An A-Z of terms | Family Rights Group

A - C

ABUSE

See Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Neglect.

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ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation is when a child or young person is being cared for by Children’s Services with the agreement of the parents/those with parental responsibility (or the child themselves if they are aged 16 or 17).

The parent/person with parental responsibility for the young person should be asked to sign a consent form for the accommodation and to agree a written plan. This plan should state that the parent is able to end the arrangement at any time and set out how this can be done.

If a child is ‘accommodated' it means he or she is being ‘looked after'.

For more information see advice sheet 4: Family Support, advice sheet 13: Contact with children in accommodation and advice sheet 11: Making plans for children in the care system.

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ADOPTION

Adoption is where a child legally becomes a member of a new family and is no longer legally related to their birth family. Adoption can only happen if a court orders it.

A plan for adoption can only be made after the adoption panel has considered the child’s case and has made a recommendation about whether adoption is in the child's best interests. The adoption agency does not have to follow the recommendation of the adoption panel but they normally do.

However a child cannot be placed for adoption unless either the parents (who have parental responsibility) have given their formal consent to this, witnessed by an officer of the court or the court has made a placement order.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption.

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ADOPTION AGENCY

This will either be a local authority Children’s Services department or a voluntary adoption agency which is authorised to do adoption work.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption.

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ADOPTION CONTACT REGISTER

The adoption contact register helps adopted people and their birth relatives to get in touch with each other, if they both want to. These people can put their details on the register and say if they would like to make contact with a specific person or if they do not want to have contact. To find out more read here about using the adoption contact register.

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ADOPTION PANEL

An adoption panel must be set up by each adoption agency to advise on any decisions it makes in relation to the adoption of children.

Membership:

There are up to 10 people on a panel. Someone independent of the agency must chair the adoption panel and the panel must include in its membership:

at least three other independent panel members. These will often be people with personal experience of adoption, e.g. adoptive parents, adopted people or birth family members
a medical adviser,
social worker representatives
an elected member (if the adoption agency is the children’s services department of the local authority)
an agency adviser (who should be a senior member of the agency) and
a minute taker.

Panels cannot consider a case unless there are five people present, - one must be the chair (or vice chair), one an independent member, and one a social worker representative.

Panels should have access to legal advice and the legal adviser may attend panel meetings.

Panels should be representative of the community they serve, so they should ideally have a diverse membership with a range of skills and experience.

Function:

Adoption panels have three main jobs:

they recommend whether a child should be placed for adoption
they consider the suitability of people who want to adopt children
they match a child who is subject to a plan for adoption with suitbale people to adopt him/her.

Panels can also offer advice on various related issues, such as contact arrangements and support plans.

Panels make recommendations which the agency must take account of. However, the final decision about whether or not an adoption plan is made and/or whether the proposed match between the child and people who want to adopt him, is made by the adoption agency decision maker – this is usually a senior manager in Children’s Services. They will make their final decision based on the reports considered by panel, the recommendation of the panel, and the minutes from the adoption panel.

Remember even if there is a plan for adoption a child cannot be placed for adoption against the wishes of the parents without a placement order being made by the court.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption

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ADOPTION ORDER

An adoption order is a court order which makes the child legally part of the adoptive family and legally ends a child’s relationship with their birth family. It is a permanent order, lasting for the child’s lifetime. It cannot be discharged once it has been made.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption

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ADVOCACY SERVICES

An advocate is someone who is independent of children’s services who can help give family members a voice when social workers are involved with their family. They can:

attend meetings with that person
write letters or make telephone calls on their behalf to children’s services
help that person put their client’s point of view across and
help that person to understand what is going on.

Children’s Services should have details of local advocacy services. There are not many advocacy services for parents but there are some projects which specialise in helping parents with learning disabilities or parents who are experiencing mental illness or domestic abuse to be heard.

Family Rights Group also has a small advocacy project which support some families involved with children’s services about the care and protection of their children. The social worker can purchase this service for family members so as to provide an advocate to work with a parent or family member.

Family Rights Group’s advice line can explain how to look for an advocate or solicitor and give more information about how they work.

For more information see: advice sheet 10: Advocacy for families in local authority decision-making.

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ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The law encourages people who are thinking about going to court, or those who are already involved in court proceedings, to try to find solutions to their difficulties without the court having to decide the issue for them. Examples of alternative dispute resolution in children’s cases include family mediation and Family Group Conferences.

Both of these are services are run by trained people, who are independent of everyone else in the case and are not on anyone’s side. They try to get everyone to agree. Sometimes the judge will stop a case (“adjourn”) to give the parties a chance to try alternative dispute resolution, but the judge cannot make them do this if they don’t want to.

