Care Proceedings Solicitors

Our Care Proceedings Solicitors can help you with this process and when Social Services is involved.

Care proceedings begin when your Local Authority (Social Services) make an application for a public law order, most commonly a care or supervision order. The Local Authority will make an application in circumstances where it believes that the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm and that the harm, or likelihood of harm is a result of the care being given to the child, or in circumstances where it believes the child is beyond parental control. .

Your Local Authority may send the parent a letter before proceedings, known as a pre-proceedings or PLO (Public Law outline) letter. This letter is a final notice to the child’s parents that the Local Authority is on the verge of starting court proceedings, and it will contain details about the Local Authority’s concerns. This can be a very frightening and confusing process for parents and in these circumstances it is very important to seek legal advice as soon as possible.

We are also able to attend meetings with parents known as Pre-Proceedings or PLO meetings. These meetings are very important, because this is when Social Services often decide whether or not Court proceedings should be started. Having our experienced care proceedings solicitors to represent you can therefore be crucial. If as a parent, you have been asked to attend such a meeting, you are automatically entitled to Legal Aid.

Our care proceedings solicitors regularly advise clients on any matter, including in instances where social services are involved. Any parents facing care proceedings should contact us as soon as possible for legal advice, as any decisions made early in the process can significantly impact the future conduct of the proceedings and, most importantly, what happens to your child in the future.

Law Society - Children Law Accredited - Reeds Solicitors

A number of our solicitors are members of the Law Society’s Children Panel, and we regularly represent children through CAFCASS in care proceedings.

As a parent, or care giver with parental responsibility, in care proceedings you are automatically entitled to Legal Aid regardless of your financial situation.

 

Our expert team of Family Lawyers understand how difficult these matters can be and treat every case with sensitivity. Our Care Proceedings Solicitors will guide you through the court process at every turn so that you always know what to expect. We will explain the law to you in a way that is easy for you to understand. Call 0333 240 7373 or contact Reeds Solicitors LLP on info@reeds.co.uk.

Meet the team

How We Can Help

Our Family Law and Care Proceedings team include accredited members of the Law Society’s Children’s Panel and members of Resolution. All have extensive experience and expertise in family matters, with some having contributed to published books and articles. Our Care Proceedings Solicitors are instructed by members of the public, professional agencies such as CAFCASS, and Local Authorities.

We will be firm when it comes to protecting your rights, the best interests of your children, and achieving the best outcome. We believe family law is ultimately about people and we understand how difficult and emotional matters such as divorce, making arrangements for children on separation and care proceedings can be.We will be there to support you and guide you through your legal journey and provide you with legal advice and representation you can trust.

Some family law matters, such as obtaining injunctions,, require speed and tenacity to ensure you are protected. Our Divorce Solicitors are familiar with common tactics used to stall financial settlement proceedings, especially in international and high-net-worth divorces. They will proactively enact strategies to ensure your case keeps moving forward.

Our Family Law Solicitors can help you with a full range of family matters, including but not limited to divorce, high net worth divorce, children’s law, care proceedings and PLO meetings, child abduction, Non-Molestation Orders and Occupation Orders, and TOLATA cases.

Family law matters, especially those involving children, can be extremely sensitive. Rest assured, all discussions and information shared with our team are strictly confidential. Your privacy and reputation are paramount to us.

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FAQ

The Local Authority may initially send you a letter before proceedings. This letter is a final notice to the child’s parents, and it will contain details about the concerns surrounding the welfare of the child.

If you have received one of these letters, you will be required to attend a pre-proceedings, or PLO, meeting with the Local Authority.

It is essential that you contact a care proceedings solicitor as soon as possible if you have received a letter from the Local Authority so that we may assist you in your case and attend any meetings with you.

Following a pre-proceedings, or PLO, meeting, the Local Authority may not start court proceedings if you can show that your child’s welfare and needs are being met, and if the concerns are addressed. If you cannot do this, then the Local Authority may decide to start court proceedings.

Once a letter has been received by the parents, they will be required to attend a pre-proceedings, or PLO, meeting with their legal representative and the Local Authority. The parents will be given a “contract of expectations” which sets out what is expected of the parents in respect of their child in order to reduce the concerns the Local Authority has surrounding the child.

Care proceedings may begin if the changes set out in the contract of expectations cannot be addressed and if the Local Authority remained concerned about the welfare of your child.

Our care proceedings solicitors are able to attend meetings with parents known as Pre-Proceedings or PLO meetings. These meetings are very important because this is when Social Services often decide whether or not court proceedings should be started. Having an experienced care proceedings solicitor to represent you can therefore be crucial. If as a parent, or a care giver with parental responsibility for the child, you have been asked to attend such a meeting, you are automatically entitled to Legal Aid.

Care proceedings are initiated when the Local Authority believes the child has suffered or is suffering significant harm or is at risk of suffering significant harm.

The Local Authority must present information and evidence to the court regarding the reasons why it has concerns about the child’s welfare and why the child is at risk of harm. The information and evidence will be presented to the court prior to the first hearing. This information will usually be sent to you prior to the court hearing. .

The court can decide on a number of possible outcomes at the conclusion of Care Proceedings which include:

  • Care orders, including foster care
  • Supervision orders
  • Placement for Adoption Orders

The law states that care proceeding cases should be completed within 26 weeks (6 months) of starting, though there can be instances where cases last longer than this.

