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Last October my wife became mentally ill and accused me of being violent towards her, which she later retracted and stated was an over reaction. I was arrested and not charged but was told by the police to stay out of the way for a few days, i asked what i should do about the safety of my 5 month old son and they said to inform her mental health team and social services, which i did the next morning.
The social workers and mental health team wouldn't inform me of what was going on and wouldn't allow me to see my son and said it was best i kept out of the way to allow them to work with my wife, which i did for fear of any more accusations. Five days later my mother in law phoned me to inform me that my wife had been admitted to a mental health hospital and my son had been taken into care.
I phoned social services and they told me that i would need to have a mental health assessment due to me suffering with depression in the past before i would be allowed to visit my son, which i agreed to do however no such assessment was forthcoming therefore i started a private legal case and then the day before the first court date i was granted contact with my son.
My question is was my son taken legally, is it allowed for social services to take a child without informing both parents? I know my wife was made to sign something but i was never even informed.
Dear Taz,
Thank you for your message.
Your enquiry would depend on whether you have parental responsibility for the child as well as the circumstances at the time your child was taken into care. Due to the complexity of your matter, we would ask if you would contact us to discuss this matter further. You can contact us on 0808 802 0008 staffed Monday - Friday between the hours of 8am-8pm or via our web-chat service on www.childrenslegalcentre.com staffed Monday – Friday between the hours of 9am – 6pm.
Yours sincerely
Coram Children’s Legal Centre
- Samaritans – call 116 123
- Shout – text the word ‘Shout’ to 85258
