Find Ancestors

Hi, Darkie,
You could always go to your local county court and see if you can summons your local SS dept to a court hearing and then question them in front of a judge as to why they will not tell you anything or find your files?
This is so easy to do, its a no money claim and wont cost much either!
It will be interesting to see how they respond when the court send them a summons. They might just be able to find what you want, as they will not want to go to court. They should keep your files somewhere?
Sounds to me like they cant be bothered...so they need a kick up the bum...lol.. Regards, Wendy

This is so sad and I know of other's with the same problem!
Personally I was a Foster Parent from 1975 to 1979 at which time I took a Break from fostering.
In the 1990s I decided to Foster again and actually said I had been registered as a Foster Parent IN THE PAST and was told that no such records of my ever being a Foster Parent existed?
They made me out to be a Liar and continued to say No Such Records Existed of my Fostering any children in the District?
I even said well, I can bring the children I fostered to You as I WAS & still Am in touch with all of them.
Made No Difference at all they still went on to say they could not find records?
This is My Local Authority for you?
The children I fostered are still in touch and I recently helped two of them reunite with their adopted brother who they had not seen for some 35 years.
No help from Social Services of Course.
Not to mention the fact that this young man could not gain access to his File from the Social Services.
So Much for FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT!
Good Luck

Best Wishes
Janice xxx

Hi

I am still finding it down as that phone number but this does have an email address as well

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering BAAF



BAAF

Skyline House

200 Union Street

London, SE1 0LX



Tel: 020 7593 2000

Fax: 020 7593 2001

Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.baaf.org.uk/



Hope this helps, Good Luck !

Hello,
If you want help and advice then contact Joan Allan at

http://www.joanallan.co.uk/

Bye
Paul

HI Sheila

I have tried that number below but when I ring it their is a message on the phone saying that it is an incorrect number perhaps their is a digit short. Are you able to check it for me please?

Thank you.

Darkie

Hi Dorothy and Everyone that has applied back to me on this thread,

I have received an e-mail today from Surrey County Children's Service and they have come back to me with the same story. The Information Goverance Officer at The Runnymede Centre (Room 15), Tel:02085418731 Fax 01932-794193. This is the following message he has sent to me. Following your recent call to our contact Centre, I have re-re-run the search for any records that relate to your time in the care of Surrey. Unfortunateley the result has been the same as the previous search we did. We have found no records that relate to you. I am truely sorry that these records no longer exist for you. As I said in an earlier
e-mail, it is a sad fact that local authorities were not required to hold onto these records until the law was changed in 1991 when the Children Act 1998 was enacted. Rachele if I write to the Director of Social Services for the borough it will lead back to the same department.
Dorothy if your husband was under Surreys care depending which area it was the address I have provided might be helpful, so Dorothy if you would like to PM me I will tell you what area I was living when I was in care I don't wish to put the area on the thread as it is a bit too personal. They say my records must be destroyed, they can't even tell me when the files were destroyed, so I don't think I can go any further with it now (I just totally give up on it). I am at a loss.

Hi Everyone

Thank you for all your replies they are most helpful and the address at the bottom of this list I will try that too.

Darkie

Hi Darkie

Would this be of any help to you ?

BAAF (British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering)
Skyline House
200 Union Street
London SE1 0LX
(020) 7593 2000 (Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.00pm)
A central agency for organisations involved in adoption and fostering. Publishes useful information leaflets and books about various aspects of adoption. Offers advice on tracing.

Darkie, we have had the same problem with my husband's "in care" papers. Although we know he was in care with the L.C.C. we could not find which Borough of London took him in. There is a period up until he was 4 years when we know nothing about his whereabouts , as like you he was too young to remember. We know he went to Surrey then Bucks and finally to East Sussex. This was a lot earlier than when you yourself were in care( in the 40's). We approached the Archivist at the London Metropolitan Archives, giving them the details such as you have set out on this site, and also sent them a copy of his birth certificate. They do keep a lot of papers of this kind and even had a card in their archives relating to him, proving there is a file somewhere, but to date nothing ! You could try them, as I found them very helpful, even though like yours the file is either mis-filed , or destroyed. Don't give up, as I have heard people eventually get their files even back as far as the mid 30's. We are determined to keep on writing to the Boroughs it has been suggested might have them. May I wish you luck in your search, as I know exactly how you feel. Dorothy.

Hi Everyone

I have to go out on a music lesson now but I will check the board when I come back tonight.

I have had a PM from a member that has helped me a great deal hopefully I will get a bit further now.

Hi Everyone

As I was in children's homes and foster homes I am still trying to obtain my files with so much difficulty, I have contacted my Social Services down in the South of England when I was under their authority and I contacted them 2xyears ago and they said they could not find my files and possibly were destroyed or no files were ever made, but having a look back on my e-mails from them I find discrepancies with their e-mail replies I have back from them. My years I was in care was 1959-1971. I recently spoke to a court in Middlesex and they advised me to contact my local Social Services, I did that and delivered a letter by hand to them last Friday, I have received a letter today from my local Social Services informing me that I am not on their local database which I would not be because I was not under their local authority near where I live now and they have advised me in their letter that they are unable to help me further. I telephoned my local Social Services today and they told me the same story I informed them that the court I spoke to in Middlesex advised me to go to my local SS and the lady I spoke to at SS said the court has misadvised you and I said to her I don't think they have. When I was speaking to the court I said would my files be kept at the Family History Centre and the court said no because you would not want people seeing your details. I phoned the family history centre and the 2xchildren's homes at the South of England and they said the 2xchildren's homes were on record there and when I requested whether my records were there she said I would have to write in which is fair enough and then my information would get passed onto Social Services. I have had a very firm conversation to day with my local SS and I asked them to send the letter on and they refused so then my patience ran out and I actually instructed them to send the letter on as the South of England SS are expecting the letter. I cannot get anywhere with my local and South of England SS. One of my brothers obtained his file in 1991 and that was from the SS and this brother was with me in the homes and foster homes. I do not know whether we were made award of court or just a care order I very young so I cannot remember.

Talk about a vicious circle.

Please could anyone advise.

Thank you very much.

Darkie.

This thread is being edited today Sunday 18/06/17.


One of my siblings and I have managed to obtain our files now when we were in the Children's Homes and it is so difficult to understand when they told me originally they did not exist when I first requested them in year of 2007.

It is so lovely to read what my life was like when I was younger but sadly no photos of me in the file.

It answers a lot of questions but not everything.

The gentleman that is helping me from the Council is very helpful and understanding and he has advised me that he has fond more information on me to send out too.

I still have the evidence that I will be showing to the Council as advised by the gentleman that is helping me now to send the paperwork in from the year 2007 and hopefully they will give me answers to why no information was found originally.

I am so happy.