Urgent advice needed

[Gbn2088]

Hi my oldest child is 11 years old he was removed from mine and his fathers care after social workers did a 2 year risk assessment and signed him off I was never under any suspicion .my partner had a child removed for non accidental injuries previously hence the social workers getting involved with my son.After 2 year risk assessment in my partner he was signed off.A month later he decided to get drunk and kick me out of the property and keep my son social workers got back involved and removed my son and placed him with family member where he stayed he was 2 at the time he is now 11.I left my ex partner 3 years ago due to violence all way throughout the relationship I have tried on many occasions to get contact with my son but his care giver says no im not his mother she is.Anywqy im pregnant again 3 years after leaving the abusive relationship and meeting a lovely man we don't live together we each have separate properties but at my midwife appoinment I mentioned it and I have received a call from ss saying they will look into it and ring once they have reached a decision any advise please as I am worried sick

[Bossman1959]

Hi,

I here what you are saying and can understand your apprehension at the involvement of social services.
When you met your new guy did you try to find out if he had a past connected in any way with the police. I think you can do this through the police citing "Claires law" .

All they would be looking to check I imagine is that this new partner is not abusive, and that any children past present and future will be kept safe.
So really, unless you have knowledge of previous abuse, i would think you would be fine.
With regards to your son, it may be that you still have parental responsibility. I think the best way to find out would be to contact social services who arranged the placement.

Hope that helps

[Gbn2088]

Hi no he has criminal convictions but if needed I would leave immediately to protect my child what I'm saying is because of past involvement would I be under any assessment as for 2 years when the risk assessment was undertaken I was told my partner st the time was not allowed around ny child unsupervised and this also meant he move out wich he did I made sure I protected my son but because ss passed the risk assessment let him back and he put my son in danger would I get done now with being pregnant again we are going back to around 2010 time aswell

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Gbn2088,

Welcome to the parents’ forum and thankyou for your posts. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties that you have experienced and hope that the following is helpful to you.

You explain that your older child was removed from your care and now lives with another family member. You say that you would like contact with your child but their carer is not open to this. You are now pregnant and in a relationship with a different man. You have received a call from children’s services as a referral was made by the midwife after you told them about your previous involvement with children’s services.

Firstly, it is likely that children’s services will decide to complete a pre-birth assessment because your older child was removed from your care. The assessment will aim to find out whether the baby will be safe when they are born and whether you and your partner will need any extra support. The social worker should meet with you and the baby’s father throughout the assessment to consider your current situation. There can be different outcomes which may include no further action, a child in need plan or child protection plan, or if the baby is thought to be at risk of significant harm then care proceedings may begin. It is important that you and your partner work openly and honestly with children’s services so that you have the best possible opportunity to demonstrate to them how things are different from before and that you feel that you can care for your baby safely. You can find more information about pre-birth assessments on our website pages for expectant parents HERE.

I will also give you some advice about getting contact with your older child. You say that he is under the care of another family member – do they have a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order perhaps? If so then you still retain parental responsibility (which you share with the carer), however if they are not willing to come to an agreement with you about contact then you may need to consider making an application to the Family Court for contact. This is a private law matter and Family Rights Group do not advise specifically on private law matters however you might find it useful to call Child Law Advice’s helpline or contact Rights of Women for more advice about this.

I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you would like any further advice or you can call our free confidential helpline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm) to speak with an adviser.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[Gbn2088]

Thankyou im just concerned as they rang nearly 3 weeks ago and I have not heard anything other than when I went to my midwife appoinment she said she had rang for update and they said they where assigning a case worker.Also my current partner had a child removed from his care but doesn't go into much detail all I know is his son now lives with his sister after him and his partner at the time failed in there pursue to keep custody of him partly down to her past involvement with ss.I have left violent relationship have a nice flat and council are helping me with finding a house I have loads of support from family im just hoping anyone whose been through similar experience can let me know the outcome thanks

[Gbn2088]

Hi I had my first meeting at home with the sw she asked questions about my past involvement and I gave my permission for them to contact the local authoritys I was placed under at the time for them to get the relevant information needed to undertake the assessment. Also she said I have a lovely house and that it was brilliant I had worked with the relevant dv charity's and organisations.she did say she would be out next week at some point to undertake more work what does this mean? Also when she asked if I had any questions I asked weather this baby could be removed from my care she said she couodnt answer the question as it ultimately isn't her decision that has me worried could you give me some advice please thanks and also anyone who has had similar experiences and what the outcomes where please

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Gbn2088

Thank you for your further updating posts. I hope that your pregnancy is going well although I understand that this is also a stressful time for you.

I am pleased to hear that the pre-birth assessment has now started and that you have met the social worker. You have consented to the social worker contacting your previous local authority to explore their past involvement; this was a good decision to make as it shows that you are willing to work with children’s services. The social worker acknowledged that your home is well-kept and she was positive about the steps that you have taken to inform and keep yourself safe from domestic abuse.

It is relevant that your partner has also had a child removed from his care and placed with a family member. He has not told you much about this. The social worker will need to explore his background too in the same way as yours to understand the situation better and to determine what is different for him now.

Unfortunately, as the social worker has only just begun the pre-birth assessment she cannot predict the outcome as she has not gathered and analysed all the relevant information yet. A pre-assessment is not completed in one visit; this is what the social worker means when she says she will visit again next week. However, from the information provided you are in a different and better situation now than when you had children’s services’ involvement with your son. As discussed above, your partner’s circumstances will also need to be considered. I set out the possible outcomes in my earlier response so please do take another look at my original reply.

You are worried that the baby may be removed from your care. Many parents worry about this when children’s services are involved however the information provided here may help explain the only circumstances in which this can happen.

Children’s services are required to work with parents and families to keep children safe and at home where this is possible. You mention that you have a solid support network – this is a positive and something you may wish to discuss with the social worker including how/when they will support you and the baby. You may be offered (or can ask for) a family group conference to bring your network together to harness this support.

The link above explains how/when social workers can remove a child. The key points to be aware of are that this cannot happen unless:

 The Family Court has approved a plan for the child to be removed and made an order allowing children’s services to put that plan into action, or

 A parent (or someone else) with parental responsibility has given their real and voluntary agreement to children’s services removing the child and no one else who is able (entitled) to object, is objecting. But the law says only certain people with parental responsibility can object.

You are doing all the right things and should continue to do so. You might find these tips on working with social workers helpful too. The social worker will need to discuss her completed pre-birth assessment with her manager to confirm what happens next so the decision about how to proceed is not just down to an individual social worker.

I can see that this process is causing you anxiety. Perhaps you could manage this by asking the social worker to keep you regularly updated, to let you know if she has any concerns or recommendations for you. And that she confirms when the assessment will be completed and a copy shared with you.

Please do post again if you have a new query or call our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm to speak to an adviser – apart from Christmas/New Year when the freephone advice line and digital advice service will close at 3pm on Friday, 23rd December 2022 and will reopen at 9.30am on Tuesday, 3rd January 2023.

Best wishes

Suzie

[Gbn2088]

Hi I have spoken to sw today via phone she has asked for my permission for the cbs check eich I have given.she also spoke to my partner who has given his consent to the checks on himself. They informed me that the pre birth assessment should be completed by the end of the month.I am just wondering of anyone else has any info or they have been through similar assessments