Charging parents to have their children taken into care - what do you think?

[Manda25]

I work for a Children's service with LAC. Over the last few weeks parents have been told that they will be charged to have their child taken into care - a lot of the parents have taken their children back home (decided not to pay!) and have decided to 'work with' the system or haven't been in contact again.

Just wondering what people thought of this approach and if it is usual for other SS/CS to do this ?
(obviously this is not done to the kids in danger or being abused - just to the parent who say they 'cant handle' their kids and think it is someone else's responsibility to look after their kids)

Majority I deal with don't have the money & you wouldnt get any out of them. They kick up enough fuss about losing CB

I'd worry if a home living with parents who didn't want them was the best place for the kids to be. But then I suppose a children's home isn't exactly a good place either.

How does this work with children who access respite?

I think it puts those who really are finding it hard to live at home at risk.
if the parents cannot afford to go to Social services so that their child can be cared for then what happens? the child leaves home and lives on the street?

I do see why it is being done but no, im not convinced.

Onlyjoking - i am not sure - and it also might not be / starting to happen Nation wide.

We have 6 kids - out of them 2 should be at home (in my opinion) they have parents who love them (in their own 'special' way) ..putting your kid in care has seemed to become a punishment for some parents ..so I think it is a good idea on one level ... but i do think some children in real need might slip though the net because of it.

Can we ask which authority this is Manda?

I would rather not say - more because of identifying myself not the LA !

Bad idea - the idea that someone would reach out for help and might the be forced to make a decision as to whetehr they can cope or not based on a financial penalty makes me incredibly sad. I know so many parents who have done some truly awful things (through/with their children) in order to get extra money - they would never have accessed any help that actually cost them anything.

The type of parents who are willing to lose the money are probably the type of parents you could work with - it's the ones who decide money is more important than either their or their children's welfare that frighten me.

At some point these people have to take responsibility for the fact they brought another human into the world. it's all too easy for them to give the child over when they've had enough and the tax payer has to foot the bill.
We can't carry on haemorrhaging money to these people
Something has to be done to protect innocent children though.
It would be far better if they never had the kids in the first place of course and made they decision not to have them based on the act that they couldn't afford it and have no idea how to parent.
These parents treat their children like someone would a dog for christmas, great as babies then they get given away.
I taught at a school where a woman did this, every time she had a new baby the oldest child was carted off to care The older children would have to watch their mother come and collect the younger children after school whilst they waited for the taxi. It was shit. She shouldn't have been allowed to carry on breeding. Shocking