Care Proceedings are issued by the local authority when they have concerns about the welfare of a child. The court process is intended to conclude after 26 weeks, and the Family Court must then decide what arrangements are in the best interests of the child. The Judge will consider all of the evidence, listen to parents, the local authority, the children’s guardian and other experts or professionals who have been involved in the case. They will then make a final order.
What final orders can be made at the conclusion of proceedings?
- No Order
The court may decide that no order is necessary and that your child should stay with you under no formal order. The local authority may still offer voluntary support if this is required.
- Supervision Order
Your child would remain in your care but the local authority will continue their involvement by ‘advising, assisting and befriending’ your family. The order usually lasts between 3 and 12 months but can be extended by a further application being made to extend the Order. The total time that a Supervision Order can be in place is 3 years. The aim of this order is to continue support to your family.
- Child Arrangements Order (Live with Order) Child Arrangements Order (spend time with)
This order determines who your child should live with and who they spend time with/ have contact with. The court may make this order in favour of a relative or friend if the decision is that your child should be placed with them.
- Special Guardianship Order (SGO)
This order grants a family member or friend that has been deemed safe to care for your child parental responsibility until the child is 18. You will retain your parental responsibility as the child’s parent, but the special guardian would have enhanced parental responsibility. Meaning they can make final decisions for your child.
- Care Order
The local authority would share responsibility with you and can continue to make decisions about your child’s care. Your child can remain living with you but also under the care of the local authority. The child would remain considered a ‘Looked After Child’.
- Long-Term Foster Care
The local authority continues to share parental responsibility and parents retain theirs. The child is placed with a foster family usually under a Care Order. This is often when a child cannot return home to parents, but adoption or a family/friend placement is also not considered appropriate.
- Placement Order (for Adoption)
This allows the local authority to place your child with adopters. You will often be allowed yearly letterbox contact with your child and in some instances will be able to have ongoing direct contact, provided the court deem it appropriate. This order is made when it is considered unsafe for your child to return to your care. This would then be followed by an Adoption Order which makes the adoptive parents legal parents permanently.
How can we help?
We appreciate involvement with social services can be a stressful and uncertain time. We have an experienced team that can assist parents at all stages of social care involvement. If you need advice or guidance on any concern involving the Local Authority during care proceedings, 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 so that we can advise you accordingly. Alternatively, please email us on careteam@johnsonastills.com and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.
