complaints about social care.

[chase2021]

hiya, a little bit of back story my younger sister accused my childrens father of sexually assaulting her, the case was dropped by police but my children were put on a 3 month child protection plan, we went back to conference last month and my social worker had told me she had no concerns with me and my children and she was going to recommend it be dropped down. well the night before conference she called me to tell me that a piece of work from the conference hadnt been completed (ability to protect) and i was going to be staying on cpp, well i made a complaint to the council about this because its not fair i didnt know it hadnt all been completed ( ive had meetings every week with social worker since before christmas) and they said my social worker has apologised and theyve took resposibility so thats the end, i wasnt happy with that as this is ruining my life and my anxiety is through the roof again, so i stepped it up to phase 2, well the complaints officer called me yesterday asked me a few questions and said that he wasnt putting it through a phase 2 because they have said sorry and he doesnt know what more i want. now i feel really lost and dont know what to do because sorry just isnt good enough they are ruining my life. i dont know what more i can do. please help.... thank you

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear chase2021

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

My name is Suzie, online adviser at Family Rights Group.

I see from your post that you made a complaint because the social worker informed you that the child protection plan in respect of your children was likely to be stepped down at the Review conference. Subsequently, the social worker informed you that there was still an outstanding piece work to be done so the child protection plan would remain in place.

Normally, it is the conference that would make the decision as to whether a child protection plan would be stepped down. The social worker’s recommendation would be considered of course, but the conference decides if the concerns have been addressed sufficiently for the plan to be stepped down to child in need.

However, your post is seeking advice regarding the complaint you made and how this has been managed. You have asked for your complaint to go to stage 2 of the procedure and have been told that it cannot by the complaints officer. I do not think this is correct because the regulations provide that if a complainant is not satisfied, they can request that complaint is dealt with at stage 2

It is not enough for you to be told that an apology given and cannot go to next stage.

Have you considered the outcome that you want from your complaint? Perhaps you can think about this so you can say what you would like to happen.

I suggest you mention to the complaints officer that regulations 15(2) and 17 of the Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure Regulations 2006) gives you the right to request a formal investigation at stage 2.

If children’s service refuse to follow procedure, then you could take your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

You may also find it helpful to read our advice sheet https://www.frg.org.uk/images/Advice_Sh ... laints.pdf

I hope you find this helpful.

Best wishes

Suzie