Hi there,
I am currently in proceedings to discharge 2 care orders that were made for my children in April 2023. At the time the orders were made I had abstained from cannabis for 7 months and had not consumed any alcohol. This is now 19 months abstinence. The care orders were made as the SW stated I was in early stages of Recovery and I would need too much support to have my children returned to me. It was also stated that I was at risk of harm due to my children assaulting me (this is why children are in care) I have completed numerous positive parenting courses including Triple P, Young persons mental health and I am currently doing the You,Me and Mum domestic violence course. I am booked into the Changing Patterns course in June. I have sought help for my mental health by completing emotional stability with NHS and emotional skills with Recovery College. My youngest daughter has been physically and sexually abused under Local Authority care and has overdosed recently. My other daughter is so unhappy in care that she overdosed in February and was admitted to hospital for 2 days. My children are aged 14 and 12 and desperately want to come home yet the judge has stated their behaviour is beyond parental control. I feel I have addressed the Local Authority concerns with my drug and alcohol consumption (confirmed by drug tests) my lack of positive parenting and my mental health (diagnosed with BPD) The court have agreed to a parenting assessment and an updated Psychiatrist assessment which I desperately need to pass for my children to come home. I have been told by the SW it is very rare for children to be returned on the 1st discharge proceedings. If I fail at these proceedings (even tho I can prove my circumstances have changed significantly and it is in my children's best interests to be returned to me) how long do I have to wait before I can take it back to court again? I fear what my children will do if I fail at getting them returned to me (girls have self harmed since been in care and recent overdoses) the local authority have failed to put any mental health support in for my children. What more can I do to prove to the court I am now in a position to have my children returned to me?
Discharge of care orders
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Suzie, FRG Adviser
- Posts: 4240
- Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm
Re: Discharge of care orders
Dear J3nn46585
Thank you for your post and welcome to the discussion board. My name is Suzie, I am an online adviser and will be responding to you today.
Well done and congratulations for making the changes you needed to make to change the direction of your life.
You are in the process of discharging two care orders for your children. You have made significant changes to your life since the care proceedings concluded, and your children were placed in foster care. The social worker has informed you that it is ‘very rare’ for children to be returned on the 1st discharge proceedings and you are seeking information on whether there are timescales for reapplying should your application be unsuccessful.
I am not sure how helpful it is for the social worker to inform you of this. Whether or not a care order is discharged is dependent on the changes the parent has made over a sustained period and whether it is in the child’s best interest to go back home (reunification). It is not dependent on the number of applications made.
If your application is not successful, then I would advise you to listen carefully to the court’s reasoning and why they have made this decision at this time. For example, what do they say are the continued risk factors? What needs to change or to be evidence over a longer period? Or if the courts feel returning the children home will be destabilising for them, is there any work that can be done to reduce this? There is not time limit in place before you an make another application however, I would advise against rushing into another application. It would be a good idea to seek the advice of a solicitor before you do. I have added a link HERE to the Law Society who have an facility to search for a solicitor in your local area. You can also seek information and advice from Child Law Advice . They have a a facility to book a phone call for legal advice and charge a small fee for this service. Please see there website for further details.
You do not say what level of contact you have with the children. If they are unable to return home is this something that can be progressed? Often when courts review orders for children they will take into consideration the type and level of contact taking place. It would also be a good idea to seek the Independent Reviewing Officer’s (IRO) views on this and your application to discharge the orders. The IRO is responsible for the children’s care plans and it would be a good idea to include her in discussions at your children’s next looked after review.
In respect of your children’s welfare whilst in the care of the local authority, I am very sorry to hear of their experiences. The incident(s) that happened to your youngest daughter should have been fully investigated, with the police notified. I do hope this was the case. If you need further information and guidance regarding this, I would advise you to call our advice line for further advice, information and support (details below).
Do your children have an advocate? Children’s services should help children and young people have an advocate in certain situations. For example, where a child is looked after, government guidance suggests that they should be supported to get help from an advocate. For example, if they wish to make a complaint, or if they want someone to attend looked after child review meetings with them. They are independent of the social worker (even if children’s services organise for them to come and help). I have added a link HERE to NYAS. This is the National Youth Advocacy Service. They have further information and guidance regarding the type and level of support they provide to vulnerable children.
Match Mothers offers non-judgmental support and information to mothers apart from their children in a wide variety of circumstances. This is their support line number: O800 689 4104. It is free and confidential. Please refer to their website for operating times.
If you would like any further advice, please contact the advice service again. You can:
• Call our freephone helpline on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm (except bank holidays), to speak to an adviser.
• Send an advice enquiry
• Post another query here
• Use our webchat facility web chat facility
Best wishes, Suzie
Thank you for your post and welcome to the discussion board. My name is Suzie, I am an online adviser and will be responding to you today.
Well done and congratulations for making the changes you needed to make to change the direction of your life.
You are in the process of discharging two care orders for your children. You have made significant changes to your life since the care proceedings concluded, and your children were placed in foster care. The social worker has informed you that it is ‘very rare’ for children to be returned on the 1st discharge proceedings and you are seeking information on whether there are timescales for reapplying should your application be unsuccessful.
I am not sure how helpful it is for the social worker to inform you of this. Whether or not a care order is discharged is dependent on the changes the parent has made over a sustained period and whether it is in the child’s best interest to go back home (reunification). It is not dependent on the number of applications made.