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APPROVED FOSTER CARER

An appproved foster carer is someone who has been assessed by Children’s Services to become a foster carer and has been approved by a Fostering Panel. A foster carer may be approved to care for a specific child or generally to be a foster carer for any child.

A child who is looked after by children’s services cannot be placed with a person who is not an approved foster carer.

Relatives and friends can be assessed and approved as foster carers for a child in their family who is looked after and needs to be placed. However, if a relative wants to look after them but there isn’t enough time for that person to be assessed and approved because the child needs to be placed urgently, the relative, friend or other person connected with the child may be approved temporarily, with some small checks being carried out by the social worker so the child can be placed with them straight away. Once they have been placed a full fostering assessment still needs to be carried out of that person and long term plans developed.

For more information see: advice sheet 12: Immediate Placements and advice sheet 22: Family and Friends care: becoming a foster carer.

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ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families is a Government guide for social workers and other professionals to help them collect information about individual children and their families so as to plan how best they can help them.

The assessment is usually carried out by a social worker but other professionals like the health visitor or teacher may also help too. The assessment looks at:

the child’s developmental needs
the ability of the parents/carers to meet the child’s needs, including whether they can keep the child safe from harm
the help available to the child and parents/carers from the wider family and community.

For more information see advice sheet 4: Family Support Services

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CAFCASS

CAFCASS stands for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. This is an independent court based agency. Through its Family Court Advisors (also sometimes referred to as CAFCASS officers) it advises the family courts in England on what it considers to be in the best interests of the child during family law cases.

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CARE

A child is “in care” when they are under an interim (temporary) or full care order or an emergency protection order made in favour of children’s services. In these circumstances children’s services share parental responsibility for the child with the parents. This means that they must find out parents wishes about any decision concerning their child, but they have the final say and can make plans for the child even if the parents don’t agree with them.

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CARE ORDER

This is a court order which places a child in the care of Children’s Services. In these circumstances children’s services share parental responsibility for the child with the parents. This means that they must find out parents wishes about any decision concerning their child, but they have the final say and can make plans for the child even if the parents don’t agree with them.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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CARE PLAN

A care plan is the written plan that sets out the arrangements for a child who is looked after. Before it is drawn up, the social worker must:

find out the wishes and feelings of the parent, the child and others and
carry out an assessment of the child’s needs (using the Assessment Framework) so that services are provided to make sure the child’s identified needs are met, including their:

health
education
emotional and behavioural development
identity
need for contact with other people in the family

The care plan will also set out:

where the child will live and why it is suitable – this is also written down in the child’s placement plan which details arrangements in the placement for example what the carer can decide in terms of the child staying overnight with friends etc.
the long term or permanent plans for the child and
the name of the Independent Reviewing Officer.

Care Plans are reviewed at regular Looked After Child Review Meetings.

For more information see: advice sheet 11: Powers and duties of the local authority towards children in the care system.

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CARE PROCEEDINGS

Care proceedings is the name for the court process when Children’s Services go to court because they are concerned that a child is not safe. In care proceedings, Children’s Services can ask the court to make an order to protect the child, such as an Emergency Protection Order, an Interim Care Order or a Care Order.

If any of these orders are made, children’s services share parental responsibility for the child with the parents. This means that they must find out parents wishes about any decision concerning their child, but they have the final say and can make plans for the child even if the parents don’t agree with them.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

A case management conference is a court hearing during care proceedings. It is normally held within 45 days of care proceedings being started. The purpose is for the court to look carefully at the care plan, identify key issues, see whether directions given at earlier court hearings have been complied with and what further directions are still needed to prepare the case for the final hearing.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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CHILD ASSESSMENT ORDER

A social worker can ask a court for a Child Assessment Order if the social worker needs a medical or other assessment of a child, and the parent won’t agree. The social worker can only do this if they have good reason to believe that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer “significant harm”. The order last for seven days and cannot be extended.

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CHILD IN NEED

A child is in need if s/he is under 18 and

is in need of extra support, from Children’s Services, in order to become or stay safe and healthy;
is in need of extra support, from Children’s Services, to develop properly; or
is disabled.

Children’s services decide if a child is in need by carryingout an assessment of their needs using the Assessment Framework. If they decide the child is in need they will normally draw up a plan setting out what extra help they will provide to the child and their family. This is called a child in need plan. The plan should also state when and how the plan will be reviewed.

For more information please see: advice sheet 4: Family support services.

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CHILD IN NEED ASSESSMENT

A parent or carer who thinks that their child may be in need can ask Children’s Services to carry out a child in need assessment. A social worker will complete an initial assessment to decide if a child is in need and sometimes will also do a longer core assessment. They will use the Assessment Framework to do the assessment. If they decide the child is in need they will normally draw up a plan setting out what extra help they will provide to the child and their family. This is called a child in need plan. The plan should also state when and how the plan will be reviewed.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family support services.

