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Social Services

Hi all,

apologies for The long chat but really need some help. 

so my nephew is currently on the child protection list and ss decided to pay a body on thursday unannonced. ss states that the flat wasn’t clean and that they were concerned that mum was hurting my nephew. Mum and dad were extremely angry and had told ss to leave which then involved the police comming. I was called to pick my nephew up. On the Friday, mum and I had to take my nephew to the hospital along with the ss to see if there was any evidence of mum hurting my N, doctor had said that bruises are down to him falling when having a seizure ect and also ss said that they may have overreacted. So Friday I was asked to keep my N until Monday where the ss will ring me and mum to catch up. They also stated that they would like to start doing assessments case I need to take him on. I suffer with really bad anxiety and worry a lot. I feel so sick as Monday is approaching and with what is going to be said. If I have to have him until the Monday theN surely they will let him go home after? Mum was aloud to dinner with son today so if it was really bad then surely they would have said no? I’m really confused and worried. My mind is all over the place with worry:(

thank you for taking the time to read. 

Replies

  • Hi sb1987, I used to Be a social worker in England (now live overseas) so hopefully I can help a little... while I can’t say for sure what will happen on your case as I don’t know all the details i can make some suggestions that might help you feel a little less anxious. 

    Firstly... well done to you for being there to help your sister and nephew. If social services asked for him to stay with you then that says a lot about what they think of you... they clearly think That you are a safe and stable person for your nephew to be with. 

    Secondly, please be assured that social workers really do have the best interests of the child at heart & will do everything they can to keep families together while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the child... hence why they placed him with you (a family member) and why they have allowed contact (your sister joining you for dinner)... maintaining the parent child bond is so important regardless of the difficulties and the social workers clearly have that in mind. 

    Its hard to say what will happen next but I am sure that it will involve a closer look at your sisters home situation and maybe some requests by the social worker of things that the parents need to do / change / improve in order for them to allow your nephew to go home. The best piece of advice I can give to your sister is that however upset she is (& I completely understand that she would be)... it is super important that she does everything she can to work with the social worker, try to stay calm (not get angry / abusive), attend all meetings that are arranged & try Hard to do what they are asking. That will give her the best chance of getting her son home and keeping him there.

    A child protection plan is put in place to address concerns and try to avoid an escalation which would result in a child being permanently removed from their family... it is social services way of trying to help make things better and safer. it is a step to try and help a family make good changes while at the same time keeping a child safe from harm. Harm doesn’t necessarily mean that they think that your nephew is being harmed intentionally... sometimes its just that the home environment is not safe enough to keep them from accidentally getting hurt... in either case, social services need to step in to help. 

    Good luck to you and your family, I hope things get resolved soon for you. 

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