CIN -SS not engaging

[Ilovecatnaps]

My family have been under a CIN since Jan,(My youngest made an untrue disclosure to a school teacher, subsequently dismissed by police and retracted by the child within 3 weeks of the initial disclosure)

In that time we have had 4 Social workers, (three left/were fired in the last 8 months) including an 8 week period where we were unable to get hold of the socal worker and were not notified that he had, infact, left without notice and that our file had been passed to 'someone else'. Our current social worker does not engage with us other than to demand a CIN meeting every 6 weeks and a home visit every month or so, (when she remembers) other than these box ticking issues we dont hear from her at all.

I have tried to ask in the CIN meetings what we need to do to bring this to a close and was told that there is still an action pending on the inital assessment from Jan, The is the 'graded assessment' (or some such) this is supposed to be arranged by SS but they still have not moved forward with it, despite me asking a number of times.

I have complied with everything that the LA have asked, in a timely fashion and (mostly) without complaint. I have however insisted that all communication is done via email as conversations that I have had with social workers have been misrepresented or lost as the social worker has left the organisation.

So, My question, How do I get this finished up? It has been 8 months and we're all fed up with it. There have been many instances where the LA have not complied with their own guidelines and have casued distress and financial hardship for my family. My solicitor has said that I am not able to persue a cliam until the CIN is retracted but Social Services do not seem willing to close the case.

[benion]

This is an easy one to answer!

CIN is voluntary. You have the right to withdraw from the situation at any time.

Politely but firmly thank them for their time but state that you do not wish to avail yourselves of their assistance further.

There is a small chance they will threaten to escalate things, but from you have written here is no where near enough to warrant an escalation to child protection.

Polite and firm. Chances are you will get left alone.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Ilovecatnaps,

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

You say in your post that your children have been subject to a child in need plan since January. This was due to your youngest child making a disclosure to a school teacher. Since then, you have had 4 social workers, including a period of 8 weeks in which the case appeared to be unallocated. You say there is poor communication from your current social worker and that outside of CIN meetings and home visits, you do not hear from them. You have what steps need to be taken for the case to be closed, and have been told that a graded assessment needs to be carried out - this is an action from the initial assessment and you have asked about it multiple times. You said you have worked with children's services and would like to know how you can bring the plan to an end.

As has been mentioned by a previous poster, child in need plans are voluntary. I would advise that you write to the team manager and highlight the work that has been achieved so far and your concerns around the continued delay in bringing the plan to an end. You may want to request a meeting in order to discuss this further. Ultimately, you are able to withdraw your consent for the child in need plan. Before you do this, you should make it clear why you are withdrawing consent and the support you and your family have around you. If the local authority have concerns about significant harm, they may escalate to child protection enquiries, but you can enquire as to whether this is a step they will take prior to withdrawing consent.

If you are unsatisfied with the local authority's response or the delay in organising the assessment you mention, you may want to consider making a formal complaint - see here for more information on how you can do this.

Best wishes,

Suzie.