ss and pre birth assessment

[hay2018]

Hi, Im new to this site and this will be my first ever post.

can anyone give me any advice on pre birth assessments. im meeting my social worker tom to discuss the report, has anyone else been in the same situation. she is so far unwilling to put in our disagreements to what she has written. when will we get a chance to put our side of things across?? she also wants to submit it before the 45day deadline, can she do this???
any advice would help.
thankyou

There should be a section in the report for your views and she should put your disagreements in that part and really your point of view should be reflected in the assessment even if she doesn’t agree with you.
You could write down your views and provide it to your social worker so that it goes on file or if you’re really unhappy you can progress it to their manager.
If the result of the assessment is further social services involvement you’ll have the opportunity to put your view forward at meetings.
It’s fairly normal that if the assessment is finished before 45 days that it’s submitted early.

thanks for replying. That meeting has been pushed backed till next week now as she is claiming to have got a further extension. I want it to be amended that the only reason it is not fully complete is because social services wanted to submit it before my midwife report and that as she failed to show up to one of our appointments it is there fault they havent got everything. because what we want to say is against her, she wont add it which we feel is unfair. I am now seeking legal advice, so fingers crossed.

Does anyone know if you are legally allowed to see the original referral to social services. (our came from the midwife) our social worker is being very vague on whether i can see the original and as i think she has reworded it, we'd like to see it. when if atall do we get to see it???.

any help again, would be great.

thankyou.

Sw can tell you what's in the referral and should. If your unborn is referred to a child protection conference the midwife has to share her report with you prior to the meeting.

An earlier pre birth is better it's not good practice to have them lasting in to the last 10 weeks of pregnancy.

A pre birth can be holistic or focus on particular areas of concern.

What are the concerns about your baby?

Hi,
A long time ago i had an issue with alcohol, which has long been resolved. however i suffer from seizures which may be a result of alcohol, this is yet to be confirmed. so when i found out i was pregnant i did not stop immediately i did the 10% reduction methed. unfortunately i had a seizure, so i went to the dr's and was told to stop reducing and to continue drinking (it is only half a can 4 days a week) and when i see mw arrange a safe plan then. i sought a 2nd drs opinion which said the same, im now on a safe reduction plan from mw. however at 1st booking appointment, i was honest and explained above and she said she would have to refer to ss.
they have not listened that this is a seizure problem, not an alcohol one. it is far more dangerous to have a seizure whilst pregnant than drink the little im on, i have been advised this twice and i am reducing now safely.
im worried as our sw is implying in the pre birth assessment that alcohol is an issue and they are concerned for the "future welfare and health of our child". they are highlighting that the baby wasnt planned,
exagerrated the units of alcohol in the initial referral.
my folder has the mw report and it states an entirely different amount, thats why i want sw to show me her copy, as i think she has altered it.
were concerned we are not being dealt with fairly and have issues with our allocated sw.
whats your thoughts.?
thanks for taking the time to read this

It no longer matters what the original referral said but what you do from hereonin counts.

You need your gp to validate that the advice you were given is correct and you need them to confirm what your seizures are related to.

Do they intend to remove your child from birth?

Obviously it's s huge risk to a baby if you are under the influence and not capable - it's also a risk if you have a seizure whilst looking after a baby

You will certainly get the chance to disagree with her report

You must take that report to the case conference and give it to the chair

The MW should be invited to the case conference so it can be ironed out there

You can ask for a copy of the referral from the midwife as she wrote it so she ‘owns’ it but also you can ask for a copy from the council if your social worker isn’t providing it to you.

It does matter what the original referrals says.

All the reports have to be shared with you including the pre birth assessment which will be the basis of going to the child protection conference or not. Pre births are positive or negative.

Are you engaged with the drug and alcohol service in your area?

the alcohol is so little and i will finish my plan in a week, so will be fully off it then. the seizures are rare and the babies dad will be a full time parent alongside me so they will not affect the babies quality of care.

when do you find out if there will be meetings and conferences. we do not know what they are plannnig. we are guessing that they will want to stay involved for a bit longer. if they do, will they have to do a conference or meeting? when do people usually start getting legal representation?

