to complain to social services that my friend lost access to her niece and nephew?

[haodiaoam]

I had to report my friend’s brother to social services. I hated doing this. But I’m a mandated reporter and what I heard concerned me greatly.

Social services have told her brother that the report was made by someone close to one of his family members. This is despite me insisting the report remain anonymous. This is what they agreed to, and they agreed to frame the investigation as a routine check. I asked for this to protect myself, my friend and the children. My friend’s brother immediately knew the report was made by someone close to his sister (my friend) because the family is tiny.

Now my friend has lost all contact with her niece and nephew. Her brother is furious and he said because it was someone she knew that reported that it must have been malicious and she is unsafe for his children. She is devastated to say the least.

i wanted to make life safer for the children but now they’ve lost someone they are very close to and its the start of the summer holidays. So they’ll have even less support and eyes on them than usual.

I’m going to report this to social services. is there anything else myself I or my friend can do? I understand Aunts have no legal rights to their nieces and nephews so perhaps nothing can be done. but my friend is unwell with how much she’s already missing the children.

Thank you

That's awful.

Social services shouldn’t have revealed anything at all about the source of the report. Can you sue?

Nothing you have done has been unreasonable BUT you are correct the aunt has no right to access. I would complain to SS Manager about the way this has been handled. It has potentially made the children more vulnerable.

SS has nothing to do with your friend seeing the children or not. It's the father's decision.
You should have done a report which couldn't be linked to close family.

Social Services can never guarantee full anonymity if a referrer. Ultimately any info they hold is discoverable if a case goes to court.
They can protect you in terms of not actually naming you but it usually is fairly easy to work out for families at least broadly speaking where a referral came from. Did you discuss potential implications of a referral with your friend before you made it ? And was it a safeguarding / child protection referral?

If I understand this right, you reported the brother and because the brother believes it was his sister who made the report, he has stopped her contact with his children?

You should make a complaint and the local authority should have details about how to do that on its website.

There are 2 issues. The way your information was dealt with and the fact that the children as a result have lost contact with a family member who potentially could be part of a safeguarding network.

If you can’t find the right place on the LA website then just google “how to make a complaint about x authority social care”.

Its been social care, not social services, for around 25 years btw

I understand your concern that they have lost a person who may have provided support and a listening ear. However as far as her brother is concerned she broke his trust by sharing her concerns. You must have known that as far as safeguarding is concerted noone can promise confidentiality. Hopefully the disclosure has put another piece in a picture with school etc. All she can do is let SS know that she remains available for the dc should the situation warrant it. How old are dc, do they have any autonomy?

Does your friend know that you made the report and understand why you had to do so? If not, all she can do is keep telling her brother she knows nothing about it and hope he soon realises that he and the children are missing her support. I would complain if I was you, why would SS have to say where the report came from?

If your friend knew about what you told social services and did nothing,. I can understand why social services have not allowed contact. How she feels isn't a priority. It's those children who are.

I was in a very similar situation and made a formal complaint to the LA. They did investigate but the SW just lied and said they hadn't disclosed to the parent what the parent said they had. But the information could not have come from any other source. It was fairly serious in my case because threats were made but we didn't even get an apology.

Yep keeping anonymity is not a priority. My own narcissist malicious mother reported me 'anonymously' once and they straight up told me it was her

Sue - for loss of.....?

Did they actually say it though, or has the brother decided this is what happened based on his whatever he thinks. It's not really a social services thing to divulge information as it can put others in danger

Can't she just keep denying she knows who it was. It doesn't say close to HER, only close to the family. So could've been any one of his own acquaintances, neighbours or friends.
It does seem awful if they did give any info about who it might've been. But ultimately there's no proof so if I was her I'd just stand by the fact it wasn't anything to do with her.

This. They haven’t told him who reported, they’ve given him some information and he’s just guessed.

what do you mean by mandated reporter, you’re a mandated reporter for the children in your care, like a teacher or nursery nurse? You must’ve known they don’t guarantee complete anonymity

Sue for what ?

Unfortunately they told me over the phone that they did actually say it.

Is this negligence where fuck all will be done anyway if the local authority are anything like my local one or are you preparing yourself for another baby P situation here?

If you had good reason to report then you've done the right thing. Unfortunately, I'd imagine the odds were against the sister having continued access though.

If you are a registered professional who has a duty to report in line with registration standards you cannot report anonymously anyway, you can ask that as far as possible your identity is treated as confidential as you are doing this in private capacity but the brother will have worked out that it is someone connected to the family.
i do not think there are any grounds for a complaint.

Sorry. x-post

This.
Also, people seem to be under the misconception that social care can dictate who can and cannot see the children which is generally not the case. The parents are the only ones with parental responsibility here so, although social care can advise, they have no authority to make the father let the auntie see her niece or nephew. The only time social care can do this is when they share PR with parents when some sort of court order is in place (usually a care order). As it stands and based on the information you have shared, it’s entirely up to the children’s parents to decide.