DAD.info
Forum - Ask questions. Get answers.
DAD.info | Fatherhood | Organisations | Family Rights Group

Family Rights Group

The FRG advice line gives advice to parents whose children are involved with childrens social care services

Social Services do not listen to the father. You literally have to go diving off Big Ben for them to pay some sort of attention’. Sam, a Dad.

The social worker actually asked if he had parental responsibility, and once it was established that I had and he wasn’t on the birth certificate she just wasn’t interested in him anymore’. Lia, a Mum.

Are social worker’s involved in your child’s life?

Family Rights Group’s advice line gives advice to parents whose children are involved with children’s social care services. This might be because social workers are worried about their child’s welfare, or because their child is in care and the parent is concerned about contact, or because the family need help to look after their child and are having difficulty accessing this extra support.

We now have a frequently asked questions (FAQ) for Dads section on our website. These FAQ are part of our wider Fathers Matter project, and came about because Dads told us they were needed. The FAQ cover issues such as parental responsibility, inclusion in decision making about a child’s future, contact with looked after children and involvement of paternal relatives

Parents ring our advice line for many reasons, when patterns emerge in the types of calls we receive we always try to look further at the reasons for these calls.

About five years ago we realised that a substantial number of our callers were Dads who were raising similar issues about the way in which they were treated by children’s social care services. Most of the fathers who contacted us didn’t live with their children, and as a result felt overlooked by children’s social care services. Some had heard very late in the day that their children had been taken into care. Conversely we heard from a father who was unaware that he had a son until he was approached by a social worker looking for a family member with whom to place the boy. Common amongst the calls from Dads was the feeling that they were not generally included in decision making about their children’s future, and that there was not adequate information to enable them to effectively engage in the process when there were concerns about the well-being of their children.

We hope that our FAQ will help Dads to better understand their legal responsibilities and rights and the options open to them. For further support contact our advice line and for more information about our Fathers Matter project visit our website.

Contact details are in the DadTalk Useful Links directory.

 

Related entries

You don’t see your arguments…Your kids do!

You don’t see your arguments…Your kids do!

Have you ever seen yourself arguing? A look caught on camera, a reflection in glass. It’s not a pretty sight. When life is stressing us out we've all been there and ended up having a petty argument in front of the kids. It isn't great and if we could see how it...

You don’t see your arguments…Your kids do!

BabyFather

Founded by Patrick Augustus in 2002, BabyFather encourages black UK fathers to take an active role in raising their kids, especially if they are separated from them. It now works closely with Barnardo’s, which is active in black and ethnic communities around the...

You don’t see your arguments…Your kids do!

Equal Parenting Council

A campaign group aiming to transform the family justice system. It promotes the idea of shared parenting after a divorce or separation. This means giving both parents frequent contact with their children, equal legal status and a say in important parenting...

Latest entries

Separated parents at Christmas: how to make it work

Separated parents at Christmas: how to make it work

If you're separated from your partner and sharing custody, Christmas can be difficult. You might not be seeing your children on Christmas Day. How do separated parents do Christmas? There is no right or wrong way. A number of factors will play in to the arrangements...

Budgeting tips for single parents

Budgeting tips for single parents

For single parents it's not just the lack of support that is overwhelming, but also managing on one income. It can have a real impact on your wellbeing. Thankfully there are free resources available to help you with budgeting and managing debt. Read on to find out our...

Single parent benefits

Single parent benefits

Raising children is an eye-wateringly expensive business- particularly in a cost of living crisis. But when the burden falls entirely to one parent it can feel especially stressful. In 2023 the cost of raising a child in the UK rose to £166,000 for a couple and...

Pin It on Pinterest