedures and frameworks as they should.
Your daughter should have an advocate ,relation or friend at these meetings to provide support,take notes etc.
Someone should inform the sw's that the father of the baby has not ACTUALLY been found to be a risk of significant harm to any child. The sw's (alone) SUSPECT he might be in the future,that is all.
Therefore,to remove baby from Mum's care on the basis she can't be relied upon to protect the child because she has met Dad will be both illogical and inhumane as was their original action when they forced her with threats to sign the Contract.
Watch out for them threatening and bullying her again in the same tone without advocacy or witnesses!
Keep a note of everything and tell your daughter to ask if the foster-placement lady can attend. She has stood up to the sw's before.
If the CS remove baby from your daughter's care, she should instruct her solicitor to object to the renewal of the ICO.Suzie confirmed for you that the CS don't have to apply for renewal every 28 days but I understand this does not preclude her from objecting to its automatic renewal.
As you know, Suzie has given you much valuable advice , much of which tells you of social worker obligations; duty to openness , honesty and so forth. They have failed in many respects and it is extremely concerning especially when you refer to the sw as telling 'lies'. At an appeal very recently, the High Court Judge refused it on the grounds that the parent ought to have brought it to the attention of the Court at ICO renewals! He agreed that had correct procedures been followed ,he would have probably not issued a full care-order but stated the lawyers should have brought it to the court's attention.
Alternatively,advise her to continue cooperating with them as before and see what else develops.
Unfortunately, the harm already done to baby's emotional well-being by the CS which has deprived the child by interfering with your family life and formation of bonds,attachments etc. is irretrievable. This time with mum and dad can never be recovered.
Things could be so different were sw's to follow procedures and frameworks as they should.
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Suzie, FRG Adviser
- Posts: 4249
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Dear dvsurvivor
Thank you for your recent post.
You seem to be very concerned about the situation for your daughter and her baby at the moment.
In your post you say that your daughter may have broken the agreement she had with Children Services regarding her baby’s father. If she met with the baby’s and had the baby with her after she agreed not to then Children Services will be concerned about this behaviour and her failure to meet their expectations in keeping the baby safe. They might take the view that she cannot be trusted and she is not cooperating with them. I do not think it is necessary for Children Services to have photographic evidence as you suggest.
If you daughter is invited to a meeting, which might be to discuss the agreement, if she wishes to have someone attend with her to support her and/or take notes she should inform the social worker of who she would like to attend. She should inform her solicitor about what has happened as well.
From what you have said, it appears that Children Services are concerned about your daughter’s behaviour and intend to investigate further. I have included here a copy of our advice sheet about care proceedings for your information. I am not able to say how Children Services will treat your daughter’s behaviour but have set out above the action that could be taken. Children Services share Parental Responsibility for your grandchild with the mother and, as such, can decide that it is safer for the baby not to be with your daughter.
You may be right that there is no concern about your daughter’s practical care of her baby but Children Services will also be considering whether she is able to protect him or her from significant harm. It is not only the day to day care that is important. The fact that your daughter is alleged to have broken the agreement will be considered as her not putting her baby’s needs first.
If Children Services meet with your daughter and it is decided to give her another chance depending on the circumstances of how the breach came about, your daughter would be expected to keep to the agreement.
Children Services have acted to prevent the baby being exposed to any further risk by restricting your daughter’s movements with the baby. This is, of course, because of the concerns that she broke the agreement.
Your daughter should discuss the situation with her solicitor and explain what took place regarding the alleged meeting with the baby’s father. She should also inform her solicitor if she is asked to attend a meeting.
If you, or your daughter, wish to speak to an Adviser you can telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m Monday to Friday.
I hope you will find this information helpful
Best wishes,
Suzie
Thank you for your recent post.
You seem to be very concerned about the situation for your daughter and her baby at the moment.
In your post you say that your daughter may have broken the agreement she had with Children Services regarding her baby’s father. If she met with the baby’s and had the baby with her after she agreed not to then Children Services will be concerned about this behaviour and her failure to meet their expectations in keeping the baby safe. They might take the view that she cannot be trusted and she is not cooperating with them. I do not think it is necessary for Children Services to have photographic evidence as you suggest.
