Mum in despair at kid’s adoption


Mum in despair at kid’s adoption January 8, 2006 Source: Bedfordshire on Sunday 'The children's mother consented after being threatened that if she did not agree they would simply obtain a court order' THREE young sisters are to be put up for adoption despite their mother having numerous complaints upheld against the county's social services department. The girls arc now aged seven, five and three and their mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, contacted social services in June 2003 because she could not cope with the oldest one's behaviour. The case was to be referred to Children's and Adults' Menial Health Services but nothing happened and the mother called social services again in January 2004 after the girl assaulted one of her younger sisters. But rather than receiving help, council officers turned up at her home and took the children away. Their mother consented after being threatened that if she did not agree they would simply obtain a court order. In May she withdrew her consent but the children were not returned and the case has been going through the courts since then with a final ruling last September that the girls should be handed over for adoption. However, in the meantime their mother complained that it look loo long to organise contact after their removal, they were moved around several times without appropriate car seat restraints and one of the children was feverish mid lethargic during a contact visit. She also said social services failed to keep her informed about a hospital visit, failed to inform her of changes to contact details and failed to arrange appropriate contact. Of 12 complaints the mother registered, five were fully upheld and two partially upheld following an investigation. There was no finding on one issue. Since the investigation the mother has encountered further problems including a claim that one of the girls received bruising to her genital area which was unexplained. She also claims she was told the oldest girl did not want to see her but this was incorrect and was disputed in court. She said: "The judge has ruled that my children are to be taken away and I have been told there is little point in appealing but I don't see how social services can get away with this. "Yes I had problems with my oldest girl but I was asking for help, I never wanted her to be taken away. "Since the children were taken into care it has just been one problem after another. "I don't see how they can justify taking my children away when they don't seem to be able to do their own jobs properly. "They've ruined my life when all I needed was some help and there should be an investigation into how social services conducts such cases." Cllr David Reedman. Cabinet member with responsibility for children’s services. said: "The county council sincerely regrets the problems that this woman experienced in her dealings with social services during 2004. "We have apologised to her and explained how we have changed our procedures to prevent similar situations occurring again. "The council's social services department has made significant progress in recent months and is now out of special measures and has been awarded a star rating. "The department has a robust procedure for dealing with complaints that makes sure that the council always learns from its mistakes."
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