Ok, so I’m Not the best writing but I will do my best.
A few months ago I was approached by a social worker as was asked if I would take custody of my nephew as his parents were likely to lose him. It took a month or two to decide as I have no parental experience and I would be a lone parent. She then came back to me and after couple more days I agreed and this started the process. However through conversation it came out that I was at uni and this child would need to go in to nursery for part of the time until I’ve finished my studies. This was met with no we do not allow that and it was ended there. After a little time processing it over (I’m dyslexic so I need to extra time to make sense of information) I then called back and explained this needs to go ahead and your expectation are unrealistic as me and this child cannot be together 24/7 it would not be healthly for either of us. She told me she would speak to her manager and it was miraculously all ok then
It all went ahead and fostering was introduced so the child could be place with his family sooner. The visits went well however trying to get hold of the people I needed to as an up hill battle.
After a few visits from foster assessment I was then given a transition plan which was to attend the child’s home for a few hours everyday of the week then the week after he will come to me. I was given this 2 days before it was to start.
On the 2nd day of this an injury in my knee due to a previous road traffic accident didn’t react well to the 3 hours total travelling time which caught me off guard. I spoke with the foster carer and explained the situation. (I was told by foster manager and the advanced social worker and alterations around between me and the foster carer) she didn’t mention any objections rather offered up another complication (his brother would also be home from school at that time meaning I would not be able to ask questions or seek advice about this child’s future care) after this the remaining 3 days continued as normal
Then on the Friday I have another visit by the foster manager however starts to mention concerns with that I missed a day of transition and about a surgery coming up that I just happened to mention to the foster worker (who took it upon herself to pass this along to her social worker then she passed this on to the foster manager) I clarified that the surgery plans are not set yet as I only found out the days before and still exploring my options before bringing this to thier attention. He then left the visit not mentioning anything else
I then decide to raise this as a complaint as I felt the social worker and foster carer acted inappropriately and the foster manager decided to do a teams call which he wasn’t bothered about my complaint rather wanted to refocus to previous issues and then added when he came round he felt I was smoking in my bedroom. I explained this is impossible as the is now a smoke alarm in this room however after 6 years that room will take time to air out, he also mentions he felt the house had “degraded” since previous visits but did not at any time clarify what this mention. All I’m aware of is there was some plates on the kitchen side and in the sink and some clothes on the floor in my bedroom. Again I had to defend myself and mentioned it had been a very busy week with transition and the other commitments in my life (such as work, uni,etc). This was not sinking in at all and still remained in a position where these were concerns
As I felt I was getting no where with him I then submitted another complaint about this process and spoke to the foster managers manager. She thanked me for my time and said she appreciated hearing from my perspective. Since then I’ve heard nothing about that complaint
Then yesterday I was suppose to meet with both the foster manager and social worker but they changed this to teams and both explained the transition is being paused as the home cannot be regulated and. Ow they have to go back to court to decide on the next steps??????
I have no idea what is going on atm I’m suppose to have contact with the child’s guardian and request for this information have so far been ignored. Then I have this court case coming up with them talking away to each other saying things like we will both have a statement ready and he can make up his own statement.
All this time I’ve not been provided with any paper work at all nothing setting out expectations wants timescales etc and I’m a lone person. I have no one acting on my behalf the child has a social worker the foster carer has a social worker the social worker and foster manager both have the local authority. And then there’s just me not having a clue what I’m doing. As part of my defence I have noted how they have failed to carry out national minimal standards and failed to comply with the fostering service regulations
Through all this the stress has come from
Them not through this child. For example I had the foster manager tell me what he expected in the home one of which was 4 baby gates then was passed on the the social worker tho then only provided 2 and when questioned stated no you only need 2 then I have the foster carer tell me some of the other stuff provided is not adequate like a baby sleeping bag provided but it’s for 12 month old there is only one and it’s a summer one and to take this back to the social worker and get it sorted. I spoke with the foster manager about this and he told me to email this to the social worker and be forceful but professional. I did this and I still didn’t get the answered I need being told that’s all she could find in the age group and he will soon grow into it and if I wanted more than one I need to pay for this but no mention at all that it is a summer one not a winter one. This is just a tip of what they are doing that I feel like my head in a blender trying to understand.
Please can someone help me through this. What am I going to expect next week in this court case apparently I’m an interference to proceedings??? Why are they behaving like this? I starting to feel there’s some bias as I dared to file a complaint