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CHILD PROTECTION ENQUIRIES/INVESTIGATIONS

Children’s Services have a legal duty to look into a child's situation if they have information that a child may be at risk of significant harm. This is called a child protection enquiry or investigation. Sometimes it is called a “Section 47” after the section of the Children Act 1989 which sets out this duty.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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CHILD PROTECTION CONFERENCE

This is a meeting which takes place between local authority Children’s Services, other professionals who are in contact with the child, and family members. It happens if a child is considered to be at risk of significant harm within 15 days of the strategy discussion.

Those at the meeting (conference) discuss the risk to the child and decide what future action needs to be taken (if any) to make sure they are kept safe. See also Initial Child Protection Conference and Child Protection Review Conference.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

Watch our new website film about child protection conferences here.
Showing a fictionalised case Anne and Terry’s story illustrates what happened when they went to an initial child protection conference. Using professionals in role, and actors as parents the film is realistic and engaging. It will help both parents and practitioners prepare for, and participate in, these important meetings.

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CHILD PROTECTION CONFERENCE CHAIR

The chair of a child protection conference is a senior social worker whose job it is to run the conference. The chair will be independent of the child’s case and will not be involved in managing the child’s social worker or their manager.

With the help of the people at the conference, the chair decides if the child should have a Child Protection Plan, and if so, what should be on it. This sets out the problems the child is having and what will be done by who to make sure those problems do not continue and that the child is safe. The details of what will be done by who will be developed at later meetings of the core group.

The Chair sets the date for first review meeting, and normally chairs that and all other review meetings.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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CHILD PROTECTION PLAN

A child protection plan is a plan of support and services put in place at an initial child protection conference when a child is considered to be at risk of significant harm because the child has been physically, emotionally or sexually abused or neglected in some way.

A child will also be given a social worker who should meet regularly with the child and the parents to discuss the child's progress. The child's situation and the plan will be reviewed after three months and then every six months.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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CHILD PROTECTION REVIEW CONFERENCE

The review conference can agree that the child doesn’t need a child protection plan any longer. Or, the conference might decide that the child protection plan needs changing, or that the child should stay on the same child protection plan.

The first child protection review conference is held three months after the initial Child Protection Conference. After that, review conferences are held every six months. Usually these meetings will be chaired by the same person who chaired the initial conference, and the same professionals will be invited to attend.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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CHILDREN ACT 1989

This is the main law in England and Wales about keeping children safe and well. It covers help for families, taking children into foster care and residence and contact. Other matters about children, like education, health and adoption, are dealt with in separate laws. It has been changed and added to many times you may want to find out what the current version of the Children Act says.

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CHILDREN ACT 2004

This Act puts a duty on local authorities and other agencies to cooperate to improve the wellbeing of children and young people and keep them safe.

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CHILDREN AND FAMILY COURT ADVISORY AND SUPPORT SERVICE

See CAFCASS

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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS ACT 1989

This law made changes to the Children Act 1989 about a range of things including support for children in need and their families and the priorities for choosing where looked after children should live. It also led to Regulations brought in from April 2011 about how children’s services must make and review plans for looked after children.

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CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE

A children’s advocate is an independent person who works with a child to help them make sure they understand what is happening and that their wishes and feeling are heard. This may be by:

going to meetings at Children’s Services with the child or
making sure their point of view is put forward in other ways, like writing letters or making complaints.

In some situations, children are entitled by law to have an advocate, for example, children in care or children who wish to make a complaint about Children’s Services.

Although children’s advocates are independent of the social worker they are organised and paid for by children’s services. So all Children’s Services departments have a Children’s Rights Officer, responsible for providing advocacy for children.

Sometimes the advocacy is also available through an outside agency such as:

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CHILDREN'S GUARDIAN

A children’s guardian is an an independent and experienced social worker who is an officer of the court. Their job is to make enquiries (when asked to do so by the Judge) about the child’s circumstances and make a recommendation about what is best for them in the future. The Children's Guardians are organised by a service known as CAFCASS. They used to be called Guardian ad Litem.

If there is an application for an Emergency Protection Order or a Care Order or anything related to that, the court will automatically appoint a guardian for the child. If there is an application for another type of order about the care of the child like a Residence or Special Guardianship Order the court may decide to appoint a guardian if the case is complex.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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CHILDREN'S HOME

A children’s home is a group home for Looked After Children. It is managed by professional staff. It may specialise in children or young people with particular needs, for example, behavioural problems.

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CHILDREN'S PANEL SOLICITOR

This is a solicitor who has proved to the solicitor’s professional body that they are specialists in child care law. You can find a specialist child care solicitor in your area here.

