TOPIC: CHILD PROTECTION
Please note we are not using clients’ real names for confidentiality purposes.
Situation Coming in
Margot also did not have a good relationship with the foster carer which she attributed to the local authority not promoting the fostering of a relationship between the two.
Margot only had 6 contacts a year with her children, they had no sibling contact, nor did she have a fair budget for her contact with her children. Margot also got no updates regarding her children’s health. There were also contradictions in her children’s wishes.
Margot had numerous health issues including visual impairment. She also had no way of keeping track of her exchanges with the local authority as she had no digital knowledge.
Margot, a survivor of domestic violence, reached out to CAHN for support as her three youngest children were in care. She had three older children who had transitioned out of the care system.
For over a decade, Margot had numerous interactions with the Child Protection Service of the local authority, but inconsistencies and unfulfilled promises strained her relationship with them. This left Margot feeling unheard and distrusting of the local authority.
In turn, she was excluded from important meetings regarding her children, which only deepened her frustration.
Margot also struggled to form a positive relationship with the foster carer, as the local authority did not promote such connections.
She had limited contact with her children, only had six contacts a year with her children who in turn had no sibling contact; She had no information about their health, and faced challenges due to her visual impairment and lack of digital knowledge.
Intervention undertaken
After completing an initial assessment and obtaining consent from the service user, the advocacy team acted as intermediaries between Margot and the local authority (Children Services) in an effort to establish a working relationship.
Our team assisted Margot in advocating for and obtaining an assessment of the frequency of contact with her children, and we arranged for an independent social worker to be assigned due to her challenging relationship with her current social worker. Unfortunately, these efforts were not successful.
Following numerous attempts to communicate with children’s services, it became evident that the local authority was not fulfilling its commitments. We supported Margot in filing a complaint against the local authority.
After the team manager of the social worker in charge of the children set up a meeting and made an agreement to move forward, the manager resigned from her role, and there was no continuation.
The advocacy team then helped the client escalate the complaint to the Ombudsman. The complaint was not in favour of Margot mainly due to the lack of written evidence, as Margot had limited digital knowledge. The investigation relied on the notes of the local authority system, but the independent investigator provided some recommendations.
To empower Margot, we motivated her to start keeping a written record of all interactions with children’s services and find ways to respectfully disagree with the professionals using the records she keeps as evidence. We also suggested that the client take a digital skills course at the local library, but this was not successful due to the library losing funding for the course. When the team of children’s services dealing with Margot got a new manager, we ensured that introductions were made and provided a recapitulation of the situation status.
Additionally, we requested an independent advocate for the children to ensure their wishes were taken into account in an unbiased manner.
Situation Now
During the in-person meeting with Margo, our advocacy team, the Social Worker and her Team manager, several important decisions were made:
- The team manager will explore increasing the level of contact supervision, potentially transitioning from the contact worker to having the foster carer supervise, and eventually moving towards unsupervised contact if all goes well.
- The social worker discussed the possibility of providing the children with an independent advocate to address matters such as sibling contact. However, there was a waiting list for this service.
- The Social Worker will initiate a conversation with the foster carer about meeting for coffee to establish a relationship.
- A copy of the meeting notes will be sent to Margo for her records.
- Margo will engage with the older children to determine the number of contact sessions they would like to attend out of the six she has per year.
- If the foster carer is unwilling to meet for coffee, the team manager suggested speaking with the older children and the Independent Advocate (once assigned) to work towards Unsupervised Contact.
- The social worker will share a copy of the children’s EHC Plan and ensure that Margo is invited to the next SEN meeting.
- Discussions will be held regarding Margo attending medical appointments with the children, and the social worker will provide her with monthly updates on the children’s health.
- The social worker will also address the need for digital skills for Margo with the family support workers.
- A WhatsApp group will be created for our advocacy team, Margo, and the social worker to facilitate direct communication.
