Is it possibly to sign over parental responsibility for a teen?

[Lovemusic33]

Firstly just to say that I am posting on behalf of someone else so this isn’t my teenager and I feel feel this child and her mother.

The child in question is 16 and has been a handful for the past 2 years to the point where her mother couldn’t cope with her and she was put into Forster care with a family friend, mother still have regular contact. Mother has SN’s and health conditions herself which is why she just couldn’t cope with her child’s behaviour. Things have got really bad, suspected drug use and mental health issue, physically assaulting people that are trying to help, running away from foster home, getting in trouble with police and getting mixed up with the wrong people. Police have now returned the teen too mother even though she’s meant to go to the foster carer, foster carer is refusing to have her and the police are saying she has to stay with her mother. Her mother is scared as she ends up getting physically abused. Are the police correct in saying she has to stay there?

This child is at huge risk, she keeps getting out, often with nothing on her feet (she just ups and leaves), she manages to travel half way across the country with no money.

Social services don’t seem to be doing anything. Her mother doesn’t want her in the house as she’s scared she will seriously assault her.

Where does she stand? Can she sign over parental responsibility?

Shes either involved in county lines or she is been trafficked. Have you watched the programme 3 girls

Also go 2 Council they will house her

@Christmasfairy2020

Shes either involved in county lines or she is been trafficked. Have you watched the programme 3 girls

I haven’t seen it, not sure if I should watch it. I don’t want to put too much info on here as she’s not a blood relative (it’s complicated) and I don’t want anyone to recognise the situation although I’m sure there are many girls similar to her.

SS are trying to find somewhere for her to live but I don’t think she’s safe to be housed alone, she’s only just turned 16 and has obvious mental health issues which have been made worse but drugs (possibly drug induced psychosis). In the past few months she has run away many times, been found all over the country and has had various police forces looking for her. She had physically assaulted most of her family members and her foster carer. She’s obviously very unwell but when accessed by mental health she masks pretty well and they say she has no mental health issues.

Aww gosh how awful. Watch 3 girls honestly on BBC iplayer or netflix

She needs to ask for a section 20 from ss and voluntary share parental responsibility with her LA. They will have a duty to house her and they might try to fob her off but the mum shouldn't let them. She needs to refuse to have her and ss will find her somewhere.

They will fund independent supported placements until she's 18 and then support her into a more permanent accommodation.

@StarryNight468

She needs to ask for a section 20 from ss and voluntary share parental responsibility with her LA. They will have a duty to house her and they might try to fob her off but the mum shouldn't let them. She needs to refuse to have her and ss will find her somewhere.

Thank you, at the moment mum is refusing to have her but grandmother has taken her in (I don’t think it will last as grandmother is elderly). I think SS are dragging their heels as they don’t have anywhere to place her.

@Lovemusic33 they will, they just won't want to pay for it unless they're forced.

This enrages me - the poor Mother - why is it services are so under resourced and unwilling to help - what is ths bloody point in them being there - I would suggest your friend looks at supported housing for young people in her area and gets SS to refer? There is an excellent organisation called Alabare where I live thaf run several services for struggling teens - ‘3 Girls’ may not be what is going on here but County Lines very probably - teen girls can be monsters - dd19 now great after years of strife and DD14 currently awful - I totally sympathise with your friend but her experiences are another level and there is no way she should be tolerating this abuse - it is CPV (child to parent violence) - it has increased massively in recent years and is slowly being recognised - every time she gets assaulted, she must call out Police - SS will be compelled to act faster - good luck OP

There is a national shortage of foster placements - as in social care are struggling to even place babies, and are having to place primary school aged children in residential units.
They genuinely do have no where to put her.
I know this doesn't help your friend - but they aren't fobbing her off because they just don't want to place her - they will have no other choice.

I think it is likely if she has already been in foster care that her mother has already signed Section 20 as otherwise the placement would have been illegal.

She's over 16 @Galley649 they will have access to independent placements with support staff. They can only use those placements when there aren't any other available options as they cost so much.

@Galley649

There is a national shortage of foster placements - as in social care are struggling to even place babies, and are having to place primary school aged children in residential units. They genuinely do have no where to put her. I know this doesn't help your friend - but they aren't fobbing her off because they just don't want to place her - they will have no other choice.

I think it is likely if she has already been in foster care that her mother has already signed Section 20 as otherwise the placement would have been illegal.

I’m unsure what was signed but I’m guessing she signed a section 20, the foster carer was a family friend so I’m not sure if that makes a difference?

I think social services are looking for a placement but are struggling to find anywhere, now grandmother has agreed for her to stay there I expect SS won’t rush to find somewhere else despite grandmother being in her 80’s

I think the main fear is that she will harm herself or someone will harm her. The police don’t seem to do much even though she has been caught breaking the law several times and has been found miles away from home with no shoes on her feet.