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CHILDREN'S RIGHTS OFFICER

This is the person within Children’s Services responsible for making sure a Children’s Advocate is available to help children who are involved with Children’s Services and make sure their rights are protected.

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CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Is the department of the council (local authority) which is responsible for children. It used to be called Social Services.

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COMMON ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK (CAF)

The Common Assessment Framework is a standard way of looking at a child's needs which is used by lots of different agencies that work with children and young people, like schools and health visitors. It is used to find out if a child or young person has any additional needs and how they child can be helped.

The assessment is carried out by someone from the agency working with the child. They will discuss the situation with the child, their family and professionals involved in the child’s life.

The Common Assessment Framework is completely voluntary, so a parent and the child must agree for it to be carried out and also who they would like it to be shared with.

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COMMUNITY CARE LEGISLATION

This refers to the group of laws that concern caring for adults, such as laws relating to health, disabilities and protecting vulnerable people.

For more information see: advice sheet 6: Social Care services for disabled parents.

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COMPLAINTS

When a person is dissatisfied with Children’s Services, for example they disagree with a decision or want to complain that a service they need has not been offered, they can make a formal complaint to their Local Authority. Each Local Authority must have written information about their complaints procedure available.

For more information see: advice sheet 25: Challenging decisions and making complaints.

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COMPLAINTS OFFICER

A Complaints officer works for Children’s Services and investigates complaints. They may also arrange meetings with the person who made the complaint and other people involved with the complaint to try and sort things out informally.

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CONCURRENT PLANNING

This is a planning process used in potential adoption cases. It is used when social workers think that a child (usually a baby) may be able to stay with its birth parents but have a plan in case this proves not to be possible. The aim of concurrent planning is to minimise the number of changes for the baby.

The baby is placed with specially trained foster carers who are supported to care for the baby with a view to them returning to their birth family. If the baby cannot return to the baby’s birth family then these foster carers are already judged to be suitable and willing to adopt the baby.

The birth family, meanwhile, are given intensive support and have regular contact with their child. If their efforts to improve their parenting are judged successful, then the baby returns to them. Otherwise, the foster carers apply to adopt the child.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption.

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CONNECTED PERSON

This is a legal term which means a relative or friend or someone else who is connected with a looked after child. It can include someone who knows the child in another role like a teacher, a childminder or a neighbour.

When deciding where a looked after child will live (this is called placement) Children’s Services should firstly try to safely place the child with:

their parent or other person with parental responsibility. If this is not possible they should try to place the child with;
a relative/friend or connected person as long as the person is approved as a foster carer before;
unrelated foster carers.

If there is not enough time to assess and approve the relative /friend or connected person as a foster carer, it is possible for Children’s Services to place them for a temporary time provided that certain key checks are made. The relative/friend or connected person will still need to be fully assessed and approved as a foster carer in order to be able to care for the child long term.

For more information see: advice sheet 12: Immediate placements of looked after children with relatives or friends.

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CONTACT

Contact is the word used for keeping in touch with a child who is living away from parents or other family members. Contact may be face-to-face meetings, telephone calls, letters, texts, cards or the sending of photos etc.

Children’s Services must allow a parent "reasonable contact" with a child who is in care. If the child is living away from home under a care order, then local authorities have to get the court's permission to completely stop a parent from having contact.

They must try to ‘promote’ contact between children and their parents and others if the child is accommodated.

For more information see: advice sheets 14: Contact with children in care and 13: Contact with children in accommodation.

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CONTACT ORDER

This is an order made by a court deciding who should keep in touch with a child, usually by direct contact like visits but sometimes by indirect contact like letters or phone calls. The court can also decide things like where the contact will take place, if it should be supervised, and how often it happens.

A contact order might be made for a parent, a grandparent or a sibling or other relative. It could be for a child living at home, or a child in Care.

For more information see: advice sheets: 13: Contact with children in accommodation and advice sheets 14: Contact with children.

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CONTESTED HEARING

This is a court hearing which happens when there is no agreement between the people (parties) involved in the case. Each party then puts their evidence before the court and the judge makes a final decision.

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CORE ASSESSMENT

This is the name for the detailed assessment of the child and their family’s circumstances, to see if they need any help. It is prepared by a social worker. It looks at the child’s needs, the parents’ ability to meet those needs and the family’s general situation using the Assessment Framework.

A core assessment is usually carried out as a part of Child Protection enquiries or as a part of a Child in Need plan. It should be done within 35 working days of the end of the initial assessment (though in some areas there are currently no time frames).

