FAQs
If the Local Authority intends to issue care proceedings in most cases, you will receive a “Letter Before Proceedings.” This letter should set out the concerns that they have in relation to the child/ren and will invite you to a meeting where you can bring a solicitor. You should try and get a solicitor as soon as possible.
Receiving the letter does not mean your child will be taken into care, it gives you a last chance to understand what you need to do to avoid court proceedings.
If the Local Authority decide to start care proceedings, they have to make sure you or your solicitor know about the proceedings. You will be sent a bundle of documents that contain the information about the case against you. It will also tell you when there is a Court hearing. It is essential that you attend any hearing so you can tell the Court what you do or do not agree with.
If you receive a letter before proceedings or are told there will be Court proceedings as a parent or person with parental responsibility, you will be entitled to free legal advice under legal aid.
At Court the Judge or Magistrate will ask the Local Authority to explain why they think your child is at risk. They will also ask you or your solicitor what you think about the situation.
Your child/ren will be appointed a Children’s Guardian who is somebody independent. They will meet with you, your children and members of your family and other professionals involved with the family. They will then write a report for the Court telling them what your child/ren thinks and what they think would be best for your child. It may not be the same as what your child wants.
You are likely to need to go to Court more than once as Court proceedings are important and the Court will need more information before making decisions about the children.
While the Court makes the final decision it will need to decide whether the child:
- Stays with you
- Stays with a family member or friend
- Goes into foster care
It normally takes about 6 months for the Court to make a final decision. You will have the opportunity to tell the Court what you think should happen with your child both in the short term and long term.
If your child has been made subject to a care order and is no longer in your care you will normally still be able to have contact with them, unless the Court has made an order that there should be no contact, or unless there has since been an adoption order made. Generally reasonable contact should be promoted by a Local Authority between a parent and child.
The dates and times of contact will be arranged by the Local Authority. It will most likely be supervised contact, but not always.
If you do not agree with the plans for contact, you can ask the Court to make a decision on what the level of contact should be.
It is important that you attend as many contact sessions as you can. You might be able to get help from the social worker to pay for travel.
If you want advice on contact with a child in care you should seek legal advice as legal aid is often available.
The rule in the Children and Families Act 2014 is that care proceedings should not take more than 26 weeks. This was because cases were taking far too long to make important decisions for children, often more than a year.
The Court will try really hard to avoid delay in your case and ensure decisions are made within 26 weeks (6 months) of them starting.
Sometimes however, that is not possible. That might be because a family member may come forward at the last minute, there may be more important information the Court still needs to make their decision or sometimes the case might involve complicated issues that mean the Court need longer to make sure a correct decision is reached.
A section 20 agreement is the Local Authority asking if you agree for your child/ren to live somewhere else, either in foster care or maybe with friends or family.
A parent or person with parental responsibility can refuse to sign a section 20 agreement and they can change their mind at any time. If that does happen then the local authority must either return your child asap or apply to Court for an urgent court hearing if they think your child might be at risk of harm.
In order for a child to be accommodated by the local authority under a section 20 agreement, all parents with parental responsibility must consent.
If you are asked to sign a section 20 agreement you should speak to a solicitor as soon as possible to ensure you have legal advice on what is being asked of you.
If you have family or friends that are able and willing to look after your child/ren in the short or long term, then you should tell your social worker as soon as possible. If family member confirms they are willing to potentially look after your child, then the Local Authority will do a “viability assessment” of them. In some cases, this will mean that your child can be placed with them in the short term while final decisions are being made about what should happen with the children. In some cases, there will need to be a more detailed assessment done before your child can be placed there.
If a child is placed with you as a family member you may be entitled to an allowance to help with the costs of looking after the child/ren. It is important that you know all the support and funding you are entitled to and so you should speak to a solicitor for advice.
