Risk Assessment Advice

[BareGrills]

Hi,
I'm looking for any advice regarding a risk assessment that a social worker has got planned for this coming Friday.

In January 2017 I went to prison for IIOC and inciting a female under 16. All offences were online, so were non-contact. I was released in October 2018 under license until July 2020. Throughout the time from when I was arrested up until now, my wife has been supporting me and has always wanted the family to stay together. We have two daughters. After my release, social care were involved and the children were briefly on a CPP and then a CIN. I wasn't allowed to have any face to face contact with them initially until I had completed courses related to my offences. The course was done over 9 months and after one month, I was allowed supervised face to face contact. Two months later I was allowed to move back title the family home but not allowed any unsupervised contact, meaning that if my wife went to the toilet, I'd also have to leave the room. In August 2019, the CIN was closed and in November 2019, my wife, mother-in-law, my mother and myself had to sign a working agreement that I'd have no unsupervised contact with any children under the age of 18.

Fast forward to May 2023. My wife and I spoke to my offender manager about me having unsupervised contact with my daughter's to help out with getting them to school as my eldest is due to start secondary school in September and due to the starting times, it would be impossible for my wife to get them both to school on time. My offender manager said they didn't have an issue but social care would ultimately need to make the decision. A few days later, we were contacted by MARF/MASH to say that they felt an assessment wasn't necessary. We were elated with the decision and knew we could carry on looking to the future. Less than 24 hours later, they called again to say that their decision had been overturned by a manager and an assessment was needed. It was frustrating but if that's what was needed, then we'd carry on with it as it was something that had to be done. A social worker made a visit, spoke to the children and then to us. They made it very clear we'd hear from them within 10 working days with an answer and a copy of the assessment. Five weeks passed when I got a call from a duty SW saying they needed to see us and the children to discuss the CIN that was in place. I explained that we hadn't heard anything and certainly hadn't agreed to the CIN. They said that by law they had to see us that week and that they'd talk to a manager about it. Feeling under pressure, we managed to arrange an appointment for SW to visit. The one assigned to the case was off sick so the duty one I spoke to was going to come instead. On the day of the appointment they called to say that an emergency had arisen and that another duty SW would visit. This happened but they didn't have any details with them about the CIN or of the original assessment done weeks prior. They did say that when they got back to their office that a copy of the assessment and CIN would be emailed to my wife. Only a copy of the assessment was sent. We had a read of it and I was a little surprised that the SW had said that I would be a risk to take my daughter to school as it would be a chance for me to offend but also that they had also written that there were no factors or concerns for a CIN to be put in place. When this was questioned, we were told that a manager had overruled the original decision. I'm not sure why because I only spoke to the SW for roughly 10 minutes. My offender manager was unaware of the CIN even though they are meant to be included in what's on the plan. A few days later, the SW assigned to us called me but wanted to speak with my wife. This was to arrange a Teams meeting with my wife, the girls primary school, new secondary school and my offender manager. There was no mention of me to be part of it. The meeting took place and there were no issues with the girls at school. My OM couldn't make the meeting. The safeguarding officer from the school my daughter will be starting had no idea about the case so didn't really have an input. My wife said it seemed like a pointless meeting and was left upset at what the SW had said to her. When talking about supporting me and looking forwards, the SW asked if my wife was supporting my crimes. She emailed the SW after and included her manager, explaining how she was made to feel. A home visit was made a week later for the SW to meet the children. When they arrived, my wife answered the door whilst I was putting our dogs outside. When I came back in, the meeting was already underway, with a senior SW assisting the assigned one. I sat down and at least ten minutes in to the meeting, the SW stopped and asked who I was. They were there discussing something very sensitive not knowing who I was. Once I had introduced myself, the meeting resumed and not once was I actually a part of it. No questions came my way. Another CIN meeting was arranged for a few weeks later and I wasn't invited to join again. They didn't have a copy of the CIN when asked but they did acknowledge the email my wife had sent and that they'd reply in writing. The CIN meeting took place on teams on Friday just gone and, again, my wife said it was pointless as there was only the SW, safeguarding officer from the primary school and my wife. A copy of the CIN was asked for again and my wife was told verbally the main parts of it. The main section we are most concerned about is the risk assessment. It's due to start this Friday and the SW had said they want to interview my wife and I separately and to talk to my wife in-depth about my offences. She knows all about them but we want to know why the past is being dragged up after so long. In two months I'll have been out of prison for 5 years and living back in the family home for nearly four years. When the original CIN was in place in 2019, we both did everything that was asked of us. Is this the type of risk assessment that's needed at this point?

Sorry for the long post but it's been a frustrating several weeks.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Edit: I have a SHPO in place and the only condition on it is to have any internet enabled devices checked when requested. There's nothing about me not being able to have unsupervised contact with children.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear BareGrills,

Welcome to the parents’ forum and thank you for your post. I hope that the following advice is of some help to you.

