seconds. He canât hear anything from the kitchen but the droning of the two women. He shuffles over in his seat next to Salmaâs leather bag so he can be nearer the door but itâs no good. Nothing. All Salmaâs files are sticking out of her bag, brown folders with white paper inside. These are the files that the social workers hold whenever he asks about his mum. They look through their files and check dates and addresses but they never let him see for himself. And heâs a good reader. He flicks through the corners of the files. He sees his name and his birth date. He sees Jakeâs name and birth date. He sees his momâs name and her birth date. He squeezes his hand between the pages and pulls.
Due to Carolâs itinerant lifestyle and mental health issues, it has been difficult to make a full and detailed assessment. Carol was given the opportunity to attend a weekly access visit to Leon and Jake to assess her commitment and capacity for caring for her children. She failed to attend these appointments without explanation. She has also failed to attendaccess visits arranged at the foster carerâs house on four separate occasions, again without explanation. Carol Rycroft did attend the Family Center without appointment, where she stayed for twenty minutes speaking to the Duty Social Worker about her new life and plans for the future, which did not appear to include caring for Leon and Jake.
The most recent psychiatric assessment of Carol Rycroft undertaken by Dr. Ann Mulroney (attached) concluded that Carol Rycroft has an emotionally unstable personality disorder which presents in maladaptive behavior that has formed the background to her mental health problems. She presents with a range of behaviors including anxiety, restlessness, stupor, and transient mood swings into hypomania. She reports previous episodes of mild to medium clinical depression following the birth of her first child, Leon, who has consequently spent several short periods in various foster care short-term placements. She also reports that her mother and maternal grandmother both had psychiatric disorders but this could not be verified. She is unwilling or unable to provide any details of either childâs biological father although limited information has been obtained from Tina Moore (see later).
Carol Rycroftâs current condition is complicated by her dependence on prescription drugs and alcohol use. Her personality disorder is also manifest in Carolâs high level of self-interest as opposed to the interests of her children. The Psychological Assessment concluded that Carol Rycroft is unlikely to be in a position to care for either child unless she is willing to undertake further psychological input for a period of no less than eighteen months.
He tucks the paper back where it was and opens the kitchen door.
âWhen am I going to see my mom?â
Salma puts her face up close to Leon and smiles.
âRemember we talked about this, Leon? Remember we saidââ
âWhy do I have to wait all the time?â
âWell, itâs becauseââ
âIâm hungry,â he says.
Salma smiles again and rubs his shoulder like heâs fallen over.
âCourse you are.â
Salma goes back to sipping her coffee while Maureen takes the lid off the biscuit tin.
âTeaâs in half an hour,â she says.
Leon nibbles the biscuit and stares at them.
âWhat?â says Maureen, folding her arms. âYou been listening at doors again? Youâll hear something you wonât like one of these days.â
She touches his cheek.
âNot today, though. Itâs all good today. Go on, off with you. Half an hour of TV and Iâll put the tea on. Sausage and mash. Now hop it.â
She closes the door after him and he sits down by the papers that say horrible things about his mom. He knocks Salmaâs bag over with his elbow and when it falls on the floor everything