CARE PROCEEDINGS
Why the Local Authority may be involved with you or your family:
The Local Authority’s role is to ensure that children living in their locality have a “good
enough” standard of care and do not suffer “significant harm” (this can mean physical harm,
emotional harm, sexual harm or developmental, including educational delay).
Where the Local Authority believe a child is not getting or is not likely to receive the care it
requires then the Local Authority is obligated to intervene to protect the child, or if time
allows, to offer help and services to that child. Often the level of Social Service intervention
will depend upon how high they deem the risk to the child, and how much time they have to
work with the family.
The Local Authority can offer services and support.
If, however, the care of the child or children is not seen to improve then the Social Services
department may decide to hold a legal planning meeting. The Local Authority may decide to
register the child under a category of harm. Those categories are:
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Physical harm
Sexual harm
Emotional harm
Neglect
The period of registration lasts for six months at a maximum. The initial conference is called
an Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC) and any review conferences are known as
CPRC’s as they are reviewing conferences.
Any review conference convened will decide whether the child’s name should remain on the
register or be de-registered, or alternatively whether any further action or proceedings is
warranted.
The options available are:
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Registration.
Continuation of the Registration until the next review period or an earlier specified
date.
Substitute or add additional categories of harm.
De-register a child.
Initiate protective proceedings within the Courts, either by way of an Emergency
Protection Order, Interim Care Order or for a Supervision Order (please see below).
Protective Proceedings
If the Local Authority feel the risks surrounding a parent’s care of a child or children is likely
to result in significant harm then the Authority may decide it needs to take protective
proceedings to safeguard the child or children.
There are several options available to them.
Police Protection Order (PPO)
This is where the police are called to an incident. The police will be required to make a
decision on the spot as to how concerned they are for the child’s welfare.
If the constable believes that a child is at imminent risk of harm they may make a decision to
take the child into police protective custody. This may occur with or without the Social
Services present.
If Social Services are not present, the constable will notify the Duty Officer of their action
and the Social Services will then be responsible for making any subsequent decisions on
child protection issues.
Emergency Protection Orders (EPO)
An Application is made by the Social Services Department to a Court. An EPO is an
emergency remedy. An EPO can, in extreme circumstances, be made with no notice being
given to a parent. It is, however, usual for there to be at least one day’s notice.
An EPO is to deal with an emergency situation. The first Order can last for a maximum of
eight days. This Order can only be renewed once, and then only for a further seven days.
Care Orders (CO)
Where the Local Authority takes the view that a child is or is likely to “suffer significant
harm”, they may decide to apply to the Court for a Care Order.
A Care Order enables the Local Authority to share Parental Responsibility for a child’s care
with any parent who has Parental Responsibility.
The Local Authority will normally ask for an “Interim Care Order” to be made at the first
hearing in order that they can share that Parental Responsibility during the course of the
proceedings.
The threshold that the Local Authority has to establish to warrant the Court making an
Interim Care Order is much lower than making a Final Order. The difference is that for an
Interim Care Order to be made, the Court only has to be satisfied that there are “reasonable
grounds for believing” that the child or children may be suffering (or likely to suffer)
significant harm.
Often parents decide to agree to an Interim Care Order being made rather than asking the
Court to hear evidence. In many cases, the evidence available to a parent is unlikely to be
sufficient to persuade a Court that there are not at least reasonable grounds. If an Interim
Care Order is unopposed or agreed to by the parents, this avoids the Court from having to
make more detailed findings against the parents regarding their care. Often, as it can be
tactically better for a parent to avoid findings being made at an early stage, advice may be
given by your advocate to not actively oppose the making of an Interim Order at such an
early stage.
The initial Interim Care Order (ICO) lasts for eight weeks. After that ICO Orders need to be
reviewed every four weeks throughout the currency of the proceedings.
It is often appropriate for parents to agree with the other parties in the proceedings that
renewals will be granted by consent without the need for further hearings, and therefore
renewals will be seen as “automatic”. If, however, circumstances change during the course
of the proceedings which would warrant a challenge to the continuation of the Interim Care
Order in favour of the Local Authority; a hearing may be arranged and contested at that
stage.
Voluntary Accommodation (Section 20 Children Act 1989)
In very limited circumstances the Local Authority and the parties in the proceedings may
agree that a child or the children could and would be appropriately and safely
accommodated without the need for an Order being made. The parents/those with
Parental Responsibility are consenting to the placement, which will either be with agreed
and approved relatives of the parties, or with a Local Authority foster parent.
If the parent subsequently withdraws their consent, the Local Authority may reinstate their
application for an Interim Care Order.
If there are problems over obtaining medical consent or ensuring that parents exercise
Parental Responsibility appropriately under this voluntary type arrangement, the Local
Authority may make an application for an ICO to ensure that they share Parental
Responsibility.
Contact Arrangements
Where the Court makes an ICO, the Local Authority is under a duty (Section 38) to
rehabilitate the children into the care of their own families “wherever this is safe to do so”.
The Local Authority are under a duty to promote contact between the children and their
parents, significant relatives and between siblings.
Contact will be negotiated at a frequency, location and duration to ensure that it meets the
needs of the child or children in the proceedings. The children’s guardian will have a view
on what would be appropriate to meet each child’s needs.
In most cases, contact will take place at a designated family centre and be supervised by a
member of staff. On occasions, it could be a family member who supervises that contact.
Notes on the quality of contact will be maintained by the Local Authority if supervised.
The notes taken will often be used to inform the social worker, guardian and any experts
instructed during the course of proceedings of the quality and appropriateness of contact,
and the level of care and commitment the parents and other family members make towards
the child or children. Contact is usually offered to extended family members if they have
had regular involvement in the children’s lives.
