I would put this as a must-read (adoption case, dynamite)

suesspiciousminds

The case is very fact-specific (the facts are extraordinary) but it is still very important.

I’ve written before about the leave to oppose adoption case law and whether this is a meaningful legal right given that there are no reported cases of an adoption being successfully opposed (there’s one law report of a Court being persuaded to make a Residence Order rather than adoption, but the child remaining with the prospective adopters).

For it to be a meaningful legal right, there must be some set of circumstances which would result in the opposition to adoption resulting in placement back in the birth family. But, the consequences of that for the recruitment and retention of adopters is massive.

As Holman J observed, this case is likely to attract strong opinions on both sides, and it does turn very much on an unprecedented set of facts.

Re A and B and Rotherham…

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what should you do if social services steal your children?

what should you do if social services steal your children?.

Posted on August 16, 2012 by suesspiciousminds

An attempt to give some practical advice

I was reading this blog post at the always excellent Not So Big Society

http://notsobigsociety.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/child-stealing-conspiracy-theory-codswallop/ 

involving an unfortunate father who had his children removed and has reacted to this by constructing a case against Leeds City Council for genocide, which has been struck out and is now awaiting an appeal in the High Court against that striking out.

I think one can never, ever, underestimate what a profoundly awful experience having a bad time with Social Services must be. There is very little (possibly nothing, now that capital punishment no longer exists in this country) that the law can do to you that is worse than taking your children away.  And for that reason, whilst people like this are wrong and misguided, I can see why they are driven to these awful pieces of decision-making.

I’ll make no bones about it – I’m a lawyer for social workers, and I present cases in which sometimes social workers have to be asking for children to be removed and placed in care.

Sometimes, hopefully rarely, that’s the wrong thing to do. Sometimes, it is unequivocally the right thing to do. But almost universally, and far dwarfing those ‘definitely right’ or ‘definitely wrong’ cases, it is very sad.

It’s certainly not done to spite the parent, or for money, or to meet targets, or any of the other conspiracy theories; ultimately it is because a professional who is responsible in law for keeping that child safe reaches a point where they no longer feel that they can keep the child safe at home.

And you won’t believe it, but it honestly is the hope of social workers and people like me, in all but the very worst cases, that going to Court will bring about a change that will let us send the children home.

That doesn’t help, if it is your child. I understand that.

But I’m sure that what you want, if your child has been taken off you, is to get your child back.  All of the Freeman of the Land, and your law doesn’t apply to me, and all social workers are wan*ers, and shouting the odds, really, really don’t get your child back.   The success rates of all of those people who nod at Christopher Brooker’s columns and tell other parents how to fight the system is really very poor, honestly.

Other than factual determination cases, where there’s something that looks like a deliberate or non-accidental injury and the Court looks into it carefully and finds out it isn’t, in eighteen years of child protection work, I have NEVER seen a case where a parent is told by the Court, you can keep your child and you need never speak to a social worker again.

If you’re going to get your child back, social workers are going to be a part of your life.  So making social workers frightened of you, or not being able to work with you, or think that you’re a liar or unstable, isn’t going to help.

That’s not to say that you have to like them – or even be terribly nice to them. Your best approach is  “I know you’ve got a job to do, and I don’t like that you doing it has hurt my family, but I also know that I’ve got to show you that I can care for my children”

I’ve seen an awful lot of websites out there giving really really bad advice to parents in care proceedings, so I thought I’d have a crack at redressing the balance.

Here are some brief, practical, non “I’ll sue you for genocide” suggestions. Nobody can guarantee success in care proceedings, but you can make the central principle that the Court works to get children back home if at all possible work for you.  Nothing I’m suggesting here is beyond you, if you try and you ask for help when you need it.  It isn’t a guaranteed recipe of success, that’s up to you, but it certainly improves your chances.

1.  Work out a way of dealing with your social worker without shouting at them. I represented parents for a few years, and what I always told them was “you can call the social worker whatever you want in your bathroom, where nobody can hear you, but don’t say that stuff to the children, or the contact supervisors, or the social worker”    – don’t make it hard to be liked.   Being likeable doesn’t mean being a doormat, but being likeable is something you shouldn’t underestimate. It’s like chemistry.

2. All care proceedings are about giving something up. It’s unavoidable. If you hope to go into that final hearing and talk the Court into you letting you look after the children in exactly the same way as you’ve always done, you’re going to lose. Whether it is giving up drugs, alcohol, a relationship with someone violent, smacking the children, not doing housework, sleeping till two pm, you’re going to have to give up something.  Nearly all the time in court proceedings is spent with people either not accepting that they have to give something up, or pretending that they have given it up and catching them out.

