Council would rather I put 2 children in to care!!

nearlysorted

Apologies firstly for if I have put this in the wrong place!


I suppose I need to have a mini rant and get some advice along the way.
My husband and I are a "blended" family, when we met I had a son (who lives with us) and he had 2 sons living with their mother, then we have 3 children together. Girl then 2 boys, we live in a small 3 bed council house, lead an ordinary life, both working etc...
Now here is the problem........
Social services have taken one of my dh boys away from the mother he now lives with us (the alternative is him going in to care, not back with the mother).
We contacted the council to find out whether they could extend our property as we have the land and also have 4 boys sharing a room.
They have told us we can fund the extension ourselves, but there is no budget from them.
Now boy 2 is also on the verge of being taken from his mother and again placed in our care.
Where am I supposed to put the boys? We have no room to swing a cat, let alone a kid.
Dh has had to change jobs to a much lower paid job in order to give stepson the support he needs, so financially we are much, much worse off.
Since stepson has moved in though, he has come on in leaps and bounds, educationally, and socially.
It seems the council and child services would rather see the 2 boys placed in to the care system then help us get the property size we need.
Are the any organisations out there that could possibly help us?

Many thanks

Ms_Chocaholic

What ages are the children?

Could you get yourselves a sofa bed and sleep in the lounge/dining room (if you have one) and two children in each room.

When you say you contacted the Council regarding an extension; was this the Housing Department or Children's Services.

RAS

Is there a bidding policy that you can use to move to a larger property.

zzzLazyDaisy

Are you on the exchange list for a four bed or a five bed house?

My cousins daughter has a blended family in a similar situation with 7 children from 19 down to 4 yrs old. They managed to exchange to a 5 bed house when the children were younger, and have more recently exchanged back to a 4 bed house as the two eldest are about to leave home.

I have also heard of large families being allocated a pair of semis knocked into one. But I think you probably need to get social services on the case.

Dogger69

Surely you don't expect the council to build you an extension? :eek:

You need to follow procedure and bid for a larger property, or rent privately.

balletshoes

OP you would really consider suggesting 2 children go into care rather than you all budge up a bit to make room?

harrys_nan

It seems the council and child services would rather see the 2 boys placed in to the care system then help us get the property size we need.
Are the any organisations out there that could possibly help us?

Many thanks[/QUOTE]

I dont think anyone is saying the children should go into care, just that the op is in despair of getting any constructive help from the council

pigpen

balletshoes wrote: »

OP you would really consider suggesting 2 children go into care rather than you all budge up a bit to make room?

The OP said it is the council and SS wanting to put children in care not herself. Though it doesn't appear anyone has actually said that it is just the OPs perception due to frustration at the lack of help.

OP.. Get the HV and GP and anyone else involved to write supporting your bidding for a bigger property. They can be very helpful, as can SS. Use anyone who is involved with the family to write a letter and keep nagging.. and don't be too picky on area, you can always move again if you get an area you don't really want right now space is most important.

I doubt there is anywhere you can get financial assistance to extend the property though would you be able to buy the house and then extend.. it does seem wrong that you have to pay for the extension the council will then benefit from and could in fact come round and demand you take it down if you don't have written consent to make such alterations to the property. It was something we looked into before moving here. We had 8 children in a 3 bed house.. baby in with us, 3 boys in a very tiny room and the 4 girls in the biggest room.. they only slept up there so it wasn't too much of an issue.

In the interim I'd opt for a sofabed for you and OH in the living/dining room and spread the children over 3 rooms.

I had a friend who did that for many months before getting a bigger house.

bagpussbear

I don't think it unreasonable that the OP is asking for an small extension in these circumstances to be honest. OP could you try and argue the case with social services on a cost basis, ie. cost of extension for 1 bedroom would be cheaper than the cost of putting the kids in care, which is thousands anyway. Worth a thought?

daska

Have you tried Shelter, they don't just advise on homelessness. Here's their page on overcrowding:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/home_safety/overcrowding

BaxUk

Potential right wing view, however I would say be happy that you have been provided with housing.

Many people have to save up for 10 years + to be able to afford to buy a house of their own, and may have to live with their parents for all of this time.

You've been provided with a house by the council, i would support what people have said earlier, budge up and make room with a sofa bed etc.