Help&Advise&Answers to Question needed

[worried new nana]

Hello, Can you please help me?.....
My granddaughter has been placed with foster carers since 10th Oct 2014 due to being placed on a p.p.o, her parents(my son and girlfriend) requested that she come and stay with me, the social worker said this would be okay and the fact that i had been given a child in the past under a p.p.o, the social worker said it shouldn't be a problem, but he didn't bring her to my home, he said his manager said no because it was 3.30pm Friday afternoon and no time to do an assessment.. (i have since been informed that they didn't need to do an assessment and could on conducted that on Monday) they didn't find foster carers until 11.30pm that Friday night for my gd..also they took my granddaughter from the hospital Friday evening and didn't inform any of us where she was until the solicitor contacted social services on Monday afternoon....I am EXTREMELY WORRIED about the social worker who i believe has taken a dislike to me from the hospital because he has painted me in a bad light in his Interim Care Plan report which is too be presented to the judge on the 6th Nov when they request that the court make my gd the subject of an a38 Interim Care Order and he has told lies about me in his report, saying i tried to withhold evidence at the hospital which was not the case, when we was in A&E my son was being questioned by the police in a room, an office told me they would be sending an officer to collect all my granddaughters belongings shortly, we was then taken up to the ward, where about an hour later the social worker took my gd's top, i told him you cant take that, which he replied i can i am just checking it has been logged, i took the top of him and said the police are coming to collect it, he snatched it back of me and left the room, 10 minutes later he came back in and ave me the top(the nurse informed me that he took pics of the top on his phone) about 10 minutes after this an officer asked if me my name which i replied and he said i have come to collect (gd name's) clothes which i gave him...his report also includes him saying he doesnt think my granddaughter should be placed with me because she is now happy and settled with the foster carers..my granddaughter was 3 weeks old when placed and now just over 6 weeks old, his report also says that i only attended the hospital to support my son... when the matter of fact is i went to the hospital not knowing why my granddaughter had been taken there but to collect my sons two step children 9 year old girl and 6 year old boy and bring them home with me because the hospital wouldn't take my gd up to the children s ward because the other two children were not allowed on the ward, but when i arrive the police said i couldn't take them because all 3 children had been placed under a ppo, and i ended up staying at the hospital all night until the mother decided to discharge herself from the same hospital as she was already in there on an unrelated matter from 9am and she had my gd with her until my son collected her at 5.30pm...my granddaughter has a Torn Maxillary Frenum(she has already been diagnosed with a lip-tie) and 5 bruises in total 1 on her cheek and the other 4 on the front and back of her wrists, but the hospital report to the solicitor has stated that she has 11 injuries and that is the amount the police questioned my son on, BUT 5 of the marks they have put in the report are her birth marks which 4 can be proven in photos but one cant(because a picture wasn't taken), but i am so angry because the doctor who did the initial full check on my granddaughter said the two large strawberry marks on the back of her neck and on the back of her head are birth marks(i cant remember the name she said stork something i think)she has put down as injuries in her report , also a small birth mark on her nose and next to her right eye she has put down as injuries in her report, also what she called a bruise at the bottom of my gd spine which i explained to her was what is know as a blue spot and that all and only children of mixed race have one of these to which she replied "O i have her marked down as a Caucasian child" i couldn't believe her ignorance as she knew i was the nana and i am a dark skinned half Jamaican woman and i am stood in front of her, i just said "She mixed race her daddy is quarter cast", but clearly she didn't believe me or care because that is also marked down as an injuries, my son was accused of all 11 injuries for a day and a half at the police station, to then be released without charge but conditions not to be around any of the three children until 3 Dec...When my son called 999 for ambulance he told them that my gd was throwing up blood(which we now know was the Frenum bleeding) the paramedics they told him that could of happened whilst she was feeding by her bottle but they refused to take my granddaughter to hospital because of the other two children,my son phoned 999 again and this time they took all four of them to the hospital and those paramedics are the ones who contacted the police reported an abused child based on the bleeding and facial bruises(birth marks) when i asked why my son had to dial 999 twice and why the paramedics didn't take my gd to the hospital as don't they have a duty of care i was informed that they did and there is no log of my son calling twice.....now 3 weeks down the line after the solicitor has made inquiries to this a report has come back to her that in fact within a 20 minute time frame my son phoned 999 3 times and only 2 of which an ambulance attended and that there is now an investigation as to why the child was not brought to hospital on the first visit...My main and only concern is my gd and getting her out of the foster cares and at my home with me...whilst they do what needs to be done to determine what happened to her accidental or purposely because between the four of them someone sure as hell knows what happened ... can you give me any advice and what is in store for us all...and answer some questions...
1. Can they turned me down due to the fact i have epilepsy which i have had for over 18 years and is controlled and i raised my two children on my own with it?
2. When my son and partner(even though she has been told she can not name me she has to name her own family, which she has none her mum passed 2 years ago and she hasn't seen her dad for close to 20 years) say they want there daughter to be placed with me with this be taken into account? or will the judge follow the sw foster carers recommendation??
3. My sons partner see's my gd 3 times a week for an hour, for the last two weeks they have both been asking when me and my daughter can see there child, and all he says is hes working it out...should it take this long? should i contact him direct? I have read up on the Kinship Care Policy and i have noted down the name and email address of the senior manager
with overall management responsibility for this from the office dealing with this case! should i email him directly? as i feel the sw is truly stalling?? also they don't have A local Kinship Care Policy that is placed on their website i have searched and searched for it...
4. How long is the assessment process from once i have been named in court?
5. I was planning on instructing my own solicitor to help me get my gd but i have been told by my son that the sw said this wouldn't be good for them as it would look like im going against them instead of supporting them... Is that true??
6. What is a a38 Interim Care Order? Will this be granted? and will the court agree with the sw and leave my gd with the foster carers??
I have many many many questions but feel so overwhelmed and confused i will stop now... I have tried your helpline but its quite difficult to get threw, but understandable and will try again tomorrow....x
Thank-you for any help and advise in advance
Kindest Regards
Worried New Nana..x