If you daughter is invited to a meeting, which might be to discuss the agreement, if she wishes to have someone attend with her to support her and/or take notes she should inform the social worker of who she would like to attend. She should inform her solicitor about what has happened as well.
From what you have said, it appears that Children Services are concerned about your daughter’s behaviour and intend to investigate further. I have included here a copy of our advice sheet about care proceedings for your information. I am not able to say how Children Services will treat your daughter’s behaviour but have set out above the action that could be taken. Children Services share Parental Responsibility for your grandchild with the mother and, as such, can decide that it is safer for the baby not to be with your daughter.
You may be right that there is no concern about your daughter’s practical care of her baby but Children Services will also be considering whether she is able to protect him or her from significant harm. It is not only the day to day care that is important. The fact that your daughter is alleged to have broken the agreement will be considered as her not putting her baby’s needs first.
If Children Services meet with your daughter and it is decided to give her another chance depending on the circumstances of how the breach came about, your daughter would be expected to keep to the agreement.
Children Services have acted to prevent the baby being exposed to any further risk by restricting your daughter’s movements with the baby. This is, of course, because of the concerns that she broke the agreement.
Your daughter should discuss the situation with her solicitor and explain what took place regarding the alleged meeting with the baby’s father. She should also inform her solicitor if she is asked to attend a meeting.
If you, or your daughter, wish to speak to an Adviser you can telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m Monday to Friday.
I hope you will find this information helpful
Best wishes,
Suzie
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dvsurvivor
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:57 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Thank you so much for your replies......
Had legal planning meeting to discuss care plan. My daughter now has a solicitor. I wasn't allowed to attend the meeting as I not party to the proveedings...I'm going to apply to the court so I can become party. The ss produced some evedince to my daughtet and baby dad and questioned about it. The ss are going to apply to court for permission to look in their phone records. No mention of them applying for an ECO or FCO. Won't know of their final care plan until 6 weeks time of when next time in court. Still very strict restrictions and I'm not allowed to see my grandson except at a contact centre. Why would they do that when I was seen as a "protectice factor?". Iv gone from seeing my daughter and granson almost every day to nothing.
Had legal planning meeting to discuss care plan. My daughter now has a solicitor. I wasn't allowed to attend the meeting as I not party to the proveedings...I'm going to apply to the court so I can become party. The ss produced some evedince to my daughtet and baby dad and questioned about it. The ss are going to apply to court for permission to look in their phone records. No mention of them applying for an ECO or FCO. Won't know of their final care plan until 6 weeks time of when next time in court. Still very strict restrictions and I'm not allowed to see my grandson except at a contact centre. Why would they do that when I was seen as a "protectice factor?". Iv gone from seeing my daughter and granson almost every day to nothing.
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ange301126
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:27 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Dear dvsurvivor,
From the first when you posted about these events with your daughter and her baby's father,you were yourself extremely concerned about actions of the sw's,their integrity overall and their readiness to ignore legal procedures designed by the Children's Act to enable realistic and fair appraisals of the situation.
You have seen what has happened and ,in particular,you described how your daughter was isolated from family, not given the opportunity to seek advocacy , virtually imprisoned in a mother and baby unit and forced effectively with menaces to sign the CONTRACT OF EXPECTATIONS despite the inhumanity of depriving her of her partner and a child of its father without a court order!
You will be aware ( from reading the forums) that sw's set these contracts up to fail with the deliberate intention to engineer a situation where they can then go to court claiming the parent concerned cannot be trusted to protect their child from harm.Indeed, Suzie was very clear when stating the implications of the contracts.
They have not examined all the alternatives to removal openly and honestly as they should and have failed totally to arrange a Family Conference or a properly convened CPC with your daughter's advocate or support present( see FRG advice and videos).
They have now decided to obtain her telephone records and this will be with the aim of showing she cannot put her child before her attachment to Dad.
Of course, you can work this out for yourself and I am sure you recognise all the signals.Does your daughter? Without an advocate and without her partners support or your support and as a young girl, she is very vulnerable, inexperienced and may even now be relying on the court to come to a fair, impartial and humane decision at the final hearing.How likely will that be if the CS continue acting as they are? If the sw is 'lying' as you claim then she does so for a reason.TO PERVERT JUSTICE! We know that at no time has there been any allegations of domestic violence but by continually overestimating a domestic argument and referring to concerns about Dad's past record of fighting seven years ago (which is itself discrimination under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act), the CS have apparently succeeded in convincing everybody already that the baby is at significant risk of serious domestic violence!
