Waiting for welfare check. What to expect.

[Startaler]

Hi, asking on behalf of my son.
Brief background information: my son had a baby with his ex when they were both very young, 17 and 15, and split up when their DD was a couple of months old. From the time DD was born, she spent nights at both homes and when they split up, this was pretty much 50/50. Both parents lived at home during this time. Mothers home life was pretty unstable at this time and SS became involved. DS was only allowed information on his DD so we were not aware of the whole situation but he understood almost problems stemmed from the grandmother and supported baby's mum as much as possible. Baby's mum moved in with a new bf and his family and things settled down. DS continued to have his DD 50% of the time. SS are no longer involved with the mum or their DD.

The mother has now moved into her own home with Bf. Since then she has actively tried to stop DS contact with his daughter. In September she blocked all contact and refused him access to his DD. He immediately began mediation. When they met, the mother agreed to go back to 50/50 shared care and gave no reason for denying access. This lasted a few weeks and again she is denying him access.

DS has now initiated legal proceedings for a child arrangement order and is awaiting a welfare visit. He is unconcerned about the welfare visit, we provide a very safe and stable home life for his DD. However he would like to be prepared and wondered if he would be interviewed at this time to gain a better picture or whether it's just a walk though the house to ensure it is safe and habitable for a young child.

There is obviously a lot more to this story than I have given but I have deliberately kept it brief. DSs main priority is his daughter and just wants her to have a stable life. He is asking the courts to formalise a shared care arrangement. If you would like more information I'm happy to share but not deliberately drip feeding.

Any information or experiences anybody can share would be really appreciated.

It will be a friendly chat to get his side of things and a walk around the property. Keep it open and honest without bad mouthing mum or making assumptions, not that I am suggesting he would.
You and whoever else lives there might also need to talk to the person, but they should let him know when the appointment is made.

However, because of CV the appointment might not be in person. But again, he should be given all relevant details.

Hope this helps to ease your mind and goodluck

Canigoo. Thank you 😊 This is pretty much what I expected but just wanted to make sure as the visit is mentioned in one sentence of a 13 page document. The visitor presents their findings to the court on the 2nd March so hopefully they will be out in the next week. We are keeping everything crossed for a speedy resolution. Poor DGD was so clingy to her dad after the last time, and now she's missing him again.

Your son sounds like a very doting father and everything in your post just shows that he is doing everything he can to have a relationship with his daughter.

You should be proud of him and good luck