Eight Children taken into care.

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http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/children-taken-care/article-714504-detail/article.htm

Friday, February 20, 2009, 09:47

EIGHT children and a woman were taken into the care of social workers by police wearing riot gear because of growing concern for their welfare. Twenty police officers in body armour and carrying Taser guns were called out to the house in Torquay shortly before lunchtime yesterday.They were joined by 10 social services officers from

Torbay Council who took the children, aged 15 and under into care, along with a woman.One man was also taken to Torquay police station where he is understood to be helping officers with their inquiries.Sgt Jacqui Rees, who led the joint social service and police operation, said: "The eight children and the woman are now under the care of the social services.
"The man is helping us with our inquiry."We had this joint operation with the social services because of concerns for the welfare of the children and the woman."It is understood some of the children may not have been attending school.

Sgt Rees said the officers attended the address while wearing body armour and carrying Tasers because of fears friends of the man in the neighbourhood may oppose the removal of the children and cause trouble. She added: "There were concerns for the safety of our officers."Police officers later took off their riot gear at the request of the social services because 'it might scare the children'. A police spokesman confirmed the operation was at the request of Torbay Council's social services. Sgt Steve Blair, head of the child protection team with Torbay police, added it was a sensitive operation and police were only there 'to add the weight of the law and make it happen'. He added: "We were asked to assist the social services in obtaining their objectives which was to ensure that these children were removed to a safe place, which is where they remain."

Torbay Council's people commissioner Carol Tozer or is it (Taser) said: "Torbay Council considers the safety of children as our paramount concern."We continue to work very hard to protect vulnerable children in the area and liaise closely with the police and other partners to ensure their safety."

4th March Demo Info.

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Grandparents Apart UK

A peaceful Demonstration against Social Services
Child Adoption and Family policies

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Wednesday 4th March 11.am
At
George Square Glasgow.

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Who is invited?
Grandparents, Mothers, Fathers, Step-parents, Uncles, Aunts.In fact everyone who cares about children is welcome.

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Reason:- To protest against the adoption, parenting, andgrandparent policies of our "out of touch Social Servicesdepartments" who now appear to be wholly incompetent andacting as a law unto themselves, with complete disregard forthe children's "Best Interests" (article 8 of the Human rights actand the UN convention for the rights of the Child)?

These policies are causing untold distress to children andfamilies. The proof being the recent outrage, regardinggrandparents who were by-passed for the adoption of theirgrandchildren We demand policies to be more in line withchildren's welfare and not to be treated as commodities to bedisposed of as in a business plan.

We call on everyone who cares for children's welfare todemonstrate your disapproval of these policies and also towrite to your MSPs, MPs in protest stating that you support ourprotest.
For full details follow this link for further information.


Grandparents Apart UK is a Scottish Registered Charity. No SC 031558 Staffed by volunteers. Registered at 22 AIness Crescent Glasgow G52 1 PJ

Thanks to Lisa Cohen from Jump

Birmingham and Black Country CAFCASS rated as inadequate by Ofsted
http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed32727

Ofsted report into Birmingham and Black Country CAFCASS services published
Oftsed has published it s latest area report on CAFCASS services for Birmingham and the Black Country.
Overall the service has been given a Grade 4 inadequate rating with inconsistencies found in assessment, case planning and recording and some unacceptable delays. In particular the report noted that in the Black Country area there is a problem with allocation of private law cases with waiting times of up to 20 weeks.
CAFCASS Chief Executive, Anthony Douglas responded by concentrating on the report’s acknowledgements of the progress being made at a national level
“I am pleased that the intensive improvements we are making to our services in Birmingham and the Black Country have been acknowledged. It will take eighteen months more to improve consistently across the country as we are changing fundamental working practices and that takes time."