[David Roth]

Hi worried new nana, I hope you have been able to get through to our advice line, as the situation you describe is quite complex and it sounds as though it really would help if you could talk it through with someone. I'll focus on the specific questions you've asked, as these sound like the most important issues to you, and then if you need to you can come back with any follow-up queries.

1. Can they turned me down due to the fact i have epilepsy which i have had for over 18 years and is controlled and i raised my two children on my own with it?

A. As part of any assessment you will have to go through a medical examination and background check, which is completed by your own GP and then goes to the local authority's medical adviser for comments. You cannot be automatically ruled out on the grounds of epilepsy, but the medical reports would include an assessment of whether any of the effects of the condition might put a child at risk.

2. When my son and partner(even though she has been told she can not name me she has to name her own family, which she has none her mum passed 2 years ago and she hasn't seen her dad for close to 20 years) say they want there daughter to be placed with me with this be taken into account? or will the judge follow the sw foster carers recommendation??

The law on this is quite clear: section 22C of the 1989 Children Act states that when a child is looked after then the first choice of placement should be with their parents or person with parental respnsibility. If this isn't safe or practicable, then the next choice has to be that the child is placed with a relative, friend or connected person who is a foster carer. To do this, they can give you temporary approval for up to 16 weeks while they carry out the full assessment. Even if they can't carry out all the initial checks before making the placement, they can do so as quickly as possible afterwards. It sounds as though they are already compiling a case for saying that it would not be safe to place the child with you, and if they are not willing to make this placement it may well be that the case has to be made in court.

3. My sons partner see's my gd 3 times a week for an hour, for the last two weeks they have both been asking when me and my daughter can see there child, and all he says is hes working it out...should it take this long? should i contact him direct? I have read up on the Kinship Care Policy and i have noted down the name and email address of the senior manager
with overall management responsibility for this from the office dealing with this case! should i email him directly? as i feel the sw is truly stalling?? also they don't have A local Kinship Care Policy that is placed on their website i have searched and searched for it...

A. There are 2 issues here: contact, and the lack of a publicly available kinship policy. If you feel you are being stalled over th eissue of contact, and you want to take it further, then I would suggest taking it to the social worker's manager rather than the kinship manager, as it is the social worker's manager who has line management responsibility and is accountable for the social worker's actions and decisions. You may want to make a formal complaint about the delays (see our advice sheet 25). I would however suggest that you contact the kinship manager about the fact that they do not have a publicly available kinship policy, as this is a statutory requirement.

4. How long is the assessment process from once i have been named in court?

A. There is no standardised time that assessments take. It can depend what sort of assessment it is, first of all. The local authority may put you through a sort of initial assessment (sometimes called a viability study) before placing a child with you, which might only take one or two visits. The full assessments, for fostering or SGO can be between 6-10 visits, as well as visits to referees and various written references, and these can take place over several weeks, up to about 3 months.

