Involvement with social services can be very difficult for families and many people wish to escape so that they do not need to deal with any intervention or scrutiny from social workers and other professionals. If the concerns have developed and have not been addressed by the family, the Local Authority may instigate Care Proceedings for protective orders for the child, and this may include removal from the parent’s care.
On occasion, parents will flee their local area with their child to avoid social services involvement or even take steps to remove their children from the country. However, the Local Authority, the police and the Courts are able to take steps to safeguard the children to ensure that they are safe and returned to the appropriate area or country.
Moving to a New Local Authority
Where safeguarding concerns have arisen in respect of a child in one Local Authority (i.e. Leicester), any steps taken by the parent to re-locate to a new area (i.e. Manchester) will result in a safeguarding referral to be made to the new Local Authority. This means that the family will not avoid any action but rather it would move with them. The parents would be required to undertake a new assessment with a new social worker in their new local area to address the safeguarding concerns raised by the previous Local Authority, providing the new Local Authority agreed there were concerns. The entire process of building a relationship with a social worker and the gathering of information from various sources regarding the safeguarding concerns would start again. It is also highly likely that the new Local Authority will rely on the previous Local Authority as a source of information.
Running Away with the Child to an Unknown Location
In desperation, there are rare occasions where parents may decide to go into hiding with their child to evade the Local Authority or pending Care Proceedings before the Court. If this occurs, the Local Authority are likely to call the police to report the parent and the child as missing and raise any safety concerns police so that the police can try and locate the parent and child. Such actions only heighten the Local Authority’s concerns and simply make matters worse for parents as they are placing their child at greater risk of physical and emotional harm.
If the matter is before the Court and the children are subject to Interim Care Orders which means the Local Authority hold parental responsibility for the child, the Court may order a Recovery Order to direct the person who has care of the child to return them to an agreed place as soon as possible. It also gives power to the police to use reasonable force to enable them to search for the children and enter any premises they believe that the child may be in.
Police Protection Powers
Under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989, the police have the power to lawfully remove a child without the consent of the parents if the police officer reasonably believes that the child is at risk of suffering significant harm if they are not removed or kept in suitable accommodation. A child can only be under the protection of the police for a maximum of 72 hours without a court order.
If a person absconds with a child and the police believe that the child is at risk of significant harm in that person’s care once located, they make exercise their right to protect the child under these powers. A referral will automatically be made to the Local Authority who are then likely to initiate care proceedings to further safeguard the child through a protective order.
Taking a Child Out of the Country
If a parent removes or attempts to remove a child from the UK who is subject to social services involvement, then that county to which they are traveling to can be notified. This means that the local social services or equivalent body within that country may become involved with the family as a result of the inter-country safeguarding referral.
The Court may also make a Recovery Order directing for the parent to return the child to the country and/or give power to the police to direct such return. Subsequently, there may liaison between national and international law enforcement bodies to action the return of the child to the country.
How can we help?
If your child or children have been made subject to a Child Protection Plan, Pre-Proceedings or Care Proceedings, we understand that this can be very stressful and that is why we are here to help and provide advice. We have experience in assisting parents at all stages of Local Authority involvement. Please contact Johnson Astills at either our Leicester office on 0116 255 4855 or our Loughborough office on 01509 610 312 and ask or a member of the Care Team. Alternatively you contact us through our free online enquiry form or email us at careteam@johnsonastills.com and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.
