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Information for Parents
If you are married and then go through a divorce, both of you will continue to have parental responsibility for your children and the Court will leave it up to you to decide the best arrangements for residence and contact. It is only if you cannot agree that it may become necessary to apply for a Residence or Contact order.
Under the Children Act 1989, you can apply for a number of different types of order:
- An order for Residence setting out where the child will live
- An order for Contact with the other parent including staying and visiting contact or other forms of contact, for example by telephone or video link
- A Specific Issue order
- A Prohibited Steps order
Where parents are not married, only the mother has parental responsibility, but the father can also acquire this if the parents enter into a a parental responsibility agreement or if the father obtains a parental responsibility order from the Courts. This will not give the father any right to interfere in the day to day arrangements for the care of the child, but he can expect to be involved in major decision making such as which school the child will attend. He will also be treated as one of the child's legal parents, so that he can for example obtain copies of school reports direct from the school.
Grandparents and other members of the family
While parents have an absolute right to ask the Court to make a residence or contact order, others may only apply with leave of the Court. Grandparents may wish to keep in contact with their grandchildren, or if the circumstances warrant it, may even want to apply to have the children come and live with them. The same may apply to other family members such as uncles and aunts, step-parents, older brothers and sisters etc. In appropriate circumstances such applications can be made but it will be necessary to obtain "leave" or permission from the Court first before the matter can go ahead.
What happens when a child is placed on the "Child Protection Register"?
Individual Local Authorities have a duty to investigate concerns raised about the welfare of children living within their area. Often, if concerns are raised about a child, an initial Child Protection Conference will be arranged.
The people who are invited to attend Child Protection Conferences will be from a number of different agencies involved with the child or children concerned, for example schools, health visiting services and the police.
Parents will be invited to the conference and will have the opportunity to make their views known. Parents attending Child Protection Conferences are entitled to be accompanied by a Solicitor.
At the end of an initial Child Protection Conference a decision will be taken about whether a child’s name should be added to the “at risk register” and, if so, under what category or categories. The categories are:
- neglect
- physical abuse
- sexual abuse
- emotional abuse
The definition of each category is very broad.
If a child’s name is added to the “Child Protection Register” then Social Services will continue to remain involved with the family. Normally a plan to work with the family to address issues of concern will be agreed at the Child Protection Conference.
Following an initial Child Protection Conference, if the child or children’s names are added to the “Child Protection Register” there will be a further conference which will probably take place 3 months after the first conference. Conferences will then usually continue to take place at 6 monthly intervals until the point where either the child or children’s names are removed from the register further action is taken by Social Services.
What happens when children are taken into care?
It is not possible for the Local Authority to remove a child from its parents care without the agreement of the parents or an application to Court.
If the Local Authority have significant concerns that a child is at immediate risk of serious harm they may well apply for an Emergency Protection Order with or without the parents present in Court. If granted then the Local Authority can remove the child.
Alternatively if the concerns are less significant and present less of an emergency the Local Authority may apply for an interim (temporary) Care Order. If granted this would mean that the Local Authority would share parental responsibility for the child and would allow the Local Authority to remove the child into foster care.
Sometimes however the Local Authority will apply for an interim Care Order but plan to leave the child living at home during a period of assessment.
If a child is removed from its parents care this does not mean that the child’s future is settled at that point. If the Local Authority have made an application for an interim Care Order then they will also be applying for a full (final) Care Order. There will be a final hearing about this and it is common for a final hearing to take place a year or more after the proceedings began.
In the period leading up to the final hearing there will be assessments carried out to see if there is any possibility that the child can be returned to either its parents or another family member. The type of assessment varies and will often include psychiatric and psychological assessments.
Public funding is always available for parents and the child in cases where the Local Authority are taking proceedings regarding a child. This means that parents who find themselves in this situation will always be entitled to instruct a Solicitor and will not have to pay for that advice, regardless of how much they earn.
These type of proceedings can often seem very daunting not only because of the important and sensitive issues they address but also because of the large number of people involved. At Court there will usually be a Local Authority Solicitor who will be accompanied by a Social Worker and the Social Work Manager. A Children’s Guardian will be appointed to represent the best interests of the child. The Children’s Guardian will appoint his or her own Solicitor to deal with legal issues. The parents of the child will be legally represented either by the same Solicitor or by separate Solicitors. Expert witnesses may be called on such as doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists. The number of people involved can seem very daunting but where the future of a child is at issue it is important for the Court to have as much information as possible.
WHO TO CALL
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Local organisations
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National organisations
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Community Mums and Dads Programme
01375 858512
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NHS Direct
0845 4647
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Open Door Intervention
01375 413671
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Childline
0800 1111
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Thurrock Initial Response Team
01375 652802
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Parentline Plus
0808 800 2222
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Thurrock Diversity Team
01375 652472
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The Samaritans
08457 90 90 90
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South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre
01375 380609
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NSPCC
0808 800 5000
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Hattens Solicitors
01375 374851
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