Family Rights Group | Parents’ Forum

Hi I’m currently 24 weeks pregnant and I have SS involved due to me having a baby taken off me 3 years ago and put up for adoption but this time around I’m with someone new and the relationship isn’t controlling or physical, I have support of his parents all the time and all I wanna do is keep my baby, the reason I couldn’t last time was I was 17 and didn’t have that much support around me so I didn’t know what I was doing, I was in a controlling relationship that I couldn’t get out of coz I was really scared at the time but now everything has changed I’m 21 and I have so much support around me with my boyfriend and his family, they had concerns about my dad but I don’t live at home anymore! They want to go threw my childhood but that was very hard to talk about but it went against me last time but I did what I did to protect my mum but was scared to say it, I have more knowledge how to look after my baby now and I was dishonest with them about my relationship the first time around coz I was scared as he was controlling and had my passwords for everything and I didn’t know what to do but everything has changed as it’s with a new partner how do I prove to them that all there concerns are gone? It’s in child In need atm and if it stays in that then they will go just need some advice thank you

Dear Princess890,

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

You are currently 24 weeks pregnant. There is involvement from children's services due to you previously having a child removed from your care. You say that at this time you were in an abusive relationship and did not have a support network around; this has now changed and you are feeling positive about the birth of your baby. You would like to know how you can show the social worker that you have made positive progress and what the outcome of children's services involvement may be.

You say in your post that your case is currently in child in need; has there been a pre-birth assessment? If an assessment has been completed, has the social worker gone through this with you? If you are being supported under a child in need plan, this means that the social worker has assessed that your child is not at risk of significant harm but that you may benefit from additional support. It is important that you understand what these areas of support are and what the expectations for engagement with services may be - remember, any plan from children's services should be collaborative and include your views and wishes, so you should communicate with the social worker if you feel that there is anything you would like help with. A child in need plan is also voluntary, however if you refuse to work with children's services, they may escalate their concerns to child protection enquiries. For more information about assessment and family support, take a look here.

It is understandable that you are worried about what may happen with your current pregnancy due to your past, however it is important to remember that this does not automatically mean your child will be removed or placed on a child protection plan. It is encouraging that you feel you are in a more positive position and it will now be useful for you to more effectively with the social worker to evidence your strengths as well as to engage in any support on offer.

If you would like to discuss this with one of our advisers, feel free to call to our advice line on 0808 801 0366 between 09:30 and 3pm from Mon-Fri.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Best wishes,

Suzie