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An update on my situation... safeguarding concerns ignored.
Attended FHDRA on 6/9 after telephone interview with cafcass on 29/8. During the interview I raised several safeguarding concerns which I consider to be major. During the FHDRA I was given a copy of the letter from cafcass to the courts. After getting home I realised there were several errors and omissions in the letter and emailed cafcass and sent a copy to the courts by email.
One of my questions in the email was if the issues of my safeguarding concerns had been referred to social services. Bear in mind that I am the only person who was aware of these issues and this is the first time I'd raised them. I also expressed that our telephone interview was already nearly two hours long and felt that I did not have time to discuss several other concerns which I had not yet raised.
Today I received a response. Cafcass stated that social services had been informed in writing but had "decided to take no further action as they felt the concerns raised had already been previously assessed". This just isn't possible - social services had absolutely no knowledge of these issues previously. They didn't even reply about the concerns I had not yet raised. These concerns will be raised with the courts as part of the evidence I have been granted permission to submit.
I feel like these concerns have been totally ignored. They are the basis of my application for residency as our childrens safety could be at serious risk. Cafcass said not to send a lengthy response as they will have no further interaction with this case other than to submit police reports to the courts.
My question is, where do I go from here?
Do I wait until the fact finding? Or until a section 7 report is compiled? Will the courts ultimately base their decision on the opinions of cafcass and social services? If they are just ignoring these concerns not only do I stand no hope of winning my case but our childrens safety will continue to be at risk. I'm at a loss - I have no idea what to do next.
It can be the case that issues that we think are very serious won't be viewed in the same vein by the authorities. Sometimes you have to step back and try not to appear too confrontational.
You have tried to discuss your concerns with them and have received a fairly strong response that no further correspondence should be sent to them, as they will be having no further involvement with the case.
It's best that you do as they ask and concentrate on presenting your case to the court, and try not to second guess what might happen in the future, as this will only cloud your judgement.
I do understand what you're saying Mojo. I don't want to be confrontational. But am I just expected to allow my concerns to be ignored when ignoring them could result in serious injury or possibly even loss of life? One of the concerns I've raised involves my ex driving with a heart condition that she has refused to divulge to DVLA or to her GP, which causes her to become dizzy and/or pass out. I've spoken to medical professionals about this and they say her condition is possibly some form of arrythmia or possibly supraventricular tachycardia and that if left untreated it could lead to a stroke. If she was driving at this point in time this could cause horrendous injuries or even a fatality. There is no way of predicting when these symptoms will occur and I've listened to her heartbeat when it happens - it sounds like a babies heart on an ultrasound machine. Incredibly fast.
Every day that our children are in the car with her, there is always that possibility. I've also pointed out that she has had a string of accidents over the years (three in the past 18 months, over 20 in the past 8 years). She also has terrible spatial coordination which she's admitted to on several occasions, refused to refrain from driving after up to 42 hours without sleep, etc. This can result in microsleeping which the driver is unaware of and is a major cause of road traffic accidents, sometimes serious enough to cause fatalities. This isn't just a safety issue for my ex partner or our children, it could also endanger other road users.
Another issue was my ex beating the children and bullying them beyond reasonable chastisement. Her reasons for doing these things at the time were that the children didn't understand their homework or they hadn't tidied up, or that she was in a hurry.
I've only recently raised these concerns, as well as many many others, which social services cannot possibly have assessed. They simply weren't aware of them.
So what do I do? Wait for the next hearing and let the courts decide? Contact social services directly? Point these things out to cafcass at the risk of annoying them further? Cafcass are the people that recommend to the courts how things should proceed, but if they aren't following things up properly the end result could be that they are ignored altogether. I've been granted permission to submit the evidence I have of all of these things.
I'm not trying to cause trouble with cafcass. I'm not even trying to cause trouble for my ex (even if an accident was caused without my children being in the car, the children could be deprived of their mother). I genuinely have a reasonable fear for the children's safety and wellbeing and even that of my ex partner, at least for the children's sake if not for hers.
Any other suggestions please?
Paul I do think you need to take a step back. You've had a strong response from Cafcass and if you continue to push, you will not do yourself any favours in the eyes of the court.
If you have serious and immediate concerns, you can try to raise these with Children's Services directly. They will assess if there is a need to take immediate action.
Everything else, you must as Cafcass have told you, address these via the court at the appropriate time. You haven't even had a S7 report yet....... You will either be directed to file a statement of evidence, or can ask permission to file one if there is immediate reason to do so.
I understand that it is frustrating and the court wheels turn slowly, however, you need to let people do their job and jump through the proverbial hoops when asked. If you continue to hassle Cafcass, you will just end up being chastised by the court. Likeability goes a long way in family proceedings, and please be assured that in most cases, the organisations involved will act when necessary.
Thank you Yoda. I've sent you a private message.
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