If your application is not successful, then I would advise you to listen carefully to the court’s reasoning and why they have made this decision at this time. For example, what do they say are the continued risk factors? What needs to change or to be evidence over a longer period? Or if the courts feel returning the children home will be destabilising for them, is there any work that can be done to reduce this? There is not time limit in place before you an make another application however, I would advise against rushing into another application. It would be a good idea to seek the advice of a solicitor before you do. I have added a link HERE to the Law Society who have an facility to search for a solicitor in your local area. You can also seek information and advice from Child Law Advice . They have a a facility to book a phone call for legal advice and charge a small fee for this service. Please see there website for further details.
You do not say what level of contact you have with the children. If they are unable to return home is this something that can be progressed? Often when courts review orders for children they will take into consideration the type and level of contact taking place. It would also be a good idea to seek the Independent Reviewing Officer’s (IRO) views on this and your application to discharge the orders. The IRO is responsible for the children’s care plans and it would be a good idea to include her in discussions at your children’s next looked after review.
In respect of your children’s welfare whilst in the care of the local authority, I am very sorry to hear of their experiences. The incident(s) that happened to your youngest daughter should have been fully investigated, with the police notified. I do hope this was the case. If you need further information and guidance regarding this, I would advise you to call our advice line for further advice, information and support (details below).
Do your children have an advocate? Children’s services should help children and young people have an advocate in certain situations. For example, where a child is looked after, government guidance suggests that they should be supported to get help from an advocate. For example, if they wish to make a complaint, or if they want someone to attend looked after child review meetings with them. They are independent of the social worker (even if children’s services organise for them to come and help). I have added a link HERE to NYAS. This is the National Youth Advocacy Service. They have further information and guidance regarding the type and level of support they provide to vulnerable children.
Match Mothers offers non-judgmental support and information to mothers apart from their children in a wide variety of circumstances. This is their support line number: O800 689 4104. It is free and confidential. Please refer to their website for operating times.
If you would like any further advice, please contact the advice service again. You can:
• Call our freephone helpline on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm (except bank holidays), to speak to an adviser.
• Send an advice enquiry
• Post another query here
• Use our webchat facility web chat facility
Best wishes, Suzie
Re: Discharge of care orders
Hi Suzie
Thank you for your reply to my post. I have not had any arranged contact with my children since a new social worker was appointed to the case in November 2023 and for no reason except the social worker had not arranged any despite me constantly chasing this. The judge at the hearing in January 2024 was not happy with this and told the Local Authority this was not acceptable. My solicitor is applying to the court to increase contact and request unsupervised visits. My 2 children took overdoses due to no family time arranged. The only time I have seen my youngest is when she ran to me at the end of January after she had been sexually and physically abused, where the police allowed her to stay with me for 3 nights following a welfare check which was very positive. My daughter has now been moved out of county following her disclosing the physical and sexual abuse where she has not seen a social worker since 29th January and is getting no support following her horrendous ordeal. The children's IRO refuses to discuss reunification at any LAC meeting and the children have refused to attend these meetings due to no one listening to their views or wishes. My children have been offered an independent advocate however due to their lack of trust of 'trusted adults' they have refused this. When my daughter disclosed her physical and sexual abuse the social worker refused to report to the police and so I had to report this on behalf of my children which I find unacceptable. My 2 daughters desperately want to come home and I have tried so very hard since they went into care in July 2022 to ensure we can be reunited. The judge has stated that because my children's behaviour is still challenging ( 2 overdoses due to social worker not arranging family contact and following sexual and physical abuse by Residential home care staff) I would not cope with them coming home however the reasons they have behaved in a challenging way is due to abuse and neglect by Local Authority. These situations would not occur if they were to come home but the judge just sees my children as naughty which is not the case.
Thank you for your reply to my post. I have not had any arranged contact with my children since a new social worker was appointed to the case in November 2023 and for no reason except the social worker had not arranged any despite me constantly chasing this. The judge at the hearing in January 2024 was not happy with this and told the Local Authority this was not acceptable. My solicitor is applying to the court to increase contact and request unsupervised visits. My 2 children took overdoses due to no family time arranged. The only time I have seen my youngest is when she ran to me at the end of January after she had been sexually and physically abused, where the police allowed her to stay with me for 3 nights following a welfare check which was very positive. My daughter has now been moved out of county following her disclosing the physical and sexual abuse where she has not seen a social worker since 29th January and is getting no support following her horrendous ordeal. The children's IRO refuses to discuss reunification at any LAC meeting and the children have refused to attend these meetings due to no one listening to their views or wishes. My children have been offered an independent advocate however due to their lack of trust of 'trusted adults' they have refused this. When my daughter disclosed her physical and sexual abuse the social worker refused to report to the police and so I had to report this on behalf of my children which I find unacceptable. My 2 daughters desperately want to come home and I have tried so very hard since they went into care in July 2022 to ensure we can be reunited. The judge has stated that because my children's behaviour is still challenging ( 2 overdoses due to social worker not arranging family contact and following sexual and physical abuse by Residential home care staff) I would not cope with them coming home however the reasons they have behaved in a challenging way is due to abuse and neglect by Local Authority. These situations would not occur if they were to come home but the judge just sees my children as naughty which is not the case.
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