Now many of you thousands that have visited this site are here for a reason, you are either fallen foul of social services or are about to...

Well, I intend to give you a crash course on how to get through this in the best way, however I would stress that here and now, if you are a guilty person seeking to escape punishment or detection, forget it, sooner or later your collar will be felt, it would be better to come clean and face the music rather than drag it out and recieve ten times worse in return.

Lets take a scenario, you and your family are sitting in your living room watching TV, you are nattering to your espoused, kids are doing their thing....

There's a knock at the door....!

Unsuspecting, you answer the door and one or two people will be standing there

Hmmm, nothing wrong yet

They identify themselves as social workers and will undoubtedly ask to come in to "discuss" things with you, what do you do?

Now what the problem is that you possibly have no reason at all to suspect that maybe is wrong and you let them in.

Or you panic and tell them to bugger off

Both could have disastrous implications but the first thing you MUST do is ascertain what it is all about.

They can tell you on your doorstep, there is no law forbidding them to do so and YOU do not have to let them into your home.

My advice which ever way it goes is to tell them it is inconvenient to let them in due to guests, ill child etc and try and make an appointment at the office

Unless you house is something out of Earls Court's Ideal Home Exhibition then I would say, don't let them in.

They want a snapshot of your family and have many ready criticisms to hand once they gain egress, as stated elsewhere a beer can in the top of a bin led to a persecution of someone as an alcoholic, toys on the floor in my case led to major hygiene questions, you will come under fire from the "good Enough Priniciple" and although you didn't know it your file was opened and an investigation started long before they knocked on the door.

They need a reason to enter your life, don't give them one!

Now dependant on whether you have ascertained their reason for attending, you need to take steps.

Contact your solicitor or if you have not got one, contact myself or the Law Society for a Childrens Panel solicitor and make an appointment, make sure you have given yourself enough time to consult before your initial appointment with social services, also ensure your solicitor has ample time too to consult Legal and Democratic services at the LA to what is going on.

Whatever happens after that however is this:

• Keep calm
• Make no threats
• Ensure you are never seen alone, have an independant witness taking notes
• Do not be threatened or coerced by them
• Ensure that your family follow the above
• If your child or children are to be interviewed, INSIST on having someone independant of your own choosing present
• Keep a diary of events
• Keep all correspondance
• Make all details available to your solicitor as and when they happen

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOUR SOLICITOR IS THERE TO BE INSTRUCTED NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND - HOWEVER DO NOT MAKE THE CASE UNWORKEABLE AS HE WILL RESIGN THE COMMISSION - LISTEN TO HIS ADVICE AND MAKE YOUR INFORMED DECISIONS USING ALL FACTORS AVAILABLE

Medical Advice:

If your child is for any reason admitted to casualty under a suspicion of abuse, many Dr's will at first say that in their considered opinion there is no suspicions but later on will change this due to a nasty trick by social workers.

It is imperative that if a Doctor says this at the time and is reasonable for the Dr to say so on the evidence before him/her,

GET IT IN WRITING THERE AND THEN

Because the social worker will at some point try and bring the Doctor round to their way of thinking and use many tactics but the worst is to destroy any sypathetic understanding and also to make the Doctor preconceived to a matter that they at the time cannot verify.

They will be told by the social worker that:

• "This isn't the first time"
• "This has happened before"
• "Mr/Mrs XYZ has a criminal record against children"
• "We have evidence to prove this but not here"
• "We intend to charge Mr/Mrs XYZ because the police have a case ready on them"

None of it true and all designed to change things for the doctor by creating a false impression of an abusive family when it is utter rubbish.

This is a sample of what really goes on and many padeiatricians are concerned at their own manipulation in the above.

I cannot emphasis how important a good legal team is needed in any of this, again I will also point out that if there is conclusive evidence against yourself then brace yourself for the consequences, courts take a very dim view on people who claim innocence with smoking gun evidence in front of them and invariably leads to longer sentences for wasting the courts time.

In all your dealings with social services, ask yourself this, what can they do with:

• The way I behave with them
• The state of my abode/Childrens dress/attituide towards them
• By trying to manipulate the manipulator's

Think on how they can portray you on the slightest negative point, they will not just take an inch, they will take a mile.

If you serve yourselves up on a plate to them then they will take what they can, batten down the hatches and make sure that anything they can use against you is kept to a minimum

It's your livelihood, family and reputation that will come under fire, make sure you think things through, gain professional advice and take it all one step at a time.

Good luck

RPSSUK