Care Proceedings – in Court

If the local authority takes your case to court, it is likely they will be asking the court for a “Care Order” or a “Supervision Order”. If you are a biological parent or someone with parental responsibility for a child, you will be entitled to legal aid regardless of your financial circumstances.

At the very first hearing, the court has to decide where the child should live whilst assessments take place. The first decision is whether there should be an “interim” (temporary) court order to ensure the child is safe.

For the court to decide whether an “Interim Care Order” or “Interim Supervision Order” should be made, the court needs to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering significant harm in your care. A decision will then need to be made about whether your child can remain living with you.

If the local authority has a Care Order, it will mean they have parental responsibility for your child. This means they have the power to place your child in foster care or with family members whilst assessments take place.

If the local authority has a supervision order, this does not give them parental responsibility. It can mean that your child will remain living with you or with family members whilst assessments take place.

At Hopkins Solicitors our team will advise you at every stage of the court process.

How we can help

Care proceedings can be extremely worrying. It is very stressful when social services are involved with your family and you may feel completely overwhelmed by the process. This is especially true if social services are considering removing your child from your care.

We will advise and assist you from the very first stage, right from when a social worker first gets in touch with you. Our specialist solicitors will guide you through the process and give you clear advice throughout, to give you the best chance of achieving what you want for your family. We will also help you secure legal aid so you can rest assured there will be no legal costs to yourselves.

Ring any of our offices and ask for the “Family – legal aid team” or complete the enquiry form below and we will be in touch, in most instances, the same day.