Residence Order - Child returning home advice

[a2179]

Hi my child has been under a residence order living with Grandparents since early 2010 this was due to my alcoholism and issues with my partner/childs father. However after much hard work and trying hard to work with our childs carers we all mutually feel that by the summer of this year within our childs summer holidays our child will be able to return to live with us permanently.

As it stands at the moment we have our child for 4 nights a week and sometimes more in the holidays so it wont be too much of a shock when she does return we have tried to do things gradually and our child is showing positive signs that they are happy to return to live with us for good. Obviously it is a great thing that we are able to have our child back with the support of the carers as after much research and reading around this forum I can see it is fairly rare.

I just want to know what the legal requirements are in terms of do we have to go back to court do social services have to be involved again and should I seek some legal advise so I know where we stand? Obviously there will always be a risk being an alcoholic that I could relapse and I am fully aware of this which is the only concern of my parents so even though I don't intend to drink again one day at a time - if I were to though what safe guards could be put in place so that social services wouldn't try to take our child again and in the worst case scenario our child could go back to the original carers? Obviously this is the last thing I would want but I am realistic about my battle with addiction but take my recovery very seriously Ive worked hard to get well and never thought I would be in this position so I want to make sure its done right for my childs sake as they have been the one who suffered the most any advise would be welcome

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi a2179

Welcome to the parent's board, and thank you for being so honest about the difficulties that led to your child being removed from you, and placed in the care of their grandparents.

If your child was made subject to a Residence Order as a result of private law proceedings, (a court process between you and the father for instance) -and if everyone is in agreement (including your child- you do not say how old they are) -that it would be in your child's best interests to come back home, this is a relatively straight forward matter, that can be resolved amongst yourselves.

However, if the Local Authority issued care proceedings, and were involved in the placement with the extended family, I advise you to put your intention to have your child returned to you, in writing to them, so they can conduct any necessary assessments, (and consider any initial support that may be required). Therefore, the reunification process can be more formal, and Children's Services can be confident it is in your child's best interests to return to your care.

In these circumstances, you can seek legal advice via http://www.lawsociety.org.uk.

Best Wishes


Suzie