The Government Guidance on core assessments is available here.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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CORE GROUP

This is a small group of professionals and family members who meet after a child protection conference to decide how best to implement the agreed child protection plan, to fill out the details of it and to make sure that the plan is carried out.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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COURT ORDER

This is a decision made by the court. It says what will happen in the case and stays in force either for a set amount of time, or for the amount of time the judge says in the order unless it is ended before then.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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D - F

DIRECTIONS

These are instructions the court makes to everyone involved in the case about getting statements and reports ready for the final hearing, for example, instructions about who needs to attend hearings, deadlines for producing evidence, what experts reports will be prepared or scheduling court dates.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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DIRECT PAYMENTS

Direct payments (cash) can be paid to the parents of disabled children, to disabled 16 and 17 year olds and to disabled adults which allows them to buy the care services they need. They are usually only made if there has been an assessment of the persons’ needs and a decision by adult or children’s services that they need extra support.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services and advice sheet 6: Support for disabled parents.

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DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE (DLA)

This is the main benefit paid to people with disabilities (including children). There are two parts of the benefit which is paid to people who need help to look after themselves (care) and/or to get around (mobility).

Carers of children can be paid DLA if the child is disabled and qualifies.

For more information see: advice sheet 21: Support for relatives and friends who are caring for children. Or look on the government’s website here.

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DISABLED CHILD

The law says that a child is disabled if s/he is: “blind, deaf of dumb or suffers from a mental disorder of any kind or is substantially or permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed”.

A disabled child is automatically a “child in need” and so a social worker must assess a disabled child’s needs, if asked to do so, to see if they need extra help.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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DISCHARGE

This is when a person asks a court to discharge an order i.e. they are asking the court to end the order.

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ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

This is the list of reasons worked out by Children’s Services which they use to decide if someone is entitled to something. They are available to the public.

Both Adult and Children’s Services use eligibility criteria to decide which adults with disabilities and children “in need” they will help.

For more information see: advice sheet 6: Support for disabled parents and advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER

If Children’s Services believes a child is in urgent need of protection, it can ask the court to make an Emergency Protection Order. An Emergency Protection Order lasts for up to eight days and can be extended for a further seven days.

An Emergency Protection Order gives Children Services the power to:

remove a child from home and take them into care
prevent a child from returning to the parent’s care, for example if the child is in hospital
exclude someone else from the child’s home (if the parent who lives there agrees)
see the child without the parent’s permission
make a direction for a medical or psychiatric examination of the child.

In exceptional circumstances, an Emergency Protection Order can be made at a hearing that the parents do not know about (called “without notice”). If this happens, the parent can apply to end (“discharge”) the Emergency Protection Order. They should seek legal advice about it from a specialist childcare solicitor.

For more information see: advice sheets 9: Child protection procedures and 15: Care proceedings.

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EMOTIONAL ABUSE

There is no one definition of emotional abuse in the law and it can include many things like:

continuing and severe ill treatment of a child so that the child’s confidence and self worth is badly hurt
constantly putting the child down or making them feel unloved or useless
bullying
the child seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another person
expecting too much of a child for its age, or being over protective
failing to protect them from abuse by someone else.

Some degree of emotional abuse is involved in all forms of abuse to children but it can also occur alone.

Emotional abuse is defined in more detail by the government in Working together to safeguard children, Department for Children, Schools and Families (2010) (p.38, paragraph 1.34)

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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ENFORECABLE RIGHT

This is when a person has a right that they can go to court to enforce. This would normally be something quite specific, like if a child has a certain type of disability, he or she may have an enforceable right to a particular type of help.

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EPO

See Emergency Protection Order.

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EXCLUSION REQUIREMENT

When a court makes an Emergency Protection Order or an Interim Care Order, it can also add an exclusion requirement. This gives the court the power to order the person who the social worker believes is a danger to the child to leave home. This will only be ordered if the parent who lives there agrees, and that parent must make sure that the person leaves and stays away.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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FAMILY AND FRIENDS CARE

A friends and family carer is a relative, friend or other person connected with the child who is looking after a child that cannot live with his/her parents. Sometimes they are known as kinship carers. If the social worker was involved in arranging this, the child is likely to be looked after. If they were not then it is likely to be a private arrangement.

For more information see: advice sheets 12: Immediate placements of looked after children with relatives or friends and 21: Support for relatives and friends who are caring for children.

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FAMILY AND FRIENDS CARE POLICY

Every Children’s Services department should have a policy setting out the support they provide to family and friends carers from 30.9.11. There should be leaflets and information available to the public about how they can get this support and who to contact for help.

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FAMILY COURT ADVISOR

A Family Court Advisor is a social worker who helps the court in children’s cases. They may be asked by the judge to prepare a report for the court about what would be in the child’s best interests in certain types of proceedings.

In cases where parents/carers are in dispute with each other, he or she will usually meet with both parents and the children in order to prepare a report for the court on what is in the child's best interests.

