reunification

[love2022]

i am on the progress of reunification project. Social worker has carried out a assessment since last september, and finished end of the november last year. however the report is not ready yet, so i am not quite sure the results, i think it will be positive. previously in last year she mentioned gradually my girls will come back to home this summer. but now she doesn't have any intention to make a move. so what i can do now? please advise. many thanks.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear love2022

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Board.

From what you have written this may be a difficult waiting period for you. Perhaps the first thing to do is ask the social worker when the report will be ready.

You can ask if there is anything causing a delay; whether they need to gather more information for the reunification plan, including the wishes and feelings of your children for example.

Most local authorities have a procedures manual which should contain information about children returning home from the care system. You could do an Internet search for the manual by inserting the name of your local authority and the words ‘procedures online’ and you should find them.

The independent reviewing officer may be able to help too, you could ask them for an update, if they have one.

Best wishes
Suzie

[love2022]

thank you Suzie.

how about i contact solicitor for applying to discharge the care order? do you think it is good idea?

thanks for your time

[Nevergivenup]

Hi, you might find a solicitor tells you to wait for the results to come back first. I contacted a few solicitors when I was having issues with my old worker not doing anything in regards to assessments.
It might be worth asking for a new worker?
Or asking why it is taking so long for the results.
When I had my assessment I was told if they didn't have to wait for my partner to be assessed too my results would be back within 2-3 weeks.
It took 8 weeks to get our results.
So if you've waited longer than that I would definitely be asking why if you're finished with all the assessments.
Fingers crossed it works out for you.

[love2022]

thank you so much Nevergiveup.
if i got the report and i disagree something, what can i do please? normally how long will it take for kids to come back to parents' care once report and assessment are ended?

best regards

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

thank you Suzie.

how about i contact solicitor for applying to discharge the care order? do you think it is good idea?

thanks for your time

thank you so much Nevergiveup.
if i got the report and i disagree something, what can i do please? normally how long will it take for kids to come back to parents' care once report and assessment are ended?

best regards

Dear Love2022

Thank you for your further posts.

From your two recent pots it s clear that you are very anxious for things to move quickly regarding your daughters returning home to you. This is understandable but I suggest you need to be patient.

In previous posts, you stated that the social worker mentioned working towards to children being returned to your care. They have carried out an assessment of you but as yet you do not know the final recommendations from the assessment although you believe it will be position.

Regarding your question about getting a solicitor to apply for discharge of the care order, this is entirely a matter for you to decide based on any advice you receive from the solicitor. You have already been assessed, the first hurdle when asking for reunification. Should the children return to your care if the plan is to discharge the order, children’s services can make this application, but it would not be immediate as time has to be given for the children to settle.
It could be that children’s services suggest that the children return whilst the care order remain in place, but you could at that time seek advice about discharge of the care order.

In your response to another poster, you as how long it will take for kids to come back to parents. There is no short answer as each case will be different as children have different needs and everyone’s circumstances are different.
Before children can return home fully, children’s services would want a transition period to help the children get used to the idea of a significant change for them and to help them settle without too many problems. You may find it helpful to have this transition period as well since your children have not been in your care for some time.

Whilst I appreciate you want things to move quickly, you will need to be patient as there is a process to be followed before reunification can be finalised. Ask the social worker the timescale children’s services are working towards to get your children home.

If the assessment is negative and reunification is not the recommendation by children’s services, you should consider their reasons and seek legal advice whether you should challenge this by making an application to the court.
The important thing is, I suggest, you wait for the report as it would not be appropriate to make an application without knowing the outcome of the assessment.

Hope this is helpful.

Best Wishes

Suzie

[love2022]

Hello Suzie,
thanks for your message.
i just had a phone call with Social Worker, and she said the outcome of the process is negative, as she think my children are not ready yet. could you please tell me what i can do next? can i ask my solicitor to directly apply to the court? thank you.

best regards

[love2022]

my girls are 12 and 8. i realise the longer period they stay with foster carer, the less chance they come back to me. in your experience, what else i need to do to get them back to my care ASAP? please feel free to let me know. thank you.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dearlove2022,

Thank you for your posts.

I am sorry to hear that the outcome of your assessment was negative.

Firstly, I would advise that you ask the social worker for a meeting to go through the outcome of the assessment. This will help you to clarify why it was negative and whether there are any steps you can take to address any concerns and the timeframes for this.

If you do not agree with the outcome of the assessment, I advise that you contact the IRO and that you consider making a formal complain to challenge anything you may not agree with.

You could also speak to your solicitor about applying to discharge anyway - you can challenge the assessment within court but note that the court will have to be satisfied that there have been significant changes since the order was made and that discharge would be in your children's best interests before permission is granted to apply for discharge.

Best wishes,

Suzie.

[love2022]

hello Suzie, thank you so much for the response. do you think whether it is good idea to contact local MP? what will MP do in this kind of the cases? what will happen? please feel free to let me know.

also during the phone call, social worker said my children are not ready for home. i think social worker didn't talk to my kids in a proper way, and social service doesn't want to make any move for anything, social service is protecting themself not actually considering my children's best interests. i can give you some extra information: my girls are 12 and 8, have been moved from my care for few years. we have 2 hours driving distance. few weeks ago, social worker suddently asked them reunification, which i think was a very bad way, even adult will feel anxious if someone asked them to move from a familiar place. same like that i live in surrey for long time, if someone asked me to move to london, i will definitely say no. at this stage, social worker should have not asked my kids this question, which was too early, not kids appropriate. what do you suggest at this point?

do you think it will be much difficult to get kids back home if they live in foster placement longer time? i think so, as my girls are building relationship with foster parents not birth parents, obviously they have time and daily routine, i just have contact, which is not enough. i dont know them much, which is truly painful.

in your view, what else need i do for the whole reunification? i can do everything if you think it helps, please let me know. in your experience, how much chance will i have them back home before they turn to 18? or i dont have any hope at all? or whatever i do, nothing will happen? what can i do? what need i do? could you please tell me an efficient way if you know? do you have any resources please?

i do think of meeting with her manager, however her manager is with her. what do i do then? social service is all together, i believe the report assessment is for themself not for parents or children. they always choose easiest and safest way to cover themselves, which is their priority. they never think my two girls' interests at all. except her manager and IRO, who else i can meet with please? could you tell me who or what system is above the social service?

do i need make a complaint first then apply to court? can i do them at same time? i have not received the report yet, do you think i need wait for the update?

after i submit the complaint form, what will happen please? do they need reassess me and my girls? or the outcome still keeps same, nothing will change? the longer my girls are kept in the placement, the harder they come back home. if so, i just lose them forever. please feel free to let me know your thoughts.

many thanks for your time. i am looking forward to hearing from you.

best regards