Is there an Ombudsman for Children's Services?

[Shoshe]

If you needed to put a complaint above the immediate Social Workers and There Line Managers, how would you do it?

In the first instance submit a complaint to the councils own SS complaints department.

But expect the "stonewall" response.

In the first instance ask to speak to the social workers line manager and talk to them about your concerns.

Prepare yourself for the social workers to tell lies and be totally dishonest, though.

We have done the first bit and I am not happy with their response, that is why I want to take it further.

Write to tell them that you are unhappy with the first response and ask to go to the next stage of the complaints process.

Write to tell them you are not satisfied with their initial response and you wish to send the complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. Have they shown you all the documents on your file?

You will need to exhaust their own complaints procedure before you can go to the Ombudsman.

I have made serious complaints against social workers from CAFCASS and you are stonewalled. They investigate themselves and always avoid a level 3 complaint because this brings in an independent panel who look at what has happened. I suspect there will be something very similar in place with the Local Authority.

They as an organisation (Cafcass) are completely unconcerned if you go to the Ombudsman because the Ombudsman's role is not to look at the complaint as a whole, but the way the complaint has been dealt with.

I also believe you may have to go through your MP to access this.

Hopefully someone with experience of this will come along.

No. For the Local Government Ombudsman I do not think you need to go through your MP.

Lucinda is right - you do not need to go through your MP for the LGO. However, you must exhaust the council's complaints procedure before approaching the LGO.

CAFCASS is separate from social services and is not under the control of local authorities. If we are talking about an LA's social services department, the LGO does look at the whole issue, not just the way the complaint has been dealt with.

Thank You, will be seeing the SW tomorrow (Complaint is about there out of hours service mainly, although I am not happy really about how the whole case has been handled to be honest)

But certainly one SW in the OOHS was extremely rude and unhelpful, requests we made, were not on their notes and I was basically called a liar when I asked why no action was taken on my request.

This is the second time that OOHS have denied we have asked for something.

Have you made your complaint yet?

How do I take lying cheating social workers to the cleaners

LGO but look up the criteria first & try getting some assistance from an advocacy service as its a difficult process.

Zombie