Are they deluded or then again,are you wrong? Has the sw conducted the case correctly in all ways as the law expects?
Has she been fair and impartial and has there been an 'in depth' core assessment produced to court? Have you seen the court papers?
I don't know if you followed my advice to make a note of all the various ways in which the CS have flouted the Children's Act frameworks.
I am not a lawyer and can only give you advice based on my experience and Suzie also isn't a legal expert.
The very best advice I can give you is that somehow your daughter should instruct her lawyer to object to the renewal of the ICO first chance she gets citing the list of failures.
I recognise that is much easier said than done but that is what I'd do if I had the chance again.
YES,YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER SHOULD COOPERATE WITH ALL LEGITIMATE INVESTIGATIONS BUT NOT WITH UNLAWFULNESS. DUE TO MALPRACTICE THE BABY IS CURRENTLY SUFFERING ACTUAL HARM BEING DEPRIVED OF A NORMAL FAMILY LIFE.
All three are human beings not animals and should be treated as such not subjected to treatment out of all proportion to the risk involved.
Good luck. I will be keeping all my fingers crossed for you all.
From the first when you posted about these events with your daughter and her baby's father,you were yourself extremely concerned about actions of the sw's,their integrity overall and their readiness to ignore legal procedures designed by the Children's Act to enable realistic and fair appraisals of the situation.
You have seen what has happened and ,in particular,you described how your daughter was isolated from family, not given the opportunity to seek advocacy , virtually imprisoned in a mother and baby unit and forced effectively with menaces to sign the CONTRACT OF EXPECTATIONS despite the inhumanity of depriving her of her partner and a child of its father without a court order!
You will be aware ( from reading the forums) that sw's set these contracts up to fail with the deliberate intention to engineer a situation where they can then go to court claiming the parent concerned cannot be trusted to protect their child from harm.Indeed, Suzie was very clear when stating the implications of the contracts.
They have not examined all the alternatives to removal openly and honestly as they should and have failed totally to arrange a Family Conference or a properly convened CPC with your daughter's advocate or support present( see FRG advice and videos).
They have now decided to obtain her telephone records and this will be with the aim of showing she cannot put her child before her attachment to Dad.
Of course, you can work this out for yourself and I am sure you recognise all the signals.Does your daughter? Without an advocate and without her partners support or your support and as a young girl, she is very vulnerable, inexperienced and may even now be relying on the court to come to a fair, impartial and humane decision at the final hearing.How likely will that be if the CS continue acting as they are? If the sw is 'lying' as you claim then she does so for a reason.TO PERVERT JUSTICE! We know that at no time has there been any allegations of domestic violence but by continually overestimating a domestic argument and referring to concerns about Dad's past record of fighting seven years ago (which is itself discrimination under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act), the CS have apparently succeeded in convincing everybody already that the baby is at significant risk of serious domestic violence!
Are they deluded or then again,are you wrong? Has the sw conducted the case correctly in all ways as the law expects?
Has she been fair and impartial and has there been an 'in depth' core assessment produced to court? Have you seen the court papers?
I don't know if you followed my advice to make a note of all the various ways in which the CS have flouted the Children's Act frameworks.
I am not a lawyer and can only give you advice based on my experience and Suzie also isn't a legal expert.
The very best advice I can give you is that somehow your daughter should instruct her lawyer to object to the renewal of the ICO first chance she gets citing the list of failures.
I recognise that is much easier said than done but that is what I'd do if I had the chance again.
YES,YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER SHOULD COOPERATE WITH ALL LEGITIMATE INVESTIGATIONS BUT NOT WITH UNLAWFULNESS. DUE TO MALPRACTICE THE BABY IS CURRENTLY SUFFERING ACTUAL HARM BEING DEPRIVED OF A NORMAL FAMILY LIFE.
All three are human beings not animals and should be treated as such not subjected to treatment out of all proportion to the risk involved.
