If social services are really concerned about the welfare of your child they may go to court and ask for a care order to be made. In most cases this means that they want to remove your child from your care and place him/her with other carers such as relatives or foster carers. Under a care order the social services share parental responsibilty for your child with you, and they can decide where your child will live.
A care order can only be made if the your child has suffered "significant harm" or if it is decided by the court that your child is likely to suffer significant harm in the future. The "harm" has to result either from the child not receiving a good enough standard of parental care, or from your child being "beyond parental control".
"Harm" means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.
Even if the court decides that your child has suffered significant harm, or is likely to suffer significant harm, that does not automatically mean that a care order will be made. The court then has to go on to consider whether a care order is needed in all the circumstances of the case, and whether a care order (or some other order) would be better for child or not.
At any time during your case, which is likely to last for many months, the court can make an "interim care order". This is a temporary order which is intended to safeguard a child until a final decision is made. The court can make an interim care order if it satisfied only that "there are reasonable grounds to believe" that your child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm.
If you have received court papers then it is vital that you obtain expert legal advice without delay. Please contact any member of our specialist team of lawyers at either of our offices.
“If I was unsure about anything all I needed to do was pick up the telephone. I felt that both your solicitor and her secretary helped me through a very difficult time and gave me a lot of support when I had to go to court.” Mrs JC
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