The full text of the Ofsted report is available on their website, (http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Cafcass/Cafcass-Birmingham-and-the-Black-Country-service-area/(language)/eng-GB)


MPs, agony aunts and journalists to meet over family justice system
http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed32732
Campaigining MPs to highlight continued concerns over family justice system
A group of MPs, led by John Hemming, has organised a meeting at the House of Commons with a group of journalists and media agony aunts to discuss the care system and family courts. Those involved include Camilla Cavendish of The Times, Sue Reid of the Daily Mail, Kate Hilpern who works for the Guardian and Independent and Denise Roberston, Agony Aunt on This Morning. They will be discussing a series of proposals including
Allowing social workers more time to see children and families and less time in front of computers
Continue progress towards transparency in the family courts
Allowing parents to have a second opinion
Providing public support for appeals and contesting care orders
Providing some public support for Mackenzie Friends
Expert evidence should only come from regulated professionals
All hearings should have anonymous judgments
Clayton v Clayton should not be reversed
Serious Case Review chairs should be independent and appointed independently
National guidance is needed to define what "risk of significant harm" means
The meeting will take place on 25 February 2009.


LSC announces training help for mediation suppliers
http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed32721
£100,000 in grants for mediation training announced by LSC
The Legal Services Commission has announced that 14 mediation providers have been awarded grants to assist them train more mediators. The grants total £100,000, funds which the LSC hopes will
"support a trainee mediator and the organisation through both the Family Mediation Foundation Training Programme and the Competence Assessment Portfolio, in order for them to qualify to undertake publicly funded family mediation."
The recipients of the awards are:
Oxfordshire Family Mediation
Family Mediation Worcestershire
Mediation Herefordshire
Surrey Family Mediation Service
Focus Family Mediation Ltd
West Yorkshire Family Mediation Service
South Essex Family Mediation Service
Coventry and Warwickshire Family Mediation
Laceys Mediation
Family Mediation Cardiff
Fosters Mediation
Birmingham District Family Mediation
North East London Family Mediation Service
West Wales Mediation Service


More on this and the scheme in general can be found on the LSC website.
Moj / LSC formal response on graduated fees to be published this week
http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed32722
Full details of the changes to graduated fees to be published
It has been announced that the formal response to the consultation on Reforming the Legal Aid Family Barrister Fee Scheme will be published later this week by the MoJ and LSC.
The announcement follows a written ministerial by Lord Bach on 12 February outlining the main thrust of the likely changes. The formal response “reiterates and details” that statement. The LSC has also stated that
"Guidance and details on the specific remuneration changes will be provided in an ‘easy-to-read’ format on our website just prior to their implementation in June.”

Radio Scotland joins the demo.

Dear All

A great opperchancity for you to get your oar in and vent your anger about your situation. Come on guys go for it.
Jimmy


Hi there Jimmy,
It was indeed a pleasure to speak with you on the phone yesterday and as promised, here is a little more information about our programme.
Give Me A Voice is a 30 minute pre recorded programme that gives ordinary people living in the communities of Scotland the opportunity to give voice to an issue or campaign that they feel strongly about. We would be very interested in making a programme with you and other members of your group to help raise the awareness of grand parents rights.
It would be our intentions to join you in George Square on the 4th March and to interview yourself after the demonstration as well as some other grandparents.
I would be most appreciative if you were able to put me in touch with other grandparents who have either had the experience of being by passed by social services, resulting in their grandchildren being passed onto either other family members or complete strangers and also perhaps some grandparents who still have unresolved issues in gaining access to their grandchildren.
I fully understand that this can be a very sensitive area for some grandparents but for the purposes of the programme, we can change their names and not reveal any identifying features about where they live or where their grandchildren are.
I am working to a tight deadline for this programme so it would be great if we were able to establish contact with other grandparents within the next couple of days.

Kind regards

Phil

Crossed wires

I think I know what has happened here.One of the forced adoption /secret family courts mums is organising another protest - nothing to do with your protest at all - and I think wires have crossed somehow. I am sure this mother would be mortified if she accidentally sabotaged your protest - I've spoken to her on the MFJ site, and she is a genuine campaigner, I'm sure. I am sure she is 100% behind what you grandparents are doing, as most of the other mothers are (I would say all, but we are having mole problems, I guess you have those as well) Anyway, I thought I'd better mail you about this. I can't come to Glasgow, I would love to come and support you people - but I will be fasting and praying for you, for sure. We are all fighting the same cause as far as I'm concerned - these corrupt child services are wrecking families and putting children into danger.

God bless,
Zoompad

Letter to The President of the USA

Dear Mr President,

Grandparents are considered to be very important in their grandchildren’s lives but they have no legal standing in their lives through-out the world.
We have campaigned for eight years for legal rights of contact for grandparents but all governments refuse to grant individual legal rights to grandparents. As our children are losing out on the benefits and protection grandparents can offer because of their irrelevant status in the eyes of governments we have revised our policy.

