Ex partner and his new partner are risk to child

[CLE2023]

Hiya. So I had a call from CPS (so did my sons fathers other child’s mother) and they confirmed due to domestic violence within ex’s home with current partner, our children aren’t allowed to go there or with their father unsupervised or near his current partner.

CPS have advised to me that ex will need a court order to be able to take son out but he can come to my property to see son.

Ex is saying he will win court order and be able to have son at his current house even though CPS have said over the phone that this is a risk.

I don’t know what to do. Any help or advice would be greatly received. Thanks

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear CLE2023,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the parents' board.

You say that you received a call from children's services, informing you that there is domestic violence between your child's father and his current partner. You have been told that your child son is not allowed to go to his home or be unsupervised with his father/near his current partner. Children's services have advised you that your ex-partner will need a court order to see your son out of the home, but that he can come to your property to see your son. Your ex-partner is saying he will 'win' a court order and will be able to have your son at his home despite children's services. You are not sure what to do.

It appears that children's services have some worries about your son's father and think that your son may at risk in his home, around him and his partner. They may be concerned that your son may become involved in, or witness, conflict. You may find it helpful to ask the social worker to explain to you why exactly they have these concerns. Children's services do not have a court order for your son - but have advised you to stop unsupervised contact and contact outside of your home. You do not say whether they have opened an assessment or not - nevertheless, children's services will expect you to act in a protective capacity and take steps to ensure your son is safe. If you do not follow their recommendations, they may decide to become involved if they are not already involved, or may choose to escalate their level of involvement.

If your son's father does not agree with these recommendations, he may choose to apply the courts for a child arrangements order. A judge will look at his application and will decide whether contact should happen, and whether there should be any conditions around this - for example if contact should happen in a certain place or whether it should be supervised. They judge may ask children's services to prepare report to help him/her make their decision. You will be a respondent in the case and will be able to make your views known. Ultimately the judge will make a decision in what they think is in your child's best interests. If you would like more information and advice on this, you can contact Child Law Advice on 0300 330 5480 or Rights of Women on 020 7251 6577.

In the meantime, you may want to communicate to your ex-partner that you are following children's services recommendations. If it would be easier for you, you can ask children's services to explain and communicate this to him directly.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Best wishes,

Suzie.