Dear scaredandlonely19,
Welcome to the parents’ board and thank you for your post.
You say that you are currently pregnant, and that children’s services are involved as your first child was removed 6 years ago due to suspected non-accidental injury. You say that the court was not able to conclude what had happened and you say you did not do anything. You would like to know whether you can have a solicitor and whether you would qualify for legal aid when an application has not been made to court. You would like someone who can take notes but are worried that a friend will not be taken seriously. You are worried about losing your child and say that your mental health is now worsening but that you are worried about seeking help.
Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy and the upcoming birth of your child. You are understandably worried about children’s services being involved and what this may mean from you.
I am not clear from your post whether a social worker has yet completed a pre-birth assessment. This is carried out in much the same way as other social work assessments but is completed before the birth. You can read more about pre-birth assessments
here. The social worker may want to explore with you what happened with your older child, how you will meet the needs of your unborn baby and what support you have around you.
There are multiple outcomes of a pre-birth assessment. The social worker may decide that children’s services do not need to remain involved once your child is born. They may recommend a child in need plan, if they think you and your baby would benefit from additional support. You can read more about this
here. If there are concerns that your unborn child may be at risk of significant harm, children’s services may initiate child protection enquiries, which could result in your child being place on a child protection plan. You can read more about this
here.
If children’s services are worried that your child cannot safely return home with you, they may initiate pre-proceedings. They should let you know if they are doing this, and should work with you to address any concerns and to keep your child within your care if this is safe. If this happens, you will be entitled to a solicitor. If children’s services think they will need to make an application to court once your baby is born, they should tell you this. If this does happen, you will have the chance to consult with your solicitor about the options available to you.
As it stands, this has not happened yet. You are right in saying that at this stage you would not automatically qualify for legal aid. Any legal aid would have to be means and merits tested. You may want to contact a family law solicitor directly to enquire about this. For what you mention you would like help with, you may find it more helpful to arrange an advocate who can attend meetings with you and help make clear your views and wishes. You can ask the social worker to help you with this or search for local advocacy services.
I am sorry to hear that you are feeling anxious and that you feel your mental health worsening. It is understandable that you are worried about the impact of disclosing this to the social worker. I would encourage you to consider being open and honest about this – this may be frightening, but it will allow you to access the support and help you may need at this time. It is important that you get the help you need at a time when it is most useful. You can talk to the social worker about how you are feeling and show that you are able to identify when you need help and how to access it. The social worker may also help you to put other strategies and support services in place.
It may be helpful for you to take a look at our webpage for parents to be and out
top tips for working with a social worker.
I wish you all the best and hope this has been helpful.
Best wishes,
Suzie.
I just don’t know what to do, I have really bad anxiety anyway & have done for years & all medical professionals involved with me know this but with everything going on it’s making the anxiety worse & I can feel the depression creeping in again. I know if the social said I could keep my little girl then the depression would lift, it’s just because I’m getting flashbacks of having lost my son & I can feel everything that I felt 6 years ago but I know I’d get great joy from being able to keep my little girl but at the moment I don’t see that light at the end of the tunnel, I’m trying to be positive but it’s so hard. 