Social Services

When social services are involved with your children it is likely that your social worker has talked to you about issues such as the Child Protection Register, whether or not your child’s name is on the register, and also about Child Protection Agreements which you are required to keep to. 

If social services are involved it is also possible that you have found yourself in a position, where social services have alleged that they do not consider that you are a good enough parent and their intention is to remove your children from your care.  Your children may already be in  foster care or living elsewhere.  

Involvement with social services and your family can often be an emotive, distressing and confusing time. Here at DS Legal, our experienced legal team are trained in this complicated area of law and are able to deal with matters of this nature in a sensitive and caring way. 

If you are a parent of a child who is involved with social services then you are likely to get legal aid irrespective of your financial circumstances.  

There are several types of proceedings and stages that the Local authority can invoke, if they believe your child is at risk or have suffered significant harm while in your care, whether it is alleged that you pose that risk or someone else does, with whom you are associated.

 An Emergency Protection Order (EPO) gives the local authority the power to remove your child or keep your child in a safe place for a specified duration. The EPO gives the local authority parental responsibility but this is limited to whatever is required to protect your child’s welfare. 

An EPO is an extreme measure and is therefore used only in cases of emergencies, i.e. where your child is considered to be in imminent danger. 

It is very important that if you find yourself in this situation you should contact either Mark immediately so that we can advise, assist and represent you at the earliest opportunity.

When social workers are concerned about the welfare of a child, they may be thinking about taking the case to court so that they can ask the court to make orders to protect the child.   They have taken the decision that immediate removal is not necessary and they wish to attempt to work through any difficulties you are having, with the aid of written agreements and plans.

In most cases the Public Law Outline requires the social services department to arrange a meeting with the parent(s) to see if it is possible to reach agreement about what needs to happen to protect the child from harm, so that court proceedings can be avoided. 

We will attend the meetings with you and offer you advice and assistance to see if we can negotiate an agreement with social services on your behalf. 

In some cases the social workers may feel that the risk of harm to a child is so great, or the case is so urgent, that the case should go straight to court. This is highly exceptional. 

We have a proven record of negotiating with social services to come to an agreement, which avoids court proceedings.  Alternatively, if proceedings are commenced we will work tirelessly to ensure that your children are either not removed or are returned to your care.  Only in circumstances where your child suffers or is likely to suffer significant harm which cannot be alleviated with the assistance and help from third party organisations and relevant health care professionals and experts.  

We will ask you to provide a copy of your pre-proceedings letter which will enable us to provide you with immediate cover for all your legal costs.  If you are a parent or person with parental responsibility you will be entitled to legal aid and you will not have to pay for legal advice. 

You may be required to attend more than one of these meetings in particular if there is some form of plan moving forward. We will always ensure you are not left alone during this process which is daunting.

 Child protection conferences will be called for all children who have been the subject of a child protection investigation for whom there remains suspicions that the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering significant harm, and there remain unresolved child protection issues. 

An initial case conference will consider not only the needs of the child of enquiry but also of the needs of other children in the household and any risk or welfare issue applicable to them. 

The initial child protection case conference brings together family members, the child (where appropriate) and those professionals most involved with the child and family, such as teachers, health visitors, social workers and the police.

What will happen at the conference? 

The purpose of an initial conference is to: 

- Collate and analyze the information about the child’s health, development and functioning and the parent’s capacity to protect and promote the child’s health and development

- Determine the risk of the child suffering future significant harm

- Decide on the need for registration

- Identify a care manager where registration is agreed

- Agree a child protection outline plan and its intended outcome

 What is a Care or Supervision order? 

A local authority may seek a court order if it is alleged your child is not receiving the sort of care it would be reasonable to expect from a parent, and this lack of care is causing your child significant harm. 

If you receive notice of court proceedings you should contact us immediately. 

Here at DS Legal, our specialist legal team has decades of experience dealing with court proceedings and care orders. We can help you to become fully aware of your rights and advise you on whether the actions of the local authority are fair and just. 

The social services department’s primary duty is to work with you as parents and with your child to prevent your child being made the subject of a care order, or to return your child home as quickly as possible.

If the local authority makes an application to the Family Court . The court will appoint a person to look after the child’s interest during the court proceedings. This person is known as the children’s guardian. 

If you are involved in care proceedings you need to contact us immediately. 

You and your child can each apply for help with legal costs, and will be entitled to get this help without meeting the usual conditions. 

How long will the care order last?

A care order can last until your child is 18 years and it is therefore very important that you get the right help at the outset.

Funding legal representation

Legal Aid is always available for parents in these cases and anyone else who holds parental responsibility (anyone with an order saying the child should live with them usually has parental responsibility). Sometimes legal aid is also available for family members/carers even if they don’t have parental responsibility, but this will depend on various things including their income.