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So lost with social services

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JustAboutHoldingItTogether

Member since
August 2024

22 posts

Posted Tue November 26, 2024 5:18pmReport post

I have no idea what's going on!

My person (oh) was arrested and social services saw me and the kids at the police station that day, when we left she said she'd be in touch the next week. It was 9 weeks before she contacted me again (I was left with no contact details for her).

She was supposed to come to my house for a face to face meeting but it got postponed twice and ended up as a phone call. I was told that my kids were on a child in need plan and contact with their dad should be at their office with a social worker supervising. I left this with them to organise if their dad contacted them.

Fast forward to now and I've found out that they've closed my case? So now I can't get hold of anyone as there's no case!

I have no paperwork, had no meetings or anything. I feel utterly abandoned and like SS aren't keeping my kids safe. I don't know what to do!

I can't afford the phone bill to sit on hold for ages each day. Do you think the kid's school could help find out whats happening?



Is this typical treatment from SS?

Distressed and pregnant

Member since
November 2020

1026 posts

Posted Tue November 26, 2024 11:19pmReport post

Hi,

do you want your children to have supervised contact? Forgive me if I'm reading too much into this but from your post it seems like you no longer have contact with your OH and also like your children were possibly victims (seen at the police station).
If you contact your local authority childrens services they should be able to tell you why the case was closed and what needs to happen to have the case reopened. It may be that they have been satisfied that you can protect them and no contact is sufficient if dad didn't make contact with ss to organise the supervised contact. They could also have closed the case but referred to early help for any support they feel your children might need. I'd suggest emailing them explaining that you've not received any correspondence since that phone call and would like to know why the case has been closed xx

JustAboutHoldingItTogether

Member since
August 2024

22 posts

Posted Wed November 27, 2024 8:11amReport post

Yes, you have read into it correctly.

I am happy with supervised contact, as long as I trust the person supervising. I am wary to go against what social services advised as I don't want them seeing me as an unsafe person.

Apparently their dad WAS trying to get contact through SS, and now is claiming that he's allowed all access to the kids because SS have dropped the case. The police have told.me to be prepared for him to go to court to try to get access!

I was just trying to do what SS said to do. So I'm confused why they told me it's high risk, don't allow contact except through a social worker, and then turned round and dropped the case.



I have no email address for them, only a phone number which you have to sit on hold for ages to get through to. I might talk to the safeguarded at their school to see if they can get anywhere with SS but I'm not sure that's in their power.

I feel so lost.

rainyday52

Member since
April 2023

458 posts

Posted Wed November 27, 2024 8:37amReport post

You have been a victim of at the very least rudeness and possibly even incompetence from SS in my opinion to have cut you off from any progress reports about your children.

Just to say that if the children were on a CIN plan you should have been invited to the meeting. It's a voluntary thing (as opposed to a child protection plan) but the purpose is to help you, so the need for child protection can be avoided. It would be pointless without you being there. Your children's school would have been invited so yes, do ask them about it and see if they can make contact with those attached to your case for you. From my experience professionals who choose to ignore us will often be far more vigilant when it comes to other professionals! It sounds like there might not have been a CIN plan set up after all, but you should have been informed and not doing so was a big error on SS part. School will let you know if it was ever on the cards.

I know it sounds like a big task to take on board but this link to the Family Rights Group explains how you can make a complaint about a social worker or SS generally. They also have a helpline for giving advice plus a forum like this one.

https://frg.org.uk/get-help-and-advice/what/complaints/#making-complaints

I'm so sorry that you're being frustrated like this just to add to everything else that's going on.

Edited Wed November 27, 2024 8:38am

Distressed and pregnant

Member since
November 2020

1026 posts

Posted Wed November 27, 2024 9:19amReport post

Hi,

yes school can make contact with ss and explain that dad is claiming that because the case is closed he can have access and this isn't what was agreed during your call.
Alternatively you may be able to find an email address for Cafcass who will then pass the case to a social worker, it will be like a self referral and if you ever get as far as him taking you to court you will have evidence that you tried to get supervised access. No family support worker for the courts would agree that it is right to go from no contact to unsupervised in a case like this. Feel free to drop me a message if you need help navigating your local authorities website and I'll help you xx