Timetable for the Proceedings
As soon as the Local Authority issue their application the clock, so to speak, starts to run.
The Court expects all investigations in relation to the Local Authority’s concerns to be
concluded, enabling the Court to make a final decision within that forty week timescale.
The Court’s aim in imposing this “protocol” is to avoid delay and place the child’s needs as
the paramount consideration, ensuring that all relevant people are included in the
proceedings and that the Court has all the information it needs to make a decision as to
where and how best the child (or children) are to be cared for during their childhood.
There may be times when the forty week timetable cannot be met because of particular
case facts.
Assessment
The Local Authority will often undertake parenting assessments to establish what skills a
parent has, and what skills they need to acquire to provide adequate or “good enough” care
for their children.
Expert Assessment
Experts may be jointly instructed by the parties on a case. They can only be instructed with
the Court’s approval. An expert will be chosen to give an opinion on a particular matter, e.g.
the aging of a fracture, how a fracture may have been sustained, the mental capacity of a
party, their attachment with their child, their ability to protect themselves and/or children
from identifiable harm etc.
The expert’s duty is to the Court to give an unbiased and professional opinion based upon
facts. The Courts rely heavily upon the opinions and recommendations of experts.
Guardian
During the course of the proceedings, a professional guardian will be appointed by the Court
to advise the Court on what would be in the best interests of each child in the proceedings.
Guardians are independent of all parties, and their duty is to recommend and advise the
Court on what would be in the child’s best interests. It is the Court, however, who has the
ultimate decision in assessing the evidence before it and making final Orders.
A guardian would be expected to see each child in the proceedings, and also all relevant
parties. Three reports will be prepared by the guardian:
Initial Analysis and Recommendations.
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Interim Analysis and Recommendations.
Final Analysis and Recommendations.
The Court relies heavily on the opinions of the guardian.
The guardian will appoint their own solicitor to act on behalf of the children and represent
them in Court.
Every Parent with Parental Responsibility has the right to have their views heard in Court
If they wish to be involved, grandparents and other relatives may ask for special permission
or “leave” of the Court.
The Final Hearing
By the time of the final hearing, every party will know the view point of the other.
The Local Authority will have set out all of their evidence and intentions for the care of the
children in a “Care Plan”.
Each party will have had a chance to reply. The guardian will have considered the Local
Authority’s evidence, and the comments made by the parents, prior to making their own
recommendations and reporting to the Court.
The Two Tests for a Care Order – Threshold and Dismissal
The Local Authority will need to establish Findings of Fact confirming the parents’ care of
the children has resulted, or is likely to result in significant harm. This is called a
“threshold”, and is the most commonly sought Order by the Court.
Although on the face of the Court papers a threshold may be established by the Local
Authority, they will have to go one step further and persuade a Court that the Court needs
to exercise its powers to protect the children.
In some cases the Local Authority will advocate returning the children to the care of their
parents.
In other cases the Local Authority may take the view that the adoption of a child or children
is likely to be in their best interests. As such they will “track” a case within the existing care
proceedings with the ultimate aim that, if successful in obtaining a Care Order, they will
immediately apply for a Placement Order to pursue adoption.
One track will look at a child or children’s rehabilitation to the family. The other track will
look at adoption. If the family assessments and other evidence presents the return of the
children to their family, this twin tracking avoids delay for the children in their arrangements
being made for their future care.
Twin tracking can only commence after the assessments of family have been completed and
there are no other viable options for placement of the children within the family.
At this point, the Local Authority will ask the Adoption Panel to review the case and decide
whether adoption would be in the child’s best interests.
If the Local Authority Adoption Panel confirms adoption is in the best interests of the child
(or children), the Local Authority may prepare an Application for a Placement of the child for
adoption that will be heard immediately after the final hearing (and Placement Orders made
if a Care Order has already been made).
Contact Care Order and Adoption
Contact will often continue at the same rate after a Care Order has been made for a period
of weeks. Provided contact has been maintained appropriately throughout the course of the
proceedings, a Schedule of Contact is produced which reduces parental or family contact
according to an agreed plan.
When a prospective adopter has been found, the parents and family will be offered a final
defined contact before direct contact ceases.
“Life Story” work will be done with the parents with the assistance of Social Services to
ensure that the children have an idea of their background. Mementoes are often stored
along with photographs and other appropriate remembrances.
Post Adoption Contact
This varies from case to case.
If often involves one or two way contact by “letterbox” once or twice a year, which involves
the parents being able to send letters and photographs on a yearly basis. It always provides
that the confidentiality of the child’s placement is never jeopardised.
Supervision Orders
This is where the Local Authority feels that it is safe for a child to return to the care of the
family, but there needs to be some ongoing help and support.
A Supervision Order can be made for a year. The maximum duration of a Supervision Order
on renewal is three years.
Other Orders
This may include Special Guardianship Orders, Residence Orders and Contact Orders.
A Special Guardianship Order is often sought where a child (or children) is placed with their
extended family, and provides the family member with Parental Responsibility, and the
authority to override a parent’s exercise of their own Parental Responsibility.
Residence and Contact Orders are exactly as they sound. They deal with the issue of where
a child lives, and who a child sees.
The range of Orders available to the Court is diverse, and the result depends on the facts in
each particular case.
For more information on care proceedings, or to arrange an appointment with
our expert Family Law department, call 0330 017 6309* or
email info@bannerjones.co.uk.
*calls cost no more than a local 01 number and are included in your mobile minutes.