Issues resolution hearing

[MY14]

Hi i need some advise, my son is under an interim care order and currently placed with my sister who is the connected carer. I have court hearing coming up in April at some point, i see my son twice a week for 2hrs contact supervised by my sister. I have recently on odd occassions met my son for times when i am not allowed to have contact so have gone above times that have been agreed with the LA, i mentioned this to my solicitor who now says she has to notify the LA or she can no longer represrnt me in court. I am stuck now as i feel if LA finds out they will remove my son from my sister and i feel i have jeapodised his placement. I do not know what to do and i am very stressed, i shouldnt have mentioned it to my solicitor but i honestly did not know i was committing a crime, my son was never alone with me and was always with myself and family outside inthe community, also social services were inthe process of updating the care plan where i have increased contact but i thought i would start it earlier so my son could get into the routine as LA is taking time to arrange a meeting to update the care plan. Will my son be removed if i allow my solicitor to notify the LA or shall i try and look for another soliciotor and keep this a secret? My solicitor reassures me that it is unlikely they will remove my son but this is her view but my sister can be penalised by the fostering agency and could possibly be removed from being the connected carer and my son placed elswhere. Please help.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear MY14,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Parents’ Forum.

You write that your solicitor has advised you that she will have to notify children’s services that she is aware of a time when you had contact with your son that was not agreed by the social worker. You are worried that your own actions and those of your sister who is a kinship foster carer for your son will be seen negatively by children’s services and that trust between everyone involved could be lessened.

You write that the unauthorised contact happened just before the care plan was about to change to allow extra contact. You admit that you may have have pre-empted this change a bit, but you feel that your intention was to gradually prepare your son for the extra time he was due to spend with you.

You are so worried that you have even considered changing solicitors to avoid this information being disclosed to the social worker.
It would be very disruptive to change solicitors at this stage in care proceedings as your solicitor is aware of all the relevant issues and the position you want to put to the court.
Also, the information about the unauthorised contact could come to light in another way.
You also have to think about how difficult it would be for your son to be expected to keep quiet about times when he’s had contact with you.
Keeping secrets can get very complicated really.

You accept that you may have taken a wrong step, but you point out that your son was never alone with you but instead he was with you and other family in the community.
I would advise you to contact the social worker yourself and talk over what has happened and explain your thinking at the time you went ahead without an agreement for extra contact being in place.

A contact planning meeting involving your son’s social worker, you and your sister may help to clarify the details of the future contact plan and provide a way for you all to work together collaboratively in your son’s best interests.
You can also discuss contact plans at the next looked after child review.
You should ask the social worker to talk to you about any risks she believes there could be in contact and show that you are willing to listen to this.
It’s better to be honest, show that you are able to deal with setbacks and acknowledge mistakes.
I am sending you a guide to working with a social worker.
You can read it here.
This guide might help you think through communication with the social worker and independent reviewing officer.
This guide to working with a solicitor may also be helpful. You can read this here

I hope this was helpful. Please contact Family Rights Group again if we can assist further

Further ways to seek advice from Family Rights Group

Best wishes,
Suzie