If, instead, you approach it with the idea that “I want to change so that my children will be happier  or better looked after with me than they were” and try to change, you’re already in the top 5% of parents in care proceedings by that one simple decision.  And if you ask for help, and listen to the advice, you’re moving towards the top 2%.    Which means, when the Court is listening to your case, they are thinking “this mum/dad is so much better than the people we normally see”

3.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Honestly, everyone. When you make one, admit it and say that you want to learn from it, to do better in the future. Giving up things you’ve done for years isn’t easy, and you’re entitled to get help with that, and you’re allowed to say that some days it is hard, and some days you might need a bit more help than usual.

4. Turn up to all the contacts  – or at least, don’t miss contact unless you really have to, and tell people when you’re not going to come. When you’re at the contact, don’t be nasty about the foster carers to the children – the children need to know that even though you love them, it is okay for them to be with the foster carers and to like them and have a nice time.  If you can take something to contact that will be fun for the children, that goes down well. Don’t take loads of sweets and presents, some paper and crayons and spending time with the children works wonders. Get down on the floor and play with them.  Don’t promise the children bikes, or ponies, or x-boxes when they come home.  Don’t ask them to say that they love you and want to come home.

5. Nothing says “I’m a paranoid oddball who can’t be trusted” more than tape-recording every interaction you have.  It won’t be evidence anyway, and nobody will ever want to hear it. The only thing it does, is make everyone worry that you’re strange.

6. Get a good lawyer, and stay in touch with them.  There’s a balance, of course, between ringing them five times a day, and not talking to them for months at an end and not bothering to tell them that you’re back with so-and-so and pregnant.  If you tell them what’s happening, or particularly if you’re feeling like you might be about to make a big decision and you’re not sure if it is the right thing to do, they’ll be able to help you.  If they ask you to come in and see them, turn up. If they advise you to do something, it’s not because they’re mean, or nasty, it’s because they want to have the best possible chance at final hearing in getting you your children back. Give them some help.

Don’t believe any of the conspiracy nonsense that all parent lawyers are pawns of the Local Authority, or lazy or crooked;  some of them are smart, some are hardworking, some are inspirational, some work wonders – but no parent lawyer is ever, ever in the pocket of the Local Authority or doesn’t care about doing their best for you.

Child Case Worker Struck Off Social Work Register

February 9, 2013
A Shropshire social worker accused of a string of failures to conduct or complete assessments and to keep accurate records has voluntarily struck himself off his professional register.

As a result disciplinary proceedings against William Goodwillie, who worked for Telford & Wrekin Council, have been dropped by the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).

The withdrawn allegations claimed he was guilty of misconduct and by reason of ‘misconduct and/or lack of competence’ his fitness to practise was impaired.

It was alleged he had failed to conduct an initial assessment on a two-year-old child who had a repeated pattern of head injuries.

In its decision to withdraw allegations the HCPC says it has acted ‘on the basis Mr Goodwillie wishes to be removed from the HCPC Register voluntarily’.

An HCPC spokesman said: “Mr Goodwillie has admitted the allegation in full and has undertaken not to practise as a social worker.”

To view this article directly from the

Shropshire Star

News [online] click on the hyperlink below: (if the link does not automatically open, you can manually enter the URL in your address bar)

News | Articles | February 9, 2013 | Shropshire Star | Child Case Worker Struck Off Social Work Register

Smack My Kid Up – Violent Contradictions in the Corridors of Power

Smack My Kid Up – Violent Contradictions in the Corridors of Power.

Child Case Worker Struck Off Register For Misconduct

suesspiciousminds

 

 

A discussion of the High Court decision in Re S v D &E 2013, in which the High Court determined that a man who had donated sperm which led to the birth of a child could make an application under the Children Act 1989, although leave would be required.   The case involved two separate families where the issues were similar (although of course the precise facts were different, and were bundled up together)  – which becomes very important later on.

 

 As promised, LO !

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2013/134.html

 

 

The issue really arises as a result of the provisions within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, to the effect that in this setting, where a man provides gametes in order to bring about a pregnancy, but that the biological mother of the child is in a civil partnership, the two women will be legal parents of the child…

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NEWS | More than 50 Children in Birmingham State Care-Homes have runaway due to Harm &/or Abuse

Jeanette Oldham | Birmingham MAIL | Articles | 18 Jan 2013
(article last updated 11:53)

More than 50 Birmingham children who went missing were feared to have suffered harm or sexual abuse, the Mail can reveal today.

Birmingham City Council disclosed a total of 55 youngsters were believed to have been harmed, sparking a referral to social workers and, potentially, the police, since 2009.

Last November, the Mail revealed a total of 5,794 youngsters had gone missing from state-run and private care homes in Birmingham over that period.

The city council refused at the time to say how many of those children were suspected to have been harmed or subjected to sexual offences during their absence.

But it has now revealed the figure of 55 after being repeatedly pressed on the subject by this newspaper.

Our original investigation also uncovered that the authority’s children’s services department, already in special measures, was breaking government orders by not offering ‘return interviews’ to all runaways, a requirement since 2009.

The council is currently employing two charities to help meet its statutory obligations, costing the taxpayer almost £100,000 in 2012.

