My children have been taken into care, Social Services have said it is respite care and that they are not on any register. I was asked to sign some paper work but was not given a copy.
My children were extremely upset at the time and the social worker thought it best to just leave. Social Services will not disclose the location of my very young family.
What are my legal rights?
(Mr PJ, 11 September 2008)
A.
Unfortunately, the law is on the side of Social Services if you have signed some paperwork. It is likely that the paperwork you signed was an order issued by the Family Proceedings Court giving Social Services temporary custody of your children. However, they are not the wards of Social Services but are wards of your Local Authority.
Initially, what should have happened was Social Services should have applied for an Emergency Order to have the children taken into care, and then they will have had to go back to Family Proceedings Court to get a care order. You should have been made aware of this from the outset so that you could have voiced your objections or petitioned the Family Proceedings Court to return a different ruling.
Once the children have been removed from your care and been placed in the care of the Local Authority, Social Services are not obliged – by law – to give you details of your children’s whereabouts for their own safety, even though from your point of view the children are perfectly safe in your presence. This is designed to protect not only the children but the identity of any Foster Parents the children may be placed with, however temporary.
Your first point of recourse should be Social Services, especially if you were not provided with copies of all relevant paperwork. In any instance of taking children into custody, you should be provided with copies of all orders issued or affected so that you are fully aware of your legal standing. Social services should give you exact details of why the children were removed from your care and qualify what exactly they mean by respite care. They should also be giving you details of any Family Proceedings Court hearings that are due to take place.
It is best to seek representation from a solicitor who specialises in family law and ask them to act as a mediator between you and your Local Authority. They will also be able to obtain copies of all orders and documentation relating to your case and clarify what you signed and what you agreed to.
He or she may also be able to petition the Family Proceedings Court for a hearing that clarifies everyone’s position in the matter and may also bring about a scenario where visits – albeit supervised ones – can be arranged.
my 3 children aged 6,5+4mnths were put into foster care on september 12th 2011 on the grounds of neglect.my oldest 2 kids had poor school attendance (their school is a 45min walk from r home+wilst i was pregnant i suffered with chronic morning sickness so i was finding it extreamly difficult to carry out the easiest of tasks),i also missed a lot of visits with social services,my daughter had to have 8rotton teeth removed as well.at first my kids wer made subject to a care plan,+ things were improving gradualy but when our social workerfound out i was pregnant the social worker came to my home and advised me to have a termination or to give my baby up for adoption or id loose my other 2kids,when i told her i was 30wks gone and i wasnt going 2give the baby up she told me that all of my kids were going into foster care.i purpously avoided seeing the social worker because of the stress+upset she put me threw when i did see her,on several visits she told me to prepair mykids n pack their bags because shed be coming to take them into foster care the following day.i openly admit that whilst pregnant i was ill+ struggling to meet the basic needs of my children,since my kids were taken away iv had a phsycological assesment+she said that i needed a further 10 sessions with a phsycologist+ if they were posative i could have my kids back.however after her report was made my hair stem test showed i had taken methadone,anphetimin+codine+ so she changed her mind and said i shouldnt be aloud to have my kids back again.i had taken methadone+codine a number of times after my kids were put in care because i was in agony with tooth ache +nothing was working to take away the pain+id also used it on a rare occasion to put me to sleep because iv been finding it hard to settle and sleep at home without my kids being there.my kids+i are extremely close,my parents died 2yrs ago+since then me+my kids have only had each other,i miss them+i no they desperately want to come home,but i dont no how togo about proving i can look after them.
k - 16 January 2012 @ 10:07 PM
i had two little boys with a man that i have recently come out of a 5 year relationship with he turned into a physically and mentally abusive heroin addict for the last three years i'm with another man now a loving father and we have a baby boy but when i fled the domestic violence and moved away i left my boys in the care of my ex partner assuming he would manage taking them to school and basic care needs as he had done this in my presence even with everything else going on as i wasnt really certain about where i was going to live and not wanting to disrupt my childrens school lives i made this decision social services deemed him unfit to look after the children and as i still hadn't sorted out a house they talked us into signing the children over to there paternal grandparents temporarily now they are trying to get full time residence of my children i have since got a 4 bedroom house with the help of my new partner in the hope that we can get them back our independant social worker is making a recommendation that the kids stay with there grandparents what can we do to turn this recommendation there is no risk to the children there is no evidence of mistreat by myself so why would this be happening and how can i stop it.
loving mum - 28 November 2011 @ 9:52 PM
my children were made subject of a child protection plan due to my mental health issues, they were temporarily placed in the care of my mother, this was a volutary arrangement and i have always had parental responsibility for them.My youngest daughter has now been returned to my care an my son has been told he can return next week.I want to know if Social Services can insist that my mother cares for the children one night a week because they are sayin as part of the new protection plan this must happen.I dont want my mother havin the children, can social services insist upon this or not? thanks
sare420 - 26 October 2011 @ 6:21 AM
me and my husband have split up 6 years ago i got full access to my 5 children by the courts but three year ago i was tormented by my ex husband and tried to kill myself with an over dose my husband removed my kids from my mothers care as i was in hospital when i came out of hospital it was said by the courts that i could see my children once every two weeks once supervised by my sister but she let me down i so want to see my children but my ex husband wont allow this to happen he is very abusive towards me and use's the children just to hurt me what can i do
legs 11 - 9 September 2011 @ 5:09 PM
My brothers children are on the at risk register, mainly because their mother has severe anxiety tendencies and Social Services have deemed that the children are suffering as a result of this. recently My brother has been informed by social services that the children may be taken into care as the mother is unfit and the father is unable to manage his wifes anxieties. I am trying to help him in everyway that I can, could you please offer some advice as to what course of action he needs to take in order to keep his children.
regards
Keith
concerned realative - 2 August 2011 @ 2:32 PM
i found out that i had a son last year and at the time he was in voluntary care by his mother sayin so,i have fought to get my son and of jan this year he came to live with me afta all the stuff i had to do for the social services.now there coming of with all sorts of crap and im worried that they will take him.with my son bein in voluntary care at the time has that now stopped once he has come to live with me as it was his mother who agreed to the voluntary care and i can i tell the social to get lost as he isnt in care no more and lives with me,any help on this would be great
proud dad - 23 June 2011 @ 11:39 AM
My ex-partner has made no attempt to see his son for over 15 months, I moved away from the city he lives in, he does not help me financially he never has and he now wants to take me to court. I have never said he can't see our child - he just won't make the effort to travel.
