i need advice about social services ?

Question

My sister is in a psychiactric hospital, my nephew who is my godson is being looked after his grandparents ( my mum and dad) very well.
Social services have been notified, and despite our attempts to assure the doctors nurses e.t.c of the strength of our family unit, they have called a meeting with the school S.E.N next week to discuss my nephews needs in school.
as far as we are aware he has no needs, we have not been informed of any and his only 'issue' is that he sometimes has an accident, which is not uncommon in young boys.
i feel so tearful, trying to cope with my sister in hospital, my mum and dad worrying and full time work i feel like i might explode.
can anyone tell me how social services referrals work, am i right to be worried? i saw nanny 911 last night, a kid tried to stab his mother with a corkscrew- why arent social services involved there!!!!

Answer 1

Don't worry about this. Social Services have a duty of care to any child who is in your nephew's situation. They are just carrying out the routine checks/meetings that they have to do.

I'm sure everything will be just fine. If your nephew is being well cared for, Social Services will not want to get involved. They are overworked as it is, and are not going out looking for trouble.

I wish you and your family all the best at this difficult time.

Answer 2

Usually when a child is removed from the home of the parent they try to place it with a family memeber if there is one that is willing to take it however they have to do a complete investigation of that home as well. It might not be just your moms age that is in question here, she already has two other children she is raising and it might be more they are concerned about the finacial end of it and the condition of the home.......would she have room for anothe one. They can not adopt your child out until the courts have stripped you of your parental rights and in order to do this there wil be many court hearings and you will be given chances to get your son back first, you will have to attend counceling, parenting classes, anger management classes etc, you will have to find a job, a place to live everything. Only after you have refused to do all of this will they take your rights away from you and place the child up for adoption until then you will have visitation to the child although it may be supervised same with your family. You can get an attorney ( go to legal aid if you need) and be represented during all of this and the attorney can fight to get the child with your mom, however it is hard to do because the child was removed from your custody and they might feel mom wouldn't follow the guidelines set regarding you and visits. I know you are bitter but they always try to reunite a parent and child unless the parent is proven to be unfit. I am now raising my neices two boys who she had taken away from her due to neglect she is allowed to see them 2x a week supervised and as soon as she finishes her parenting classes they will extend it she is working with social services and will get her kids back if she quits then she won't. Your son is being taken care of now so just concentrate on doing what needs to be done to get him back instead of where he is.

Answer 3

We have recently adopted 3 children from social services. Our middle daughter had one on one support in daycare - even though she is not that hard to take care of. This was due to social services. Though parents have to fight hard for the services that their children need, children in foster care are very closely monitored. The social workers have to look at every individual need that a child may have, and then make a plan to meet that need. It likely isn't something to be upset about - but one of the only bonuses that comes from having S.S involved. Your nephew won't be 'lost in the system.' True it is a little overboard sometimes, and like our daughter, your nephew would not likely have been looked at if they weren't involved - but it is not likely to hurt him or your parents to have his needs assessed.

Answer 4

social services are required by law when a child is involved in such a case as this,they will act in the best interest of the child they already know that the child is living with its grand parents,school needs to know this information and when he gos out to work right up to the age of 18,I had a social worker right up to 18,each six months they would come to check me out they always know of anything that going on in life,best advice is to enjoy yourself as best as you can,don't worry

Answer 5

The social services probably have to check up just to cover themselves in cases like this. Try to stay calm its no good you ending up ill as well as your sister. Everything will work out alright in the end and I wish you and your family all the luck in the world.

Answer 6

Do not trust social services one bit! They will build a case against you without your participation, remove the child from his family and have him adopted before you can draw breath. Go to www.fassit.co.uk. They have great advice. Another good one is www.forcedadoption.co.uk

Answer 7

Social services is required to make a check. They will be just as releived as you are that there are no adjustment issues. Trust me, they do NOT want a bigger caseload. Nany 911 is a reality show, so you can regard it as fiction.

Answer 8

i would believe its because they would like to see how is doing i really dont think they are doing this to hurt you, but they will need to know if the child is being looked after and is not having any problems at home or at SCHOOL, sounds like ur family are doing just that soi wouldnt worry, dont see why they should a well cared for child out of someones life or home just like that. stop worring about things that havent happened yet or you might just explode! and see a doctor if its all getting to much. good luck

Answer 9

dont worry about ss they basically tick the boxes. School will tell them he is fine living with grandparents which i might add is lovelly if your sister is having problems. It saves them having to do anything at all! They may be worried your nephew has a problem with him , may be a behaviour problem which the doc and nurses are concerned about he may well need extra help at school which you may not be aware off or noticed but a different pair of eyes have seen. DONT worry about him being taken off your family NEVER HAPPEN, trust me.

Answer 10

It could just be a rountine visit to make sure that he is being looked after well. The school may have also called them maybe he is having trouble accepting about your sister being in a psychiactric hospital and vents it at school. My nephew does it when his dad goes to iraq and ss are always visiting my sister. I hope that it goes ok for you and your family