Hartnell Chanot: Divorce/Family Law Solicitors Exeter, Devon
Child Protection is everybody's business
Friday, 30 November 2007
There are few cases of child abuse more renowned than that of Victoria Climbié, the eight-year-old who died in London in 2000 after months of torture and neglect at the hands of her great aunt and her lover.
The case bought to light the severe failings of senior officials, and social workers, but there are risks of getting it wrong on both sides, as in the most recent case of the innocent parents of a two and a half week old baby boy who suffered the horrendous experience of a court finding that they had deliberately harmed him. The parents "experienced the nightmare of what has since transpired to be a false finding by a court" and "lived for 12 months with the opprobrium and suspicion of friends and neighbours" - a cautionary tale about the devastating consequences that can follow when courts and expert witnesses get it wrong.
The safety and welfare of children
Parents aren’t perfect. Sometimes they may have trouble looking after their children. The right to decide how a child is raised and cared for ultimately rests with the parents, or the people who have ‘parental responsibility’ for him or her, but social services are responsible for making sure that all children are safe and well. They have a duty to protect vulnerable children and if any report is made to them that a child has suffered harm or is likely to suffer harm that is significant they are duty bound to investigate and, if they consider appropriate, will call a Child Protection meeting, involving all those people including professionals, to determine whether the child is at risk of harm.
The registration of a child on the Child Protection Register does not necessarily mean that a child will be removed from his or her parents. The Local Authority is duty bound to consider what services could be provided to the child and his or her family to avoid the need for the child to be taken into care. It is only if the risks to the child are too great that any form of Care Proceedings would normally be contemplated by the social services department.
The removal of a child is a last resort, the emphasis is very much on what can be done to help families; and the Government has recently published new proposals to approach child protection matters differently. Social services are expected to investigate claims more thoroughly and to work within the family to look at what local support services are available to them. The Department will convene a meeting called a Child Protection Conference.
Disputing the allegations - a parental nightmare.
Any parent facing such a meeting should urgently obtain legal advice as decisions made early on can affect the future conduct of the proceedings and ultimately what is to happen to the children in due course. This whole process can be a very frightening and intimidating for parents who may well be deeply upset by any injury their child may have suffered or who may dispute the allegations made about the safety or welfare of their child.
Free legal aid is available for all parents involved in any child protection case and there is a very good guide for parents that outlines a parents legal position if social services are concerned about a child’s welfare on the Hartnell Chanot & Partners website www.hartnellchanot.co.uk.
Is your child at risk?
If your child is at risk of being taken into care, it is important to stay calm and reasonable, however frustrated you feel and however dismissively you are treated because your actions are being judged at all times. You should contact your child’s social worker to try to work with them – and instruct a solicitor. You do not want to be labelled “aggressive” or “threatening”, which will ultimately have a negative affect on the case.
If your children are going to be taken away from you and put into care you may be able to prevent this. You can apply to the court to oppose the making of a Care Order and ask the court to let the children live with you or a relative instead. Sometimes the children may not be taken into care, but you may have to be supervised by social services to make sure the children are well cared for, this is called a "Supervision Order". Or you may have a social worker assist you with your family - this is called a "Family Assistance Order" – which can only be made with your consent.
Emergency protective action
Sometimes social services can get an "Emergency Protection Order" to remove the children with the help of the police and to keep a child for an initial period of eight days. The Court has to be satisfied before authorising such an Order that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is likely to suffer significant harm if protective measures are not put in place. If a child is considered to be in immediate danger a senior police officer can authorise a Police Protection Order that will authorise a constable to remove a child who is considered to be in danger. Since the 1st October 1997 the courts have been given new powers to remove an "abuser" of a child from the family home rather than allowing the social services to take a child away from the home.
Getting the right legal representation
It is vital in any such circumstances for parents to secure legal representation immediately and to consider how any concerns could be met for example by the child being placed with another family member on a short term basis if there is an unexplained injury, and while investigations are being undertaken. If you want to prevent a Care Order being made or you want to get your children back, there are Solicitors specially trained to do care work who are members of the Law Society’s Children Panel. Hartnell Chanot & Partners have three such members namely Stephen Sowden, Norman Hartnell and Jane Chanot who have extensive experience in Care Proceedings. In their role as legal advisors to you as parents, they will attend important meetings with you, represent you at any hearings and guide you through what can be a traumatic process.
Nothing is more important than having a happy and healthy child in the family. The prospect of losing a child is terrifying - fear can take over but how you handle the situation could mean the difference between keeping and losing your child
If your children are already subject to a Care Order, you may be able to discharge the Order if your own personal circumstances have changed and that change will benefit the children.
For further information please contact Stephen Sowden on 01392 421777.