The court will need full disclosure from the Local Authority detailing its plans for the child when deciding whether an order is the best way of protecting a child’s welfare. A document called the care plan will need to be presented to the court containing the proposed details.

The care plan must contain information regarding where the child will live, what contact they will have with their parents, and any other family members, as well as who the responsible person is for reviewing the care plan.

Where the court decides that the child is suffering significant harm or is at risk of suffering significant harm as a result of the care being given, or they are beyond parental control (see Threshold below), the court must then decide if an order is necessary and proportionate to the risk being faced. In circumstances where the court is satisfied that there is an immediate risk to the child’s safety, either physical or psychological, the court can order a child to be placed with another family member, or in foster care, under an interim care order.

An interim supervision order can be made if the child remains living at home which imposes a duty on the Local Authority to ‘advise, assist and befriend’ the child.   .

Care orders are put in place to allow the Local Authority and the parent to share parental responsibility of the child in question. In these instances, the parents will still have their parental responsibility. .

Occasionally when care orders are issued, children will remain at home with their parents. Though it is more common in these instances for children to live in residential placements or with foster carers.

Thought also must be given as to what the proposed arrangements for the contact between the parent(s) and child will be if the child is not staying at home. If care proceedings are issued, the Local Authority does have a duty to ensure they are promoting reasonable contact between parents and children.

Unless it is discharged early, a care order, will continue until the child reaches 18.

The difference with supervision orders is that the Local Authority does not have parental responsibility of the child. Under a supervision order, the child will also usually continue to live at home.

As per the Children Act 1989, a supervisor will have a duty to:

  1. advise, assist and befriend the supervised child;
  2. to take such steps as are reasonably necessary to give effect to the order; and
  3. where –
    1. the order is not wholly complied with; or
    2. the supervisor considers that the order may no longer be necessary,

to consider whether or not to apply to the court for its variation or discharge.

In addition, a supervision order may require the child to comply with instructions given by the Local Authority.

To begin with, a supervision order lasts for 1 year. A supervision order can only be in place for a maximum of 3 years. If extension is required beyond the first year, the Local Authority can make an application to the court.

To begin with, a supervision order lasts for 1 year. A supervision order can only be in place for a maximum of 3 years. If extension is required beyond the first year, the Local Authority can make an application to the court.

An interim care order is made for a short-term period and made during court proceedings whilst assessments are taking place.

A care order is made at the end of the court proceedings and can last until the child reaches the age of 18, unless it is discharged before then.

A placement order allows the Local Authority to place a child with a potential adoptive family. This is usually at the end of care proceedings and would normally take place before an adoption order application is made. Such orders can be made without the consent of the child’s parents and allows the child to live with the prospective adoptive family.

Parents can permit the making of a placement order. In such instances, it is assumed that the parent agrees that the child should be adopted. However, placement orders can be made without the parent’s permission if their consent is dispensed with by the court. This may only be the case after it is concluded that it is in the child’s best interests and welfare. When the parent does not consent, the court must consider the impact adoption would have on the child, including whether the relationship with their birth family would be affected.

If a placement order is made and the child lives with the prospective adoptive family, and until the child is adopted, the parents will share parental responsibility for the child with the Local Authority until an adoption order has been made. During this time, the Local Authority have the capacity to rule what the parents can and cannot do, and what decisions they can make, for the child.

Emergency Protection Orders can be made for a maximum of 8 days. Additional extensions can be made up to a maximum of 15 days in total.

Emergency Protection Orders may be applied for in cases where someone fears that a child is in immediate danger.  Almost all applications are made by the Local Authority, although the police or the NSPCC may also make these applications.

The Local Authority, a person who has parental responsibility of the child, and the child themselves can make an application to discharge a care order. The court would need to see a significant change in circumstances supported by clear evidence of the change. A parent may also make an application for increased contact with a child who is in foster care under a care order.

If you are a parent, or have parental responsibility, of the children involved in the care proceedings, you will automatically be entitled to Legal Aid for care proceedings. This is available to you regardless of your financial circumstances.

Section 31 Children Act 1989 sets out the requirements for the making of either a care or supervision order, known as the ‘threshold criteria’.

The Local Authority must have reasonable grounds for making an application for a care order or supervision order, and there are a number of criteria (known as the Threshold Criteria) that must be met in order for a care order to be issued. The Local Authority must be able to satisfy that the Threshold Criteria are met. If the Threshold Criteria cannot be met, an order cannot be made. The court has a 2-stage test that must be fulfilled:

Stage One – the Threshold Stage:

This stage states that there must be satisfactory reason to justify making a care or supervision order.

This stage can only be passed if the court agrees that:

  1. The child is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm and that harm, is attributable to the care given to the child, not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give, or the child is beyond parenting control.

Harm is defined in law as the “ill treatment or the impairment of the health or development of the child” (Section 31, Children Act 1989; Article 2). Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as neglect are all categories of significant harm.

Stage Two – the Welfare Stage:

This stage is where the court decides whether or not it is in the best interests and welfare of the child for a court order to be made. The Court also has to consider whether the order is necessary and proportionate to the concerns.

When the court is deciding whether or not to make an order, it must consider:

  • The wishes and feelings of the child
  • The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs
  • The likely effect on him/her of any change in their circumstances
  • The child’s age, sex, background and any characteristics of the child which the court consider relevant
  • Any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering
  • How capable each of the child’s parents are of meeting the child’s needs
  • The range of powers available to the court

This is known as the welfare checklist.