Good luck. I will be keeping all my fingers crossed for you all.
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dvsurvivor
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:57 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Thank you things have just gone from bad to worse. A nast woman went to see my daughter last week putting pressure on her to fill in a "birth parent life book" and to answere loads of questions. Good job my daughter followed my advise and refused to co operate. Not until I speak to my solicitor I'm not telling you anything. They are pushing for FORCED ADDOPTION. Only in week 9 of care proceedings. They have a parrel planning meeting this coming friday. Have told my daughter that she needs to of done the birth book by then. She told the woman to stop phoneing and harrasing her or she will seek legal action to get her done for harrasment and bullying and to only contact her via email or letter. The meeting this friday which my daughter is not invited to is to discuss my grandson and a placement order. I think they are planning to go court to get an order to remove him. My daughter has recived the parenting assesment from her lying scheming SW. And yes it is all full of evil twisted lies. Heartbreaking time at present. I feel so powerless as I can't just go get her and my grandson.
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Suzie, FRG Adviser
- Posts: 4249
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Dear dvsurvivor
I am sorry that things have deteriorated in relation to your grandchild.
Can I suggest your daughter makes urgent contact with her solicitor in relation to recent developments and any social work requests are being made in respect of the permanency planning process.
Should you wish to speak to an adviser, can I recommend you contact our advice line on 0808 801 0366.
Best Wishes
Suzie
I am sorry that things have deteriorated in relation to your grandchild.
Can I suggest your daughter makes urgent contact with her solicitor in relation to recent developments and any social work requests are being made in respect of the permanency planning process.
Should you wish to speak to an adviser, can I recommend you contact our advice line on 0808 801 0366.
Best Wishes
Suzie
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Suzie, FRG Adviser
- Posts: 4249
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm
Re: contract of exspectations broken?
Hello dvsurvivor
I am just wondering how the meeting went on Friday- has your daughter had any feedback from it yet?
In your last post, you mentioned that you were worried Children's Services intended to go back to court for an order to remove your grandson from your daughter. As there is an ICO (interim care order) in place, Children's Services already have parental responsibility for your grandson and, therefore, have the legal right to remove him from your daughter's care. If this is a significant change to the care plan that was discussed when they were last in court, however, they would be expected to seek the court's permission to change this.
Although Children's Services may be working towards a placement order from the court in order to place your grandson for adoption, this order would not be made until the conclusion of the care proceedings i.e. the final hearing. At this hearing, your daughter will also have an opportunity to put forward her own proposed plan for her baby.
If the court does decide that the baby cannot return to his mum's care, all other options should be considered before adoption so it is very important that you and any other potential carers for the baby come forward as soon as possible to ensure that they are being assessed.
Hopefully your daughter has now had an opportunity to discuss things in detail with her solicitor. Although advisers at FRG are able to give detailed legal advice, we obviously can't know your daughter's individual case as well as her own solicitor so it is vital that she works closely with him/ her to make sure she understands her options and what is likely to be the best way forward.
Best Wishes
Suzie
FRG Adviser
I am just wondering how the meeting went on Friday- has your daughter had any feedback from it yet?
In your last post, you mentioned that you were worried Children's Services intended to go back to court for an order to remove your grandson from your daughter. As there is an ICO (interim care order) in place, Children's Services already have parental responsibility for your grandson and, therefore, have the legal right to remove him from your daughter's care. If this is a significant change to the care plan that was discussed when they were last in court, however, they would be expected to seek the court's permission to change this.
Although Children's Services may be working towards a placement order from the court in order to place your grandson for adoption, this order would not be made until the conclusion of the care proceedings i.e. the final hearing. At this hearing, your daughter will also have an opportunity to put forward her own proposed plan for her baby.
If the court does decide that the baby cannot return to his mum's care, all other options should be considered before adoption so it is very important that you and any other potential carers for the baby come forward as soon as possible to ensure that they are being assessed.
Hopefully your daughter has now had an opportunity to discuss things in detail with her solicitor. Although advisers at FRG are able to give detailed legal advice, we obviously can't know your daughter's individual case as well as her own solicitor so it is vital that she works closely with him/ her to make sure she understands her options and what is likely to be the best way forward.
Best Wishes
Suzie
FRG Adviser
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