The 55 cases included 13 referrals to social workers following return interviews carried out by the Children’s Society on behalf of the authority in 2009 and another 15 in 2010.

But in 2011, when Lotto funding used to pay for the interviews dried up, only two referrals were made.

In 2012, when the council started to pay the charity to conduct interviews, 25 referrals were made because of abuse fears.

Despite the figures unearthed by the Mail, the council awarded itself a score of 12 out of a possible 15 marks in 2010, the last year authorities were allowed to self-assess their performance in safeguarding missing children.

That rating was questioned by Andy McCullough, head of strategy and policy at charity Railway Children, which fights to protect street kids.

He said: “These figures make uncomfortable reading as there is clear evidence between sexual exploitation and instances of young people going missing, particularly on multiple occasions.

“What you have unearthed is a discrepancy between what a local authority is doing to protect vulnerable missing children at risk of abuse and what it says it is doing. When compelled under the Freedom of Information Act, local authorities are admitting they have broken government orders by not carrying out return interviews, despite the fact they have been required to do so since 2009.”

In a statement, Birmingham City Council said: “The Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board ensures that all agencies work together to share information regarding missing children and to assess risk level.

“We also work closely with voluntary organisations such as the Children’s Society who visit families to discuss problems and look at what help they may need and, if necessary, make a referral to a statutory agency.”

The Mail’s investigation also revealed other councils across the Midlands were failing to interview returning runaways.

Wolverhampton City Council recorded 1,112 missing children reports between 2009 and 2012 but carried out only 67 return interviews – meaning potential abuse cases may have been missed.

The authority received £15,000 in charitable funding to fund the interviews from April 2009 to March 2010, but failed to conduct any during the whole of 2009.

In 2010 it completed 52, despite recording 302 missing kids that year.

And only 30 of the 52 interviews were carried out within 72 hours of the youngsters’ return, in line with statutory requirements.

After the external funding dried up, the authority had to pay for the crucial interviews itself. But it carried out just five in 2011 and 12 last year. The council was unable to provide information for the number of children believed to have been harmed or subjected to sexual offences in the past four years.

But one child was recorded missing from local authority care 64 times between 2009 and 2011.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council recorded 1,791 missing children reports since 2009 but did not carry out any return interviews between 2009 and 2010, nor any in the financial year 2011-12.

A total of 35 were conducted in 2010-11 and 74 between April and October last year, including with two children who had been harmed while they were missing.

Of the four children’s homes in Dudley, one recorded that children had gone missing on 1,157 separate occasions between 2009 and 2012.

Sandwell Borough Council said it did not hold information for the total number of missing children reports between 2009 and 2011.

Since the it has now recorded 343 runaways from care and home since January 2012. Sandwell Council said it had never carried out return interviews and claimed the police performed that duty.

But police conduct ‘safe and well’ checks while local authorities are required to complete return interviews.

In Walsall, just two children were recorded as going missing from foster care for a period of less than 24 hours in 2009, but that rocketed to 56 in 2011.

Nine kids went missing from residential care homes for less than 24 hours in 2009, rising to 33 the following year, before falling to 29 in 2011.

to view this article directly from Birmingham Mail’s online News Articles, you can click on the hyperlink below

Birmingham Mail | investigation into LA runaways exposes 50+ Care Home Kids left due to abuse

Private (Criminal) Prosecution as a LIP

Private (Criminal) Prosecution | Parent’s Rights Blog

How do I initiate a private criminal prosecution without a solicitor or the police?

Click here to read article directly from Towards Change – Parent’s Rights Blog

Please let April come home to us

METRO (Newspaper) Wednesday 3rd October, 2012
by NADIA GILANI

THE parents of missing five-year-old April Jones last night pleaded for her kidnapper to let her go.

Coral Jones, 40, and her husband Paul, 43, issued their heartfelt plea as police questioned a suspect over their daughter’s disappearance.

They said: ‘Last night our lives were shattered when our beautiful little girl, April, who was playing with friends, was taken from us.

‘We are devastated and our lives have stopped. Please, please if you have our little girl, let her come home to us.’

The appeal came hours after officers detained a 46-year-old man, thought to be Mark Bridger, as they patrolled the north of the Powys town of Machynlleth.

He was said to be a person they were looking for in connection with April’s disappearance on Monday evening. A vehicle, which he ‘had use of and which is of interest to the inquiry’, was also being examined by forensic officers last night.

Bridger was said to be well known in the town and to April’s family but was not a relative.

Det Supt Reg Bevan said officers were ‘hopeful the suspect will assist us in locating April’ and that the hunt was continuing ‘with the view that she is still alive’.

April was last seen getting willingly into a van while playing with friends near her home.

Hundreds of people joined the hunt for the five-year-old yesterday, while the armed forces and specialist teams equipped with thermal imaging cameras were drafted in.

Police are also checking for links to another attempted abduction in the area a week ago. They are investigating the movements of registered sex offenders living in the area.