Social services are meant to help keep families together, and sort out problems that may have cropped up by offering support.
Before there is any mention of going to court, you may have been told that social services are considering putting your child's name on the child protection register. This is a register of children who are considered to be at risk of harm, and for whom a child protection plan will be put together. Parents are entitled to attend all child protection case conferences, which are the meetings where decisions are made about registering a child on the child protection register. Parents are also entitled to have a solicitor attend the meeting to take notes and advise them there and then about what is happening. We can attend these meetings with you to offer that support and advice.
Social services may decide that they have to go to court to place a child in foster care. If that happens, social services almost always have to give parents notice that they are thinking about going to court, and tell them what they need to do about this. If you have had a letter like this, you will need specialist family law advice, and we can help with this.
If social services are going to apply to the family courts (e.g.t to remove a child from his or her parents), they have to tell parents in advance about the hearing. Parents are entitled to attend court with free legal representation, no matter what their financial circumstances. Children are automatically represented by a specialist children's lawyer, appointed by the court as soon as social services make an application for a court order. Again, this legal representation is free.
When social services become involved with a family, especially if the case goes to court, the process can take a long time and be very stressful. It is vital to have specialist legal advice. With our team of specialist children’s lawyers, who are on the Law Society’s children panel, we are here to help every step of the way.
