Supporting Sara - Child Protection
What were the challenges?
Sara has two children, one was removed from her care and the other has Looked After Child status. Sara struggles with her mental health and has been admitted to hospital and has a Bi-polar diagnosis. She has difficulty articulating her views and engaging in child protection meetings and her mental capacity fluctuates. She often disengages from the process which had affected hearings in the past.
What advocacy support did we provide?
The advocate:
- Built trust with Sara and created a safe space for her to talk about her feelings
- Helped Sara manage correspondence, phone calls and meetings relating to Child Protection
- Interpreted the jargon and legal language so Sara could understand the process
- Reminded Sara of meetings as she often forgot due to her illness
- Role played the meetings and helped Sara prepare what messages she wanted to put across
- Liaised with professionals on Sara’s behalf
- Fed back information between meetings in a way Sara could understand and retain
- Supported and encouraged Sara to self-advocate
- Reminded Sara and the professionals of Sara’s rights for reasonable adjustments.
What difference did our advocacy support make?
The Judge requested formal assessment of Sara’s mental capacity. Court hearings were no longer delayed due to Sara being unprepared and there are fewer DNA. Sara’s views were taken into account and a fair assessment made. There is a reduced risk of hospital admissions.