It's not "long resolved" if you were drinking enough when you fell pregnant to need a slow alcohol reduction. How many weeks are you?

It will be in your favour that you were honest at the outset, have sought medical advice and followed the advice too. Unfortunately a pre-birth is necessary as your abstaining from alcohol is recent, and as the baby isn't planned there is understandable concern that you may resume drinking in the near future. You know how you feel inside and how likely that is, but obviously SS have to be prudent in this kind of situation - everyone says they will stop drinking but of course not everyone does, so SS have to be as sure as possible.

I personally don't see why you can't see the referral.

I would advise you to be careful and choose your battles. There is no point nitpicking on ultimately irrelevant details. I appreciate that your level of alcohol use is an important detail and something to clarify though.

Your SW should record your views, there should be a section on the report for that. It is unlikely she will change her assessment (unless there are clear factual errors as opposed to opinion) but your views can be included.

The 45 day deadline is a maximum amount of time, not a time to aim for if that makes sense. If she is able to complete it well within that timeline that suggests she is hopefully quite efficient and not overworked, which is good.

Try not to feel that SS are against you. Truly, they don't want to remove babies. I have had to do it, and it's horrible, and you so want to help families fix things before that point. It really is an awful last resort.

The main thing they are looking for is that you understand the gravity of your past drinking problem, you understand this is a concern (again I appreciate that you no longer feel it's a problem, but objectively/on paper this needs to be seen by SS to be believed). If you minimise your past issues they will be worried that you don't think it's a big deal and are therefore likely to return to that behaviour. I'm not saying that is how you feel, I'm just trying to make you aware of how things could be perceived - remember these people don't know you and can only go on what they have.

Follow all advice, attend all appointments, connect with your bump, prepare your home - show you are putting your child first, before everything else, including alcohol.

A pre-birth is an assessment at this stage, nothing more. The result of it will be
A)no further action, case closed
B)a child in need plan
C)a child protection plan
D)possibly support via an 'early help' team if they have them in your area. This is lower level support.

Options B, C and D will have a plan generated for you to follow, with clear expectations. You will be involved in the making of this plan. It should be clear what they want to happen in order to help you make changes.

Sometimes in the child protection arena if things are very bad they may also start court proceedings alongside this but you should still have a clear plan to follow. If it goes this route you will get legal aid if needed.

I hope this is useful. Don't want to scare you with court, just giving you all the potentials. What you've said doesn't sound like it's there, but can never know from one post.

Good luck in your pregnancy.

also the reason why the referral is bothering me is that the amount of alcohol sw is stating i was drinking is different to what the midwife has stated, so it does matter. sw has changed it to a dangerous level, they may not have even continued to be involved if it was the correct amount?

If it goes child protection, a child protection conference will be arranged within a few days. This is where it will be decided whether or not your case should stay at the child protection level. You will then have regular meetings in between each conference to see how you are getting on with the child protection plan.

If it goes child in need, you will have child in need meetings (sometimes referred to as CIN meetings or section 17 meetings). They are a bit like child protection conferences but a bit less formal.

Usually they should tell you if they feel you need to seek legal advice.

That's why I said I understand that's a detail that needs to be clarified

Yiu should have been told under what intervention you are currently being seen. If it's just visits and a 3 monthly meetings it's called child in need.

If it's child protection that's a big conference you are invited to and it's decided whether the child becomes subject to a plan or not. You will be there. If it's going that way it's in this order; mw referral, visit, visit to say they want to pre birth, bunch of visits to complete pre birth, strategy meeting, single assessment written by sw shared with you and then child protection conference.

