Care proceedings will normally happen when social services are worried about the Care that your child is receiving and feel that they can only be protected if they apply for a court order.

The main types of orders that will be applied for will be an interim care order or interim supervision order. The type of order applied for will depend on the individual circumstances of your case.

Arrangements for Children During Care Proceedings

There are several options that may be put forward before the Court for a Judge to approve. The starting point for most cases is that a plan will be put forward for your child to remain at home but there are a number of legal requirements that the local authority will need to satisfy.

Unfortunately, if social care feels that the level of risk identified cannot be managed at home, they could either apply for an Order to allow your children to be removed into foster care or to a family member who is subject of a positive assessment and can safeguard them from the risk identified.

The final decision will be for the Judge to make based on the evidence that is available before the Court.

Parental Rights During Care Proceedings

The social worker may ask their legal department to apply for an Order to share parental rights with you if you are a person who has parental responsibility.

If this Order is applied for, it is likely that the plan will be for removal into foster care and the local authority will want to have the power to make day to day decisions in respect of your child.

The way in which your parental rights are impacted will depend on the circumstances of your case, the care plan and the type of order. This can be a worrying time and it is important that you access expert advice as soon as you can.

What Are Supervision Orders?

A Supervision Order places an obligation on the Local Authority to advise, befriend, and assist the subject child or children. This means that the social worker has concerns about your parenting, or your child, and wishes to put in place formal support and assistance to help your family.

This will also put a greater requirement on social care to offer this support but the type of assistance required will depend on the individual needs of your children and the needs of your family. With this type of Order, the local authority will not share parental responsibility.

What Is the Review Process?

The Care plan in respect of your child should be kept under constant review by the Court and all other involved parties.

Depending on the evidence produced or the level of risk this can result in a situation where the local authority or another party do not deem the current plan before the court to be suitable.

This can be due to positive changes that you have made or could be due to the risk increases. In each scenario, a change of care plan may need to be approved by the Court.

Family Law Solicitors in Sheffield and Barnsley

Since 2001 we have represented many people who have been involved with social services before, or during, court proceedings.

We have a number of experts who are accredited members of the law society children panel which is a quality mark in Care proceedings to indicate that we are recognised as experts in our field.

If you wish to consult Best regarding your case, please contact us on 01142813636 or send a message via our contact page.  In most cases, you will be able to access legal aid but all enquiries are on a non-committal basis.