Your viewing articles about; social services

Baby of, “Fat Family” from Dundee, Scotland taken into, “Care”

A highly controversial case of Scotland’s so-called “fat family” took a dramatic twist yesterday, when a council moved to take all the children into care just a day after the parents’ newborn daughter was taken from a maternity ward by social workers. Removed from her parents over fears she would become dangerously overweight.

At the time the mother pleaded, “I just want my wee girl home. She’s only a day old.”

Just 28 hours after the mother gave birth, social workers arrived at the maternity ward to take the baby into care, after serving child protection papers on the parents.

Three children had already been removed by social services before the infant was taken from her mother within hours of her birth. The parents have now learned that their three other children will be taken away from them too after a meeting of the Children’s Panel of Dundee Council who are influenced by reports from Social Workers.

Before becoming pregnant, the mother, 40, who cannot be named for legal reasons, weighed 23st. The father, 54, is 18st.

At that time one of her children, a toddler, weighed 4st, her 13-year-old son weighed 16st and an 11-year-old weighing 12st.

The father who was at the Children’s Panel hearing, said: “The panel members wouldn’t listen to me.

“They would only listen to the social workers. They were accusing me and my wife of physical and emotional abuse and physical neglect – and we deny all that.

“I have lost all my children and I am completely devastated.”

The family first came to the attention of social services in March 2008 when they asked for help in caring for the children, including the three-year-old girl, who has developmental problems.

But social workers who visited the family were shocked at the size of them including a 21-month-old boy, who they claimed was overweight at 1st 12lb.

The council then took the radical step of threatening the mother and her husband that, unless all the children lost weight, they would be removed from the family home.

They were also ordered to send their children to dancing and football lessons to help them lose weight.

The family say they were also warned that their six children would be take into care if they failed to lose weight.

At the time, the mother said of social services: “They keep making an issue about the kids’ weight. I don’t even own a deep-fat fryer.”

On September 20, two of their children, aged three and five, were taken into care and joined their eldest who was already there.

Now their remaining children at home could be taken away within a week.

A spokesman from the council said: “We will not comment in detail on any family with whom we are involved, but we have made it clear on numerous occasions that children would not be removed from a family environment just because of a weight issue.”

He added: “Any decision about a child’s situation is given full and careful consideration.

“It is never taken lightly and always at the forefront is what is the best course of action for the welfare and safety of the child.

“The decision to remove children from any parent’s care on a compulsory basis is not made by councils but by the children’s hearing system.”

In July this year, it was reported that Dundee City Council had signed a one-year £114,000 contract with private ‘minders’ to stop them from over-eating.

         

Welcome back! If you love Baby Chums, please subscribe to our RSS feed.
Thanks for dropping by and enjoy!

---

Alfie Patten DNA results negative - He’s not the father

13 year old Alfie Patten, who was alleged to have become a dad is not the baby’s father. A DNA test result revealed a 15 year old boy, Tyler Barker, who lives locally is baby Maisie Roxanne’s real father.

Alfie was said to be “extremely distressed” by the DNA test result which was arranged by social services.

Tyler Barker alleged Chantelle told him she would take the morning after pill after they had unprotected sex.

He said: “I thought she’d take care of it.”

Previously Tyler said he believed Chantelle and Alfie were not old enough to care for a child.

He said: “They’re too young. She’s too young, he’s too young. They’ll probably let Penny, her mum, look after it.

“We’re all too young to have a baby at our age.”

Shortly after baby Maisie’s birth, Tyler’s dad Chris Ireland said: “He has broken down in tears at the thought he might be the father. He thinks his life has been ruined by this.”

His mum Nicole, 43, added at the time: “It had not even crossed Alfie’s mind whether Chantelle had not been faithful to him.”

Chantelle’s family went into hiding after The Sun first revealed tiny Alfie believed he was the father. Thankfully Chantelle is now hoping to restart school one day a week.
Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2435283.ece

         

Stepfather of, “Baby P” guilty of raping two year old

The boyfriend of Baby Peters, (Baby P’s) mother has been tried and convicted of raping a girl on the, “At risk” register. The rape allegation has surfaced as a result of the Baby Peter arrest.

