If someone made a MALICIOUS referral to Social Services?

[matchitisiw]

ie telling outright lies about a family, accusing them of acts of neglect which were patently not true. Social Services investigate and agree that the accusations are unfounded and close the case.

Would there be any recourse to justice against the person who did this on behalf of the family who have been put through the distress of having Social Services call on them accusing them of neglecting or abusing their children?

I understand that many of these malicious referrals are made anonymously. However, if it was possible to discover who had made the refferal, or if a family member owned up to it perhaps, would ther family be able to seek any recompense under law, for defamation of character perhaps, or for the distress that has been caused?

I am not talking about genuine referrals where a child HAS been abused/neglected but cases where a referral has been made out of spite or malice, perhaps by a neighbour or a family member who wishes to cause distress to the family. There are many such cases of these malicious referrals every year and I have recently become victim of one myself. I'd like to know what rights under law would be to seek justice.

[bardoul]

What are the damages?

You were investigated by social services because there was a complaint. They have to investigate ALL complaints.

You were basically inconvenienced by their asking questions. Were you detained or incarcerated? Falsely arrested? Had your children taken from your for a period of time?

Complaints are generally anonymous, so unless said person fesses up, you will never know if that person, or even a number of people made the complaint. And even if they do confess, you will have to couple that up with other harassing behavior to make any kind of claim.

I suggest that if all that happened was an investigation, that you let it go, because you aren't going to get anywhere.

[regenweald]

They'll never tell you who made the complaint, even if they do know. One thing to be glad of, Social Services did at least investigate as they are supposed to, and I'm sure we'd all be deeply upset if they didn't bother and something horrible actually was going on. At least you know they are happy with how things are and have marked your file accordingly. That's a "plus" point. Time to move on?

[wattekinson86]

Social Services have to preserve confidentiality and it would be unethical for them to make statements disclosing things which were told to them in confidence. It might, after all, be a matter of mistaken perception on the part of the person concerned, the getting of the wrong end of the stick. If Social Services were to give evidence of this kind, it would have the effect of deterring well intentioned people who think they have seen or heard something worth investigating, but turn out to be mistaken. It is a wretched business when people act out of malice, but presumably those people won't be given a second chance and any further allegations will be taken with a pinch of salt.

[sebastiano]

It would be extremely difficult for the familly to take any action as social services must protect the confidentiality of the complainant.

If you were unduly distressed, then it is Social Services that you should be complaining about. My personal experience has always been that the courts will shun cases involving social care at the slightest excuses. I have come across some horrendous cases of neglect and abuse where the courts have refused so much as a preliminary hearing.

In such a case. My recommendation would be to safely store any relevant paperwork, and get on with your lives.