Chronic Child Neglect

Chronic Child Neglect

Neutral Citation Number: [2013] EWHC 734 (Fam)

Case No: MW11C00060

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
FAMILY DIVISION
SITTING AT MAIDSTONE COUNTY COURT 

via God’s Children.

Background

ABSTRACT

1. The family are Roma Slovakian. The parents were brought up in a segregated Roma housing estate ghetto called Lunik IX, on the outskirts of Kosice, located in the East of Slovakia, in conditions of extreme poverty. The five older children were born there. Prior to coming to this country the family lived in cramped accommodation with at least 13 (possibly 19) other people. The accommodation was very basic and only had running water and electricity during limited times in the day. The poor conditions on the estate, the extent of the overcrowding and pressure on the limited services are readily illustrated by the fact that the estate was built for 2,000, but now houses between 8 – 10,000 people.

1. All the children were medically assessed and no organic cause was found for their poor growth and failure to thrive. Medical professionals were concerned regarding Cs poor weight gain following birth. The Local Authority was concerned that the parents were not properly meeting the children’s health needs, including missing medical appointments. The parents have accepted that they were untruthful on occasions by saying that they had attended appointments with the children when they had not.

1. Prior to the children being made subject to interim care orders the parents were supported in obtaining social housing and securing housing benefit. The LA directly approached the local housing authority and advocated assistance for the family. The local housing authority said they could provide the family with a three-bedroom ground floor maisonette. The family would remain overcrowded but it would be better accommodation than their first floor one bedroom flat where they had been residing since their arrival in the United Kingdom. On 2nd August 2011, the day the parents were due to move into their new property, their belongings were stolen from outside the new address, as none of the four adults present remained with them. It transpired that a neighbour had taken in a few belongings for the family, but it appeared that the rest had been stolen.

All the children have experienced a very deprived emotional environment. Dr Birch considered that X was functioning at a ‘considerable below average age for a child of his age’ such that a definition of learning disability could be applied, although she accepted this could have been influenced by his deprivation and/or his early meningitis. She considered Y had experienced a very deprived emotional environment. She had to remain indoors with her mother and help with her younger siblings and appears to have had only limited experience of play. When Z first went to his foster carer in August 2011 he was described by the foster carer as being very withdrawn, pale and underweight. His language was delayed; this improved considerably after placement in foster care. When A went into foster care his foster carer described him as being very distressed, unable to speak at all and developmentally delayed. He had no speech and his play experiences were very limited. Dr Birch observed that he was also lacking in other ‘experiences’; for example, his foster carer noted that he seemed amazed by the rain and when he went out into the garden in the rain for the first time, he did not know what it was and he appeared to be trying to push the raindrops back up to the sky. When B was admitted to hospital in September 2010 he was severely underweight. With hospital supervision and feeding he almost doubled his body weight in the next 12 weeks to 8.1kg and continued to gain weight over the following month. Dr Birch stated he had experienced a period of severe malnutrition resulting in stunting of his growth. When C went into foster care at the age of 9 months his foster carer described his demeanour as being “like a very young baby”. He had to be held and cradled in the carer’s arms and he could not sit up nor would he hold out his hands to be pulled up. He made few spontaneous movements. He did not push his feet against a surface when held upright. He had no play or awareness of toys. Dr Birch noted that C appears to have been ‘held’ still for long periods of time and he lacked locomotor and exploratory skills when he came into care. She considered C’s weight level was of medical concern and would indicate a failure to thrive.

1. As neither the parents, or any party, invited the court to consider the return of the children to Slovakia I did not have to consider the details that were helpfully provided by the Slovakian Central Authority.

God’s Children

God gave us our children not the state

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