An issue arose at school, where one child has made an allegation against my child. The child first made an allegation in June 2010 however could not remember the other child (my child). Now in September the child all of a sudden remembered who it was and there mother contacted social services. Social services now want to assess my family however I feel that this is inappropriate as my child has no recollection of this at all. The school are aware of the allegation and they themselves have said there is no evidence that it happened and they have been keeping an eye. Would I have a case to fight against them?

I Need to Talk to a Solicitor Online Free Now

an issue arised at school, where one child has made an allegation against my child. The child first made an allegation in June 2010 however could not remember the other child (my child). Now in September the child all of a sudden remembered who it was and there mother contacted social services. Social services now want to assess my family however i feel that this is inappropriate as my child has no recollection of this at all. The school are aware of the allegation and they themselves have said there is no evidence that it happened and they have been keeping an eye. Would i have a case to fight against them?

Need to confirm what country you live in... laws vary greatly and are interpreted differently.

I assume because of the term "Solicitor" you are NOT in the USA or Canada.

I am in Northern Ireland

Try not to get upset too much over this.

Without knowing the detail of the complaint itself, a lawyer will not be able to advise you on what to do or expect, let alone fight the allegation, whatever that may be.

Many times, an investigation is done when warrented by a complaint from a school, parent, other professional (police), etc. Anyone who is concerned about the welfare of a child has an obligation (morally or legally in many cases) to report it.

To report to child welfare authorities is rarely done out of malice, or without some merit, and if it is (such as battles with custodial parents), they are quickly dismissed. But, once a formal complaint is made, an investigation is done.

This may mean only a visit to your home, and interviews with all concerned. This is to your benefit, because if your child has done nothing wrong, this gives you an opportunity to be heard. It is a part of a process of gathering information, and fact finding. It is an unbiased professional assessment, of information.

Regarding the incident, it would probably be helpful for you to record as much detail as you know about it. Date, time, allegation, responses, accusations, contact with parents, school officials, your impressions, etc. It is difficult when you are faced with a formal interview as part of an investigation, to remember all the details on the spot.

This may be, and likely is, a very difficult situation for you to be in, as it would for any parent. The positive side of this is, that it is being dealt with, it will be thourough, and you will know, as will the person instigating the complaint, exactly what will come of it.

If the person reporting, this other mother, has no basis in fact to be accusing your child of something, you will have the satisfaction of setting her action to rest. This may be a better process in the end, rather than have this question mark hanging over your son's head.

I am in Canada by the way, and only generally speaking, most investigations start with a complaint, are followed up by an interview, and an assessment is made. To find out specfics where you are, you could call this agency, and simply ask them what to expect, how much time is involved, etc.

One thing I would advise, is when this is concluded, that you have something formal in writing simply stating that there was no basis for further investigation, if they provide that.

The complaint is exposure of private part. I feel the need to fight this as my child is very open & honest with me and I know that this did not happen. He is very young and this is completley out of his nature. He is a good child who gets on well at school and works hard. I feel that because he did not do this that it is unfair for him to have to go through this. Im really confused and don't know what to do! :-S

Would i have a case to fight against them?Hello e:

You do NOT have to allow your children to be interviewed by authorities.

excon

What would happen if I were to say no as they are wanting to speak with him on Wednesday

Hello e:

I noticed that you're NOT in the US. Unfortunately, I don't know the laws in Ireland.

But, what I will say is this. Social services (the cops) want to interview your son for ONE reason and ONE reason only. They certainly don't want to interview him to prove he DIDN'T do it. An interview won't prove that... Nope, like ALL cops, they want him to say that he DID it... Then all of a sudden, "social services" changes into COPS.

Do NOT let your child be interviewed.

excon

I have been contacted by them and I got the feeling on the phone that they thought he was guilty which is also why I want to fight it!

Hello again, e:

Of course, they think he's guilty. Like ALL cops, they're not looking for answers.. They're looking for a confession.. I say again, do NOT let your child be interviewed.

excon

What about trying the N. Ireland Citizens advice Bureau?

Home - Citizens Advice Bureau (http://www.citizensadvice.co.uk/)

Or the parents advice centre:

Parents Advice Centre: Welcome (http://www.parentsadvicecentre.org/)
I believe they have offices in Londonderry and Belfast.
They also have a free helpline.

Thinking of you in this difficult situation.

See I'm unsure of what will happen if I refuse... :-S

Perhaps you could stall them at least while you look into things. Tell them you are not refusing but are not agreeing to see them until you have taken some advice of your own. Meanwhile contact the agencies I have linked above or see a solicitor who specialises in a relevant area.

Hello again, e:

Even though I'm not familiar with the laws in Ireland, it DOES have the same basis as American law. Therefore, I am POSITIVE they cannot DO anything to you or your child for refusing to talk to them. Those things happen in third world countries...