Baby Peter, died in August 2007 from horrific abuse at the hands of his mother, boyfriend and lodger. Haringey Council has been targeted along with other social services, including the police and medical staff in failing to act in protecting it’s most vulnerable.

The rape victim was on the Haringey Council child protection register, just like the 17-month-old boy, whose name can be revealed today as Peter.

The couple cannot be identified for legal reasons and were tried under false names amid fears that an internet hate campaign would try to influence jurors.

The jury of eight men and four women had no idea of the defendants’ true identities - but were told by Judge Stephen Kramer after they delivered their verdicts.

The man will be sentenced for rape and for causing or allowing Baby Peter’s death in August 2007, along with the woman and lodger Jason Owen.

The convictions mean the judge will be able to pass a life sentence on the boyfriend, if he considers him to be a danger to the public.

The mother and her lover, whom Peter knew as “dad”, lived in north London. They were cleared, along with lodger Owen, 36, of his murder.

The mother admitted causing or allowing the death and the men were found guilty by a jury. The maximum sentence for the offence is 14 years.

There was a storm of protest when details of Peter’s death emerged and criticism of police, social workers and medical staff.

In the latest trial, the girl rape victim became the youngest child to give evidence at the Old Bailey.

         

German Couple Abandon Three Young Children In Italy

There are concerns over the whereabouts of a young German couple who abandoned their three young children in Aosta, Italy.

Police say that Ina Caterina Remhof, 26, and her partner Sascha Schmidt, 24, had been eating in a pizza restaurant last weekend.

Restaurant manager, Carmelo Casella told the Italian newspaper La Stampa “Shortly after 9.00pm, they told me they were popping out to smoke a cigarette,”

“I didn’t see them after 15 minutes so I went to get them. But they had disappeared,”

The three children, who are aged eight months, two and four years-old, have been taken into care by Italian social services. Schmidt is not the children’s father.

Police have found the couple’s car and documents, which has allowed them to contact the children’s grandmother. They have said that the couple have a history of drug abuse and financial problems. Local rivers are being searched as it is thought that the couple may of committed suicide.

         

Mum Leaves Her Baby In A Shopping Trolley!

A mother in New York has accidentally left her 5-month-old child alone in a shopping trolley for over half an hour.

Police were called when shoppers could not locate the parents.

Mother Megan Cross told reporters it was accident. “Usually we don’t have two buggies with us because I’m the one that always has Logan.”

The childs father, Bryan Allen, 27, left the boy unattended after thinking that the mother was looking after the infant.

Allen has been charged with misdemeanor child abuse and placed on a $2,000 bond.

The parents have been interviewed by Social Services and the boy has been allowed to stay with the family.

         

Sharon Shoesmith talk about suicidal thoughts

Sharon Shoesmith,55, the social services boss fired over Baby P’s death has told how she thought about killing herself over the very public scandal.

Baby P died after serial abuse at the hands of his mother, boyfriend and a lodger. The baby was left at the abusers home despite social services knowing that the child was in peril.

Shoesmith said she had thoughts of suicide after a flood of abusive calls, some suggesting how she could kill herself.

Sharon Shoesmith said: “You do consider how to stop it all. You can just walk off the end of the Tube platform and stop it all and I certainly did think about that on one occasion. There was certainly another occasion in the middle of the night when I gathered up all the paracetamol that existed in the house and there was nothing like enough.”

Ms Shoesmith, abandoned her own home and moved in with her daughters when it became clear just how much public outrage was directed at her over Baby P’s death. Sharon claims she is now almost penniless despite news reports she walked away with a million pound pension.
She added: “Of course I expected criticism. Nothing is perfect. But not that. I was really very shocked.”

“I just think it’s a huge travesty for Haringey. I don’t think people really understood quite what the potential impact would be. Now you’ve got this local tragedy and a national catastrophe.”

She maintains none of her staff knew there were two men in the flat with Baby P’s mother.

The three were convicted of causing Baby P’s death following eight months of torture.