Father helps
parents fight for custody
SOUTH WALES EVENING POST TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/
A NEATH
father-of-two is providing help to parents fighting for child custody
across the UK.
Layton Bevan, from Cadoxton, is the man behind Fassit (Families' anti social
services inquiry team).
He and another
parent from Manchester set up the internet-based support service to help
parents regain custody of their children if they believe social services
departments have wrongly taken them into care.
Just three
months after the idea was discussed in his Neath kitchen, the website is now
getting 5,000 hits a day and providing other parents with the support they
need.
"We understand
what they are going through," said the 45-year-old"
If parents feel there have been spurious allegations made by social workers,
then they can contact us.
We want to secure children back with their families where there is no risk to
them. When someone makes an inquiry on the website we will get back within 24
hours with help. Within the next four months we should have a telephone
helpline set up as well.
Mr Bevan said
some children did get abused at home and were rightly taken into care. But the
Fassit service was there to help parents who felt social services departments
had acted wrongly, he said.
It is also
aimed at introducing more openness in the family court system.
An Early Day Motion, currently being debated in the House of Commons, revolves
around two children in Essex being taken into care. The parents and MPs have
been working with Mr Bevan and his partners on the issue.
Three MPs have
signed the EDM and are in support of what we are doing," he added.
This week we
have been invited to London (Nov 7th & 10) to take part in a shadow government
debate regarding amendments to Children Act 2004.
So what we are
doing is really starting to get noticed by some of the most influential people
in the country.
Fassit is now officially involved with the conciliation process, which could
result in changes to our family law."
The Fassit
website can be found at www.fassit.co.uk
BY ED THOMAS
ed.thomas@swwp.co.uk
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