Our group Grandparents Apart UK has worked with the Scottish Government to produce ‘The Charter for Grandchildren’.. It is an excellent document for children but it was only deemed advisory and is proving very difficult for professionals to abide by it. To do right by the children it would need to be mandatory for professionals that deal with children’s welfare.
Grandparents have a unique insight into their own families good and bad points and can detect signs of change like child abuse a mile off, but as the law stands grandparents are so easily banned from families in an effort to hide their shortcomings that children are being neglected and abused and the law is protecting the abuser.

This does not arise in normal families the question of grandparents losing contact never comes up in normal families with nothing to hide. Even if they do fall out the children do not suffer or get used as weapons for blackmail etc. We are talking about the millions of children caught up in drug and alcohol homes with no-one to turn too. Their grandparents would be a blessing to these children if the were only allowed to know about their welfare and professionals were encouraged more to recognise them for caring and keeping them in a home environment..

As of lately the British Social Services have been devastatingly incompetent in dealing with children as been displayed all over the media. We need a strong family man to exert some influence to bring an end to this madness.

Please read The Charter for Grandparents and if you think it can save children from neglect or abuse help us to put sense into our UK governments.

Jimmy Deuchars
Grandparents Apart UK
http://www.grandparentsapart.co.uk/

Foster carers in danger of HIV from children

Foster carers not told if babies are HIV positive 'to protect the child's human rights'
By Emily AndrewsLast updated at 11:01 PM on 22nd February 2009
Tricia McDaid: Was told she would have to lie if the parents asked what the drugs were for
Foster carers have been put at risk by not being told that the babies they are looking after could be HIV positive.
Social workers decided that the human rights of a mother wanting to keep her child's status confidential were more important than protecting foster parents, it is claimed.
In one case a foster mother, with three young children of her own, was given a new-born baby to look after and not told that he could have HIV.
This exposed her, her husband and their children to risk of infection.
Baby J was born last November to a mother known to be HIV positive.
During his birth doctors and nurses wore masks, goggles, boots, protective clothing and double sets of gloves to cut the risk of infection.
His elder brother had already been taken into care, and social services did the same for Baby J when he was a few days old.
Midwife Tricia McDaid, who questioned social workers about the practice when she became aware of the case in Newham, East London, said: 'This is appalling. Both the babies, the foster carers and their families were put at risk as they were not told.
'The foster parents were asked to administer anti-viral drugs to combat the baby developing HIV but were not told what they were.'
Mrs McDaid, 47, says that when she raised the issue with social services she was then moved from her job as a midwife in the community.
Although it is highly likely that babies who are born to HIV positive mothers will also be infected, it is not possible to know for sure until they are 18 months old.
So as soon as he was born Baby J was given daily anti-viral drugs to boost his immunity.
But crucially the foster family with whom he was placed were not told they were at risk of catching HIV. One of the three children was just two years old.
Mrs McDaid said: 'Newham takes the view that the foster parents don't need to know.
'This happens all the time and it's putting foster carers and their children at terrible risk.
'I was also told by the head of child protection at Newham Hospital that if the foster parents asked me what the drugs were for I would have to lie.
'In my opinion that is breaking the law and breaking the midwife and nursing code of conduct. It also puts the baby at risk as anyone administering drugs to a young baby needs to know exactly what they are and what dosage it should be.
'When I raised difficult questions with the council they ostracised me and tried to freeze me out as they didn't want this getting out.'
Mrs McDaid believes that the council is using Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to respect for one's private and family life - to protect the mother and child.
She said: 'Putting the human right of the mother's confidentiality about her HIV status above the right of the foster carers to know is wrong.
'It's playing Russian roulette with people's lives.'
A Newham council spokesman said: 'Foster carers would normally be expected to be provided with full information, but we admit that this did not happen in this instance.
'The circumstances in this case are complex and we acknowledge
that it could have been handled differently.
'Our procedures and protocols are now subject to revision.
'We are launching an investigation and we do not know if any other cases have occurred.
'The pan-London child protection procedures, which we are signed up to, contain guidelines that are primarily aimed at protecting children and ensuring children and their parents who may be HIV positive are not discriminated against.'