It sounds that you have been somewhat excluded from the most recent assessment process and that both you and your wife were unaware for some time that a CIN plan had been suggested. Statutory guidance (see HERE makes it clear that children’s services should work in partnership with children and their families (including fathers) to keep children safe. If you wish to be included in the CIN meetings then I would suggest that you contact the social worker and their team manager in writing explaining that you would like to be invited to the next meeting. If they refuse to do so then you should ask for their reasoning in writing, which you can then challenge by way of a formal complaint if necessary. You might find the information on our website HERE helpful as it has advice specifically for fathers.

You say that no copy of the CIN plan has been provided. This should have been provided to both your wife and yourself by this point. A copy of the plan should be brought to the CIN meetings as the purpose of these meetings is to discuss the points on the plan and what actions have been identified. It sounds that you have been asking for a copy of the plan for some time now – I would suggest that if this is not provided you or your wife may wish to consider making a complaint about this and asking that it is provided as soon as possible. Alternatively you could contact the social worker’s manager directly asking them to provide a copy of the plan.

It is worth noting that parents can decide not to accept child in need services. See HERE for more information about this. However, given that you want to change the conditions of the working agreement which you signed in 2019 it would be advisable for you to work in partnership with children’s services as best as possible.

You say that you are most concerned about the risk assessment which is due to start this Friday. Is this risk assessment being undertaken specifically to determine the risk you might pose during unsupervised contact with your daughters? It is important to find out exactly what the purpose of this risk assessment is so that you are clear going into it. It does seem reasonable that the social worker wishes to speak with yourself and your wife separately, particularly given the nature of your conviction. It would also be important that the social worker explores the situation in some depth, and this would include discussing your offences even though they were committed a few years ago.

I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[BareGrills]

Thanks for the reply Suzie.

It's frustrating that there's a need to constantly ask for a copy of the CIN plan and for me to be included in the meetings every 4 weeks. All previous social workers have made contact with me and included me throughout what they have done but the one assigned to the case isn't as forthcoming. We, as a family, are willing to work with social care so that things can move forward.

My wife was contacted by the social worker yesterday saying that the risk assessment might not be able to happen as we have decided not to disclose my offences to the children yet. This has been mentioned from when we first made contact in May and we were told that it wouldn't be a problem. My wife feels they are trying to force her hand in to disclosing to the children. She is part of a big support network with families in similar situations and knows of others who have had risk assessments done without disclosure taking place

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear BareGrills

Thank you for your update. I might be helpful for your wife to ask the social worker some questions about disclosing to your children and well as a discussion with them about why the children have not been told. Also, you or you wife could ask why the assessment might not happen.

Here is a document about assessments which may be helpful to you.

Best wishes

Suzie

[BareGrills]

Sorry for the delay replying to your last post.

We were told by the social worker that they respected our wishes not to inform the children yet about my conviction/offences but they spoke to their manager about it. The manager has now said that the risk assessment can't take place unless full disclosure has been done with the children and that the social worker would be the one telling them. At our last meeting on 17th August,my wife and I said that we're not ready to tell the children and that for the time being, we will carry on with the working agreement from 2019. The social worker just kept pushing for us to take more time to consider what we wanted. They said it was their manager who was asking her to get us to disclose. Every decision that has been made from the first call in May has been overturned by management. Why are these people in positions to make decisions for them to be changed? The first call to say no assessment at all was needed was overturned as was the original assessment. Now the latest is that our wishes not to tell the children is being pushed by management.

[Need help 2021]

Hi I just saw your post and you have mentioned In the post socail service wants you to disclose your offence to the kids if you don’t mind me asking have you had a risk assment done and if you have what risk do you pose to them so it will be low who high risk and if you haven’t had the assment done by Lucy faith full I would say try and get one done as there are specialist in this and how old are the kids for them to even understand the kind offence . The experience I have had with socail
Has been a nightmare to be honest since 2021 till 2023 finely the case is close now he can see his son unsupervised when he is 7 and he poses a low risk his offence was online the lady from Lucy faithfull zain online offender are not likely to offend in person so I don’t know what socail have big issues with that I feel like they just don’t want to understand because of the time of offence and it depends on the child as well if the child can understand you don’t want the kids to end up getting picked on in school sometimes we have to make decisions to protect them there was a case we’re a child father had this type of of offence the child was very upset and hung her self so you have to be very careful that’s what socail don’t understand . Are you at the moment liveing with your family ?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear BareGrills,

I would advise that you ask for the manager to send you the reasons for this recommendation in writing - you may wish to then follow up with a face to face meeting, and depending on the outcome of this, pursue a formal complaint.

Best wishes,

Suzie.