I also disagree with the notion of pu$$y footing around with the "authorities". REFUSE, and mean it, or lay down for them. Doing stuff in the middle WILL cause problems for you. If you're unable to do it on your own, (and I UNDERSTAND that), hire a lawyer to do it for you - but DO IT, you must.

excon

Yeah... that may work... I just don't know where to start... it's horrible

Im thinking they may go to court and get an order to speak with my son

What worries me Excon is in England Social Servies can get a court order if the parents refuse and are likely to become more hostile if the parents make them go down this route. This is certainly the case when they have grounds to believe the child is in danger. The law is less clear when the child is being accused of something but it may well depend on the interpretation the particular social services dept put on the wording of the law.

I suspect the law in Northern Ireland is similar but I'm not sure.

Emul, I think your first step is to try and find out what exactly is the situation if you refuse and what your rights are. Try the above agencies, now, and if they yield nothing quickly we can see if we can come up with anything else.

Ok... I will do that QPL. Thank you all for your assistance. I will contact those agencies to see if any further information can be provided if not I will come back on here.

Hello again,

Since you apparently DON'T have a RIGHT to REFUSE to be spoken to, then my advice should be ignored. I would, however, consult with an attorney familiar with child law.

excon

Thanks excon... I think I may need to do that.

These people may be able to help if the voluntary agencies don't:

Children's Law Centre (Northern Ireland)

Third Floor
Philip House
123-137 York Street
Belfast
BT15 1AB
Tel: 028 9024 5704
Fax: 028 9024 5679

The Children's Law Centre helps young people and their parents. They can advise on laws that affect children and young people.

I'll give it a go... I really appreciate your help QLP!

Will be going afk now, but in case you need more to be going on with:

You can also try the family rights group for information:
Family Rights Group :: FGC Projects (http://www.frg.org.uk/fgcproj_dets.asp?area=2)

And if you are having trouble finding a solicitor the law society of Northern Ireland has a search function where you can put in 'family law children' and the location where you want to find a solicitor:

Find a Solicitor - Solicitors Directory (http://www.lawsoc-ni.org/solicitors-directory/)

Good luck, will check back later to see if you got anywhere.

Thanks QLP... Means a lot I prob won't be back on till tomorrow... thanks again!

Tried contacting them... they didn't seem to be much help... seem to think I will have no choice but to let them assess us however advised to contact a solictor... :-S

Oh dear. Well I hope you find a helpful solicitor. If you have any fears about how social services will conduct the interview I would expect you could ask for your solicitor to be present. Of course that means another person present whilst your child is interviewed so it would be important to find a child-friendly one. It might reassure you that proceedings are conducted properly and would be an official witness should social services decide to take things any further.

It does seem to me that SS are being heavy handed here. Given that there is no evidence your child was really involved. My heart hopes that SS would have a quick gentle word, decide that there is no proof of the allegation, and quickly put things to rest. My head fears that it may not go that way, if SS are determined to look for problems. I would talk to that solicitor myself.

I agree with everything that you said... I feel the same and I feel that this won't be easy as already I have been getting the impression from them that they think he is guilty. I myself probably did not make a good impression as when she made a comment about my child doing this I did not take kindly to her slandering him basically

I myself probably did not make a good impression as when she made a comment about my child doing this i did not take kindly to her slandering him basicallyHello again, e:

I'm still here... I think you should CONTINUE with that attitude. You're not going to change their minds by being conciliatory. In fact, I don't think you'll change their minds at all. We're ALL in agreement about one thing. They already have their minds made up.

So, while I don't think you should be aggressive with them, I certainly think you should play a solid DEFENSE. That would include OBJECTING when the questions were in an attempt to LEAD your son into admitting things... They're skilled at interviewing children. You need a person in the room equally SKILLED at defending your son...

excon

Yeah see my problem is I know in my own heart and sole that he did not do this, it is completely out of his nature. He is a good child that works hard at school (to which the school have said also) however I feel that they will turn around questions and answers such as have you got any gf's or do you like anyone at school... plus for the fact that we do not know who is making this allegation. Therefore I'm wiery of what they could ask... I feel that they will ask questions to make it look like he has done something wrong... the big thing that gets me is that the child made the claim in June this year however could not remember who where and when it happen but all of a sudden in September my son's name was brought into it. The school have been keeping an eye and they themselves advised me that nothing was seen to happen at school and he is working hard. So to me it's all a bit fishy

Update: Ive spoken with a solicitor and they advised to speak with them see what they have to say but they say social services (the cops) are making a mountain out of nothing... and that it has been completely blown out of proportion

that it has been completely blown out of proportionHello again, e:

It's unanimous, then. We ALL agree they're blowing it out of proportion... Nonetheless, and as strange as it seems, they ARE proceeding. Their proceedings must be defended against. You cannot let down your guard simply because the state is acting outlandishly.

Hopefully, your solicitor advised you to "see what they have to say", WITHOUT your child being present. Was your solicitor clear about what, if anything, you can DO, if you DON'T like "what they have to say"? What would that be? Certainly, if you DON'T have a right NOT to be interviewed, then there's NOTHING you can do.

If I understand the law correctly, instead of the solicitor advising YOU, he should BE AT the interview advising your SON, and protecting your sons rights. If that's not what he wants to do, keep on shopping.

excon