Family Report Writers Experiences

The following extracts are comments made about Family Report writers, just some of many, and all so typically following the same pattern…

• …gave evidence that the mother's dabbling in Reiki would have caused her to imagine sexual abuse and transmit this to the 10 year old. Dad had confessed sex abuse to the social worker, had been prosecuted but they kept the kid in the witness box for 3 days and she said 'No more'. Dad then applied for residence of all the children and got it . Police and the social worker were not allowed to give evidence. Mother appealed and won two years later but it was too late. She had a breakdown and dad kept the kids
• the report has recommended that my son lives with his father full time and that I will only get to see him fortnightly. I cannot understand how this conclusion has been drawn when the report even identifies that my son may be at risk in his care if the father is drunk and then insultingly suggests that everything will be ok if the father stays under the legal limit for driving? It also identifies that the father has admitted to drinking heavily and that this can be addressed by some alcohol counseling! He does not work and at the tender age of 42 is financially supported by his parents.
• the Expert Witness clearly blamed the break down of a sexual relationship in the marriage to the abuse the children suffered and then went on to further blame *ME* for not managing to alleviate the children's distress !! He seems very PAS orientated . He actually included in his report conversations that did not take place. Asking for his dismissal earned me the wrath of the judge … sometimes I feel as if I am in some nightmare Alice in Wonderland place .
• He has managed to get the family  reporter speaking for him and denys the abuse.  The eldest spoke out to the family reporter but the family reporter reported that she is "heavily manipulated by her mother".  Every visit, the children return angry and come out with odd things.  My eldest held my hair  and stated that she holds the hair of a criminal and that she is a loser.  She has never used that word before and it was not usually like her.
• I was horrified that the legal system  could even do this to someone with a child worker background. What  struck me was the brutality in the police and what didn't shock me was the lack of insight in family reports.  
• The Family report writer seemed to ignore the fact that in the conference we had to have together, (even tho he had beaten me up during the relationship and I was extremely fearful of him) that my ex was getting very angry and aggressive, yelling and saying mean things about me. I maintained my composure as best I could and kept on saying that I would like junior to know his dad, but dad had issues with anger and drugs that needed to be addressed. The report writer wrote that I was nervous and that it was clear that I did not trust my ex, and this was causing me to be unable to be objective about his role in parenting our son. He did not mention B’s anger or outbursts at all. He said that he had concerns about my ability to co-parent with B, considering my level of anxiety, and that if I should continue to make allegations about B, that our son, who only really knows me, due to B leaving us when he was 2 months old (funny how he wants contact now that junior is out of nappies) should be taken from me and given full time to his father. At that time B did not even have a permanent address, nor a job.
• My brother is profoundly deaf and has been since birth. He rarely uses sign language because he has two missing fingers on his right hand. My sister & brother were also psychologically assessed by the "court expert" because of sexual abuse allegations levelled at them by my ex husband. After the session my sister and brother were having a conversation in the car park and the court expert was having a cigarette on the balcony one floor up and was watching. Her report stated that my brother was not hearing impaired, he had pretended to be to avoid answering questions. She supported this opinion by saying she had witnessed the couple talking in the car park. My sister and brother had to produce records that went back to his childhood to prove he was deaf. She made a totally unqualified statement in her report and this did not call her report into question.
• My best friend also went through the family court & was told that her sons substantiated abuse could not be mentioned in court! I supported her through the numerous trials etc and was astounded when the so called court expert (psychologist) painted her husband out to be the victim & she the troubled one. The, (again) so called child rep handed out a one page information sheet on PAS on meeting my friend & never met her child!  This "child rep" is currently trying to get some so called expert from Qld over here for the family court.  This guy typically finds that child sexual abuse is unfounded & still subscribes to pas.