If you are invited to a pre proceedings meeting you need a solicitor to go with you but you will be given a letter from
Ss which says 'take this letter to a solicitor'

Name change fail haha. Don't want family to see my other one.

thanks for your reply. may i ask you one more question.

we have answered all questions asked of us during meetings and appointments, our sw wants us to answer a final list of questions "off the cuff" and in person. as these go in the final report and are very important and we do not want any further confusion over what is said (sw has previously reworded what i have said to sound bad) we asked for them in writing and would respond in writing. she said no we are not allowed, she then pressurised us for them and changed the final date the report had to be submitted to put pressure on us. she has also put in report we are unwilling to answer questions etc.

we are happy to, we just want it done in our words, we have answered questions "off the cuff" so we have shown willing. we just want this final set done in writing, she is still saying no, have you come across this before?

when we meet this week, should we stand firm and say we will answer only in writing, or answer them? even if we feel this is unfair, how much will it affect our report?

thank you for your time.

so far its gone the way you stated. mw, sw, meet,meet,meet, now draft of report then report. so is that child in need? im so confused.

what happens at these conferences? do they decide at one meeting? is there a chance they will want to remove our child?

It's just a pre birth - you will be told when it had a title. Try not to worry too much sore birth is a precaution lots don't trigger anything further. What is your partners situation any risks there?

First baby or do you have others?

no im not engaged in any services.

Im not in denial its just that its no longer an issue.

before i found out i was pregnant i would drink "normally" the only reason i did not abstain immediately is because i once had a seizure from coming off alcohol too quickly (this was when alcohol was an issue).

maybe im at fault, but when i found out i was pregnant i was stessed (which does contribute to seizures) i thought it best i reduce instead of instatantly stopping. I was drinking 1-2 units a day, alcohol free days etc. which i class as a fairly "normal" drinker. i was worried with the shock of pregnancy and genuinely being scared of having seizures that i thought this was safest. I have since realised i proberly should have just gone T-total.

I know alcohol is not a problem as when i do not drink i do not withdraw and i no longer have the mental attachment i once had. i am fully aware that these things may never completely disappear and i am aware to constantly check myself, but it isnt an issue and had the drs not advised me to stop reducing i would have been off alcohol sooner.

this is the problem im having, the sw is concentrating on the alcohol, just like all of your posts today, and no-one is listening when i try to explain it is a seizure problem.

I get it, alot of people are in denial of their addictions, but there are some, who do actually conquer them and move on. and people never believing you is frustrating and is damaging mine and my partners prospects of becoming parents. (sorry for rant, but this is the barrier im constantly coming up against)

when i meet the social worker, if she wont show the referral report, can i insist on seeing it that day, as the deadline is the day after. or should i speak to midwife before hand? im seeing mw day before?

what happens at these conferences, what are the likely outcomes? will the sw tell me anything when we go over the draft, id like to know what to expect??

will i be penalised for not engaging in alcohol services, even if i dont need them?

this is our first baby together. he has no issues his side. i feel like they took one look at us (we live in an estate) i was incredibly nervous and they hear the word alcohol and they made up there mind.

its upsetting, as we have not been able to enjoy this pregnancy and our sw has actually blatently lied to us several times. which she responds with, if you dont like it, complain.

I never realised they would be like this. at first i wasnt even worried when mw mentioned she's have to pass it to ss, as i thought, weve nothing to hide. now were both terrified!!

Ask her for the complaints leaflet if she won't show u the report.

Either cin or cp you will be given a list of expectations. One will be that you engage with (make and keep appointments with) the drug and alcohol service in your area. You might as well check that out now.

The estate living is irrelevant you are having a ore birth due to there being possible risks to baby. Foetal alcohol syndrome is very serious and more likely if you were drinking in the first trimester iirc

if they insist that i engage with alcohol services i will of course do that. i worry going down the complaint route, will upset my sw and make things worse for us.

would it help and resolve our issues, or just be noted that were not happy with how its being dealt with??

thanks for all of your help and advice today.

I can't really answer about the complaint without all the facts. Making a complaint would ensure someone else has oversight of the case - they should anyway (team manager or whatever). Complaints have to be dealt with by the agency procedure