5. I was planning on instructing my own solicitor to help me get my gd but i have been told by my son that the sw said this wouldn't be good for them as it would look like im going against them instead of supporting them... Is that true??

If you are going to be a party to the proceedings, then it is a good idea to have your own legal representation. It might end up that you and your son don't want the same outcome - parents are quite often against their children going to grandparents, even where at first they thought it seemed like a good idea.

6. What is a a38 Interim Care Order? Will this be granted? and will the court agree with the sw and leave my gd with the foster carers??

An interim care order is a temporary care order which is often made during care proceedings, so that a child is legally in care while the decision is being made about whether the court should make a full care order. They are made under section 38 of the 1989 Children Act - I'm not sure what a38 would refer to.

I hope this information is helpful for you.

[worried new nana]

Hi David... Thankyou for you reply which was of some help.... My son and partner was in court this morning and my name has been put forward the judge was going to do a section 40 but the sw lawyer asked for a full assesment to be done which is now what they are going to do... the judge has ordered it to be done by 23rd Jan 2015....(feels so far away) can you tell me excatly what a full assesment involves from start to finish please.....

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear worried new nana

I understand that you may have received some advice from our advice line since you posted here.

Hopefully, your most recent queries have been answered. However, should you wish to seek additional support please feel free to post an update on this forum.

Best Wishes

Suzie

[worried new nana]

Hello again, first let me thank everyone for all your previous and help and advise..
Well it has been a long long process but it feels like we are finally coming to the end.
Quick update my granddaughter was placed in foster care back in Oct, she is still with the foster cares and doing amazing.... I was put forward As a special gaurdian for her, which was accepted and had my 3 assesments to done and all 3 We're postive(mother and father both recieved negative reports.. Father on 2 counts..mother on 16 counts)...my g-daughter has just been given a court guardian whom I have meet and been to check my home... We're at the stage now that the final hearing is on the 6th July until 14th July for a fact of finding decission making....as the parents have seperated and now fighting each other...me and my 19year old daughter have had regular weekly contact since the start of Feb..On two separate courts dates I was granted my g-daughter be placed with me but her mother blocked it due to her not being proven to have caused any harm, Which is completely understandable!!.on the first account she requested all 3 children to be returned to her care, on the second account the same reason but only request my g-daughter be returned to her... On Monday 22 June the SS is giving me my support letter and solicitors free hour legal advise letter, increasing my contact and placing me on unsupervised contact and on Monday for the first time I will be supervising my sons contact and on Wed the mothers contact... Which is all sounding very postive via the judges decission...
I have just been informed that both parents have now made there final statements for the court and both parents have recieved copies of each other's statements, in the mothers statement she requested a drug test to been done as she stated she does not use drugs which she failed(and she is also currently 4months pregnant with my second grandchild) and she has agreed for her eldest two children to remain living with one of the children's bioligical father(where they have been since being removed in Oct) but for her youngest(my g-daughter) to be returned to her... This is what has got me all worried as I have been told it is now a possibility that she may get her back!!
So I'm asking if there have been simalar situations where this has happened? What are the chances of this happening? Should I be worried?...
I am being told the judge will not see her decission as a postive one, but I'm thinking wouldn't the judge maybe think we'll she's putting the welfare of the youngest first in leaving the other two where there settled because she can care for one better than all three(well which will soon be two)...
Thank you again in advance,
Worried new nana..xx

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear worried new nana,

Thanks for updating the forum. So much has happened since you first posted. In particular, your assessments have all been positive and your contact with your grand daughter has increased and is now going to be unsupervised. You have also been assessed as being to be a supervisor of your grand daughters contact with her parents.

I don’t think that you could be in a stronger position. And this has been recognised by the court.

But as you say it will all depend on the judge who will hear all the evidence. First, there is a fact finding hearing-to decide issues around the significant harm. Has the threshold criteria been met? Then the court will listen to the evidence and decide who your grand daughter should live with.
What is the guardian’s position? Is she supporting mum or is she supporting the local authority? However, in the end, families have to wait until the judge has heard all the evidence and made a decision.
Because of the strict timescales, the court has to run with different parallel plans. This can be very unsettling for the family-the not knowing- but it does have the advantage of preventing delays in the planning process.

Have a look at the advice sheet about care proceedings .

Best wishes,
Suzie