i need help getting my children out of foster care

[Scraggy2021]

Hi my name kirsty my court date has been moved till August or September the social service are going against me getting my kids back if I work with them till the court dates would that make the social worker change there minds in me getting the kids back into my care any help would be nice they been in foster care for 6 mouths now

[Scraggy2021]

Hi I have made a very stupid mistake by messaging my daughter a question which I realised after I sent the message could that go against me in getting the kids back into my care I said sorry as soon as I sent the message to her and she said it's ok and that she wouldn't tell anyone but she told her solicitor what I said and now I have a phone call to morrow morning with my solicitor I'm quite worried in what she will say to me over the phone can can some one plz help me in what to do about this

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Scaggy2021,

Welcome back to the Parents Forum.
I can see that the final hearing has been moved back to August and September. You say children services are going against you and they want to place your youngest with your brother and you do not agree with this. What does your solicitor say?
Do you have any family or friends who can help you with your children? They could be assessed to support you.
What is the children’s court guardian’s view?
In the end it will be up to the Judge to decide where your children will live.
You also ask the question about working with children services. Yes, working with children services will help as they can build up a good relationship with you and get to know what support you might need to care for your children.
Have you got an advocate as well? You and your advocate could call our advice line and we could advise you.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[Scraggy2021]

I dont have a avargater my solicitor isn't saying much to .e I think she does t have the fight in her to help me fight for the kids they have assessed everyone there is only 2 people which is my brother and sister but I dont want them going to my sister as my 2 sons and my daughter dont get on with her at all just dunno what else to.do at the minute and just looking for some help in getting my kids back into my care

[Scraggy2021]

My 2 children were put in long term foster care over 6 mouths ago they were put in long term foster due to my youngest sisters kids how can I get them back into my care since they have been took I've gotten my self a job and looking for a new home to move to can anyone help me in how I would get them back into my care plz

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Scraggy2021

Welcome back to the parents’ discussion board and thank you for your post.
It is great to hear that you have a new job and are looking for a new home too. You would now like to try to have your children returned to your care.

Before applying for your children to come home it is important to fully understand why the court decided at the final hearing last year that the children should live with foster carers until they are 18. You would need to consider what the specific concerns were about your care and be able to show what is different now and how you could meet your children’s needs. I can see that you have made some changes already but have you addressed all of the concerns? As the court made its decision relatively recently it can be difficult to show that all the necessary changes have been made.

A key factor to consider is whether you are having regular, positive contact with your children and whether this is supervised or not. Good contact before a child comes home is a key factor in families successfully reunifying. If the contact arrangements need to move forward this may be something to work on before seeking the children’s return home.

However, when you think that you would be successful then you should formally ask the children’s social worker, in writing, to carry out an assessment of your suitability to care for the children again. This would include what help you might need from children’s services to look after the children and meet their needs. If the social worker does not agree to this then ask them to put in writing to you what their concerns are and what they want you to change to be able to care for the children.

You should also discuss the possibility of the children returning home with their Independent Reviewing Officer who chairs their Looked After Child Reviews. We have mentioned advocacy in previous posts. If you think that you need an advocate to help you participate at the reviews because of any specific needs or disabilities you may have then then you could amend our template letter (1) which you can find here to ask for this. You would need to say that it is for help at a LAC review not a conference and give some information about what your needs are.

If children’s services don’t agree that your children should come home then you would need to consider whether you should apply to end the care order. You don’t automatically get legal aid to do this, only if you meet the means and merit test. You can find out more about applying to end a care order here. You have to show that there has been a significant change since the care orders were made.

If you would like to talk this through with an adviser then please call our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, open Mon to Fri, 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Or post back on this board if you have a new query.

Best wishes

Suzie

[Steamer11b]

My daughter had both her children taken off her on the 27th of May. A care order was made at the courts. Social service lied in court saying my daughter never let them into her flat when she did. My daughter has had contact with her children at a contact center. The first contact she had she noticed the bib that the foster carer had put on her 3 month baby son was way too tight and he was struggling to breath. There was two other witnesses that seen this. My daughter reported it to social service but all they did was push it under the carpet. Also my 4 year old grandaughter had bruises on her legs. Yet again nothing was done about it. My daughter has braught a lot of baby safety things for her flat and sent photos to socal service and nothing was mentioned about it in the review that my daughter had yesterday. My grandchildren should be at home with their mom not a total stranger. They where taken under false lies of the social service

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Steamer11b

Thank you for your post which you have, as a grandparent, posted on the parents’ discussion forum. My name is Suzie online adviser at Family Rights Group.

You say your daughter’s 2 children have been removed from her care and are now with foster carers following a final care order on 27 May. As the case has already been before the court and a decision made, I am not able to comment on what was said in court. It would have been during the proceedings that your daughter and her legal representative could challenge what was said by children’s services.

Regarding the specific issues you mention about the way the baby presented at contact and bruises on the older child’s leg, your daughter should put her concerns in writing to the social worker and ask for a written response explaining the steps taken to address them. Your daughter can also speak with the independent reviewing officer (IRO) about any issues relating to her children. The IRO is the person who chairs the looked after child (LAC) meetings.

If the court order was made only in May, your daughter is unable to take the matter back to court. She would have to wait 6 months before asking the court to discharge the care order. However, before considering such an application, she need to ensure that she fully understands the concerns that led to her children being removed from her care in the first place. She would need to show that she has made significant changes and addressed those concerns.

Before making an application to the court, if she believes that there has been significant change, she can ask children’s services to assess her again for her children to be reunited home. She would not be able to show such changes since the order was made. It is important that she continues to have good contact with her children and continue working to improve or change things to put herself in a position where she can show significant changes.

You and your daughter may find it helpful to read the information here about children in care under a court order.

I hope this is helpful. Should you wish to speak to an adviser do telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays)

Best wishes

Suzie