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First off, if this is not the correct forum, I apologise and feel free to move the thread, I am not certain where this should go but I do know this category is the fastest moving so will get attention faster if this is the case.
Child arrangement order and court as a whole finished up back in March. I see my boy every fortnight for the weekend. Childrens Services last involvement had been to assure CAFCASS (this is noted in a Section 7 report) that should there be any further incidents (involving domestic disturbance or alcohol abuse at the childs home), they would be progressing their involvement to Child Protection. All has been relatively smooth, but after 9 months of peace, here we go again.
I contact Childrens Services with a concern after my son tells me about his mum and her partner fighting at his home. The person on the switchboard asked me whether this was to do with an open or closed case so she could direct my call. I tell her it was closed around the time of the court case, only to be put on hold and told it is in fact open. Mouth open, I'm put through to a social worker.
Aside from the exasperation of being kept in the dark about Childrens Services being involved with my son, I'm told my son is now classed as a Child In Need. After meeting the social and two weeks of me constantly harassing different social workers and their managers over the phone, I have discovered that domestic disturbances, police visits to my sons home and potentially a direct threat to my sons safety being disclosed to his school are the causes of him being classified as a Child In Need. I've been invited to attend a Child In Need meeting next week.
My questions really are: What are the differences between a child being classified as In Need as opposed to being in Protection? The jargon being used by social workers and their managers doesn't make this clear, as they both seem to amount to the same thing - making sure my son is OK. Aside from anything, I don't feel that Childrens Services are being proactive enough in making sure my son is in fact OK. Would him being in Protection mean they do more directly? It seems that they meet my son once a fortnight and talk to him, and his overall well being is still being left up to his mother. The professional help offered to her in this scenario seems to be voluntary - if she feels she needs help, she is to seek it.
Are there further steps I can insist Childrens Services take, and is this meeting the right place to make it clear that I don't feel him being a Child In Need goes far enough? I've told several people at Childrens Services that I feel this way, but it seems my thoughts on the whole subject are dismissed. It feels that the only reason Childrens Services are even talking to me in the first place is because I'm making myself a nuisance with constant phone calls asking what is going on.
Thanks in advance to all who take the time to read this and offer assistance.
This link might help you to understand what the process of a child in need meeting is and how best to prepare for it.
http://survivingsafeguarding.co.uk/child-in-need-meeting-cin-section-17/
From the same website, info about Child Protection meetings
http://survivingsafeguarding.co.uk/child-protection-meetingconference-cp-section-47/
My understanding is that escalation from a child in need to child protection usually indicates a shift from a child requiring extra help to a child being at risk of serious harm.
Thank you for the replies.
The links you posted are actually the first two I'd read on the matter, before straying on to the less helpful second and third pages of Google.
Without going in to specifics, there was a report made that strongly indicates a risk of serious harm. It was made by my sons maternal grandmother to his school - a disclosure he made to her. The school passed this on to Childrens Services, who in turn passed it on to the Police. It's my understanding that because my son did not repeat the allegation to anyone in Child Services or the police, that it is being dropped. Naturally, I find this unacceptable. The incident is in no way trivial - my child is at risk.
What I would like to clarify is if this meeting is the correct place to assert this, because it most certainly is my goal.
hi yes the meeting will deal with all aspects on the concerns and they will discuss it with you fully
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