What do I do?

[BrokenMom09]

My Social Worker and the IRO which we've had once BTW .Has said that she believes that contact should now be bi-monthly. That was never agreed in court, the guardian said monthly. It originally was twice a week after court it was fortnightly now they're deciding if it should be bi-monthly. I had a 7 week gap between contact due to "allegations" and the SW said that she would be setting up a monthly contact plan. She stated that they didn't seem upset or phased by the gap but then said "oh , D was very clingy like a koala" that is his way of showing his missed me. He picked his secondary school and was so excited , now their saying the current FC can change it. All because they're trying to get them to keep them as they are not long term FC. My solicitor I had through the court case isn't getting back to me as she no longer gets paid. So what do I do? I know full well that they want to see me. It feels they're putting the FC needs before theirs. Thank you .

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear BrokenMom09,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

You say that the social worker and independent reviewing officer (IRO) have stated that they think contact should be twice a month. You say that this was not agree in court, and that contact has been decreased over time. You have also had a gap between contact due to allegations that were made. You feel your children do want to see you and that their needs are not being put first.

From your post I am presuming that your children are under a care order. This means that the local authority shares parental responsibility for them. They may delegate the day to day care of your children to foster carers, but the foster carers themselves do not have parental responsibility or big decision-making powers.

The local authority has a duty to allow reasonable contact between you and your children. Sometimes, parents and the local authority cannot agree on what 'reasonable' looks like. It is understandable that you are worried that children's services are decreasing the frequency of your contact further. Firstly, I would advise that you ask to meet with the social worker and IRO to discuss this - why are they reducing contact and are there any steps that you can take to stop this? You should make clear that you want contact to stay at current levels and that you think this is in the children's best interests. If you do not feel listened to, or feel you have been treated unfairly, you can make a formal complaint. See here here for more information on how to do this.

Children's services should take your children's views into account. I am not sure how old your children are, but it may be useful for an advocate to be arranged for them in order to represent their views. See here for a number of helpful organisations that offer advocacy.

Finally, in cases where a parent and local authority cannot agree on contact, it is possible to apply to the courts for a section 34 contact order. This means that a judge will rule on how often contact should take place. For more information, take a look at this webpage.

Best wishes,

Suzie.