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FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCE (FGC)

A Family Group Conference is a decision-making meeting in which the wider family makes plans for children who need support. It is a voluntary process and families cannot be forced to have an FGC. Families are assisted by an independent coordinator to prepare for the meeting. They have the chance to get the information they need from the social worker and others and then meet on their own to make a plan for their child/ren. The family should be supported to carry out the plan, unless it would place the child at risk of significant harm.

For more information see: advice sheet 3: What is a family group conference?

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FAMILY PROCEEDINGS COURT

This is the part of the Magistrates’ Court that deals with family matters.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES

This is the name for the help offered by social workers to children in need. These services could include things like day care, home help, parenting skills, family centres or counselling. All Children’s Services departments must publish information about the help tht is available for children in need in their area.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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FGC

See Family Group Conference.

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FINAL HEARING

This is the last hearing in a court case, when the court makes the final decision or order on the application that has been made.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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FIRST APPOINTMENT

This is the first hearing date in court proceedings. The court will not make a final decision at this hearing, but it will give directions (instructions) about what needs to happen for the case to go forward, like what evidence or reports will be needed.

At this first hearing, the court will also consider the immediate arrangements for the child, like where the child will live and who will have contact with the child during the court case. The court may make some interim (temporary) orders about these or other matters.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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FOSTER CARE

When a child is looked after by the local authority, s/he may be placed in foster care with foster carers. Foster carers are paid by Children’s Services to care for looked after children. They do not have parental responsibility for the child. They offer the child a place in their home and have responsibility for the daily care of the child. Family members and friends can be assessed and approved by the local authority to become foster carers for the child.

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FOSTERING ALLOWANCE

Anyone who is caring for a looked after child as a foster carer should be paid a fostering allowance by the Children’s Services department which placed the child. This applies whether they are a professional unrelated foster carer or a family member or friend who is approved as a foster carer for the child (whether on a temporary or long term basis).

The duty to pay a fostering allowance applies from the date the child is first placed with the carer.

Family and friends carers should not be paid less than unrelated foster carers. They should also receive additional payments for the child’s birthday, holidays and religious festivals.

For more information see: advice sheets 12: Immediate placements of looked after children with relatives or friends and 21: Support for relatives and friends who are caring for children.

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FOSTERING ASSESSMENT

Children’s Services must place looked after children with approved foster carers in order for the placement to be lawful. However, this can include relatives/friends/ or other connected persons who are approved as foster carers

Relatives/friends/ or other connected persons may be approved as foster carers for a temporary period (for example where a looked after child needs to be placed with them quickly and there is not enough time to carry out a full fostering assessment) or long term when the child may remain with the carers until they reach 18.

Temporary approval: This is known as a regulation 24 placement. The social worker must find out key information about the relative/friend or other connected person and their household before (or immediately after) the placement in order to give temporary approval. It will last for 16 weeks, although it can be extended to 24 weeks in exceptional circumstances. During that time the relative/friend or other connected person must be fully assessed and approved as a foster carer for the placement to continue beyond that time. If they are not approved within that time period the child must be moved to another placement.
Full fostering assessment and approval: This is a detailed process made up of four main parts which include criminal records checks, health checks, references and the carer’s family’s circumstances including their home environment and their ability to meet a child’s needs. Family and friends carers will usually be assessed on how they can care and protect a specific child.

When the assessment is finished the information gathered will be presented to a fostering panel for a recommendation about approval. If the proposed carer is not approved they can challenge this by writing to the local authority or asking for a review by the Independent Review mechanism.

For more information see: advice sheet 22: Family and Friends care: becoming a foster carer.

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FOSTERING LINKWORKER (ALSO KNOWN AS SUPERVISING SOCIAL WORKER)

This is a social worker from the Fostering and Adoption team or fostering agency. They work with foster carers to ensure that they receive the right support and monitoring to care for any child who is placed with them.

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FOSTERING PANEL

A fostering panel is made up of people who have not been involved in the fostering assessment.

They will include:

Independent Panel Members, which includes people with experience and expertise in foster care, education, health, disability and family placement social work.
Members with social work experience including in family placement.

The purpose of the panel is to make recommendations about whether a person should be approved to foster a specific child or any child who is looked after. People who want to become foster carers are usually invited to attend part of the panel meeting wher their assessment is being discussed.

When a social worker completes a full fostering assessment of someone who wants to be a foster carer, they write a report on that person. This report must be presented to a Fostering Panel who can make any of the following recommendations:

To approve the foster carer.
To approve the foster carer but with certain conditions (noted during the assessment).
To ask the social worker to return to the panel at a later date with additional information.
Not to approve the foster carer.

The final decision about approval rests with a Children’s Services decision maker who will consider the panel’s recommendation.

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G - I

GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE

The General Register Office is responsible for birth records, including adoption certificates. It is responsible for managing the adoption contact register which puts adopted people in touch with birth relatives if they both want this. This agency also maintains certificates of birth and adoption and can provide information regarding the courts and adoption agencies involved in adoptions.

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GUARDIAN

See children’s guardian.

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ICO

See Interim Care Order.

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INDEPENDENT REVIEW MECHANISM (IRM)

This is a panel which is independent from Children’s Services, which looks into decisions made by Children’s Services where people who want to be foster carers have been assessed but then refused.

If the IRM panel think a carer should have been approved instead of refused, they can make a fresh recommendation to Children’s Services. Children’s Services will still make the final decision.

To apply for a review through the IRM, you should write to the contract manager of the Independent Review Mechanism.
You can email your application to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , fax it to 0845 450 3957, or write to Contract Manager, Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), Unit 4, Pavilion Business Park, Royds Hall Road, Wortley, Leeds LS12 6AJ.

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INDEPENDENT REVIEWING OFFICER (IRO)

Every child who is looked after by children’s services must have an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). Their job is to monitor whether children’s services are carrying out the care plan and to chair Looked After Child Review Meetings.

Before a Looked After Child Review Meeting the IRO must:

speak to the child in private and make sure the child knows of their right to have an advocate;
speak to the parents and make sure their views are represented at the review, even if they don’t attend;
speak to all other important adults in the child’s life, including professionals, even if they don’t all go to the review;
make sure all important reports are available before the meeting (the IRO can postpone the meeting for up to 20 days to get the reports).

After the Looked After Child Review Meeting the IRO must:

make sure there is a written record of decisions and recommendations distributed within 5 working days and a full record of the review distributed within 20 working days;
make sure the person responsible for carrying out decisions made at the review is identified, and does their job;
make sure that if agreed decisions aren’t carried out then, a senior officer in the Children’s Services is told. The IRO will try to negotiate with the senior officer to make sure things are properly sorted out for the child.
If things are going seriously wrong, they can ask CAFCASS to make a court application if this is needed to enforce the child’s rights.
keep in touch with what is happening to the child in their placement between reviews.

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INDIRECT CONTACT

This means keeping in touch with a child without seeing the child in person. It could mean phone calls, letters, texts, cards or the sending of photos.

For more information see: advice sheet 11: Duties of the local authority when children are in the care system.

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INITIAL ASSESSMENT

This is the name for the first, short social work report on a child and their family, to see whether they need any help. It should be done within ten working days of the referral to the social worker (though in some areas there are currently no time frames). Like the Core Assessment, the initial assessment looks at the child’s needs, the family’s ability to meet those needs and the family’s general situation.

The social worker should write to the family at the end of the assessment to tell them if they are going to offer help to the family, and what will happen next. This may include a core assessment, which is a more in depth and detailed look at the family’s situation.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

The Government Guidance on assessments is available here.

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INITIAL CHILD PROTECTION CONFERENCE (ICPC)

This is a meeting which takes place between social workers, other professionals and family members when a child is considered to be at risk of significant harm because they have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused or neglected. The conference meets to discuss the risk to the child and decide whether the child needs a child protection plan to protect him or her from harm.

For more information please see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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INTERIM CARE ORDER

An interim care order (ICO) is a temporary order made by the court which says that the child should be looked after in the care system for a temporary period. It means that the court has good reasons to believe a child has been seriously harmed or is likely to be seriously harmed, and that an Interim Care Order is the best thing for the child. It is usually made at the beginning of care proceedings to give Children’s Services temporary powers while the full case is being decided.

An Interim Care Order can last for up to eight weeks, and then be renewed (made again) in four week periods after that.

Under this order, Children’s Services share parental responsibility for the child with the parents. This means that they must find out parents wishes about any decision concerning their child, but they have the final say and can make plans for the child even if the parents don’t agree with them.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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INTERIM CARE PLAN

This is a temporary care plan, put in place while a full care plan is being made.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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INTERIM COURT ORDER

This is a temporary decision by the court. It stays in force until it is discharged (ended) or replaced by another order for example a permanent order.

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INTERIM RESIDENCE ORDER

This is a temporary Residence Order made by a court, which says where a child will live until a permanent order is made. Any person who gets a residence order has parental responsibility for that child which they share with anyone else who has parental responsibility such as the parents.

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INTERIM SUPERVISION ORDER

This is a temporary order made by a court saying that the child should be monitored by Children’s Services wherever they are living, until a permanent order is made, but it does not give Children’s Services parental responsibility.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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IRO

See Independent Reviewing Officer.

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ISSUES RESOLUTION HEARING

This is a court hearing, usually held between 4 and 6 months after care proceedings have started. Its purpose is for the judge to see what can be agreed upon by everyone involved in the case before the final hearing.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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J - L

JUDICIAL REVIEW

This is a legal procedure in which a court decides whether an action, or a failure do something which should have been done, by a government body (like a local authority), was lawful.

If, for example, a parent thinks that Children’s Services has not followed some of their legal obligations towards their child, they might be able to challenge the decision in court in a Judicial Review.

For more information see: advice sheet 25: Challenging decisions and making complaints.

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KINSHIP CARER

A kinship carer is a relative or friend who is looking after a child that cannot live with his/her parents. Sometimes they are known as Family and Friends carers. If the social worker was involved in arranging this, the child is likely to be looked after. If they were not then it is likely to be a private arrangement.

See Looked After Child Review Meeting.

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LEAD PROFESSIONAL

Sometimes professionals from several different agencies are involved in a child’s life, for example Children’s Services, Health, Education. Usually in those situations, one person is named as the lead professional. The lead professional can come from any of the different agencies working with the child, depending on the child’s needs. It’s their job to be the main contact person for the child and their family and to coordinate all the help the family is getting under the Common Assessment Framework.

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LEGAL AID

See Public Funding.

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LEAVE OF THE COURT

This means the ‘permission’ of the court. Sometimes people (not parents of the child) who want the court to make an order, need the court’s permission first to be able to make their application.

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LETTER BEFORE PROCEEDINGS

This letter is sent to parents when a social worker is so concerned about a child’s safety and well-being that they are planning to ask the court to make an order to remove a child from a parent’s care.

The letter should first be sent to the parents and should explain what they need to do to stop the child being removed from their care (unless there is an emergency). Parents who receive this letter should go immediately to a solicitor specialising in family law. The solicitor can represent parents for free under a public funding certificate (previously known as legal aid).

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LOCAL AUTHORITY CHILDREN'S SERVICES

See Children’s Services.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT OMBUDSMAN

This is an independent person appointed by Parliament to investigate complaints made against council departments, including Children’s Services.

A person may only complain to the Local Government Ombudsman after they have been through the Local Authority complaints procedure.

For more information see: advice sheet 25: Challenging decisions and making complaints.

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LOCAL SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN'S BOARD

This is the local government body responsible for coordinating the services which protect vulnerable children who are at risk of harm in every area. It is made up of members from Children’s Services, and other agencies such as education, health and the police. It sets local rules and policies and makes sure they are put into place and work well.

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LOOKED AFTER CHILD

This means any child who is being cared for by Children’s Services. There are two main types of looked after children - those who are removed from home under a court order (for example Care Order or Emergency Protection Order) and those who are placed (live) away from their families by agreement (children in accommodation).

When a child is looked after they may be placed:

with the other parent/other person with parental responsibility, or
with a relative, friend or other person connected with the child who is approved as a foster carer or
in foster care or a residential unit

For more information see: advice sheet 11: Powers and duties of the local authority towards children in the care system.

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LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN (LAC) REVIEW MEETING

When a child is looked after, their situation is regularly reviewed at LAC reviews meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to:

look at the child’s care plan,
make sure that the right arrangements are in place for the child whilst they are looked after,
discuss any changes since the last review, and
consider whether decisions made then were acted on.

It is the time for parents to raise any issues or concerns, for example about where the child lives, contact, education or health matters.

LAC review meetings are chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer. They are normally attended by parents, anyone else with parental responsibility, the social worker, the child, the foster carer and the foster carer’s supervising social worker. There may be other professionals there too, but it shouldn’t be so many that it overwhelms the child. In exceptional circumstances the chair may decide to exclude a parent from the review meeting if for example them being there would upset the child. But if they do they should help that parent to express their views to the meeting in some other way.

Parents are entitled to a written record of decisions and recommendations from the LAC review. They should receive a summary within 5 working days and a full record of the meeting within 20 working days.

Managers in Children’s Services must tell the Independent Reviewing Officer within 5 working days if they cannot agree to any recommendations made at the meeting.

The first LAC review meeting must be held within four weeks of the child being looked after. The second is held within the next three months and the third and later reviews are held every 6 months. Reviews should also be held in the following circumstances:

when there is going to be a significant change to the care plan,
when a child goes into or leaves custody ;
when there is a plan for a looked after child to leave care before the age of 18;
if there is a plan to move a child from a place where they have been settled for some time.

For more information see: advice sheet 11: Powers and duties of the local authority towards children in the care system.

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M - P

MANCHESTER JUDGEMENT

This high court judgement made it clear that family and friends carers, caring for a looked after child who was placed with them by Children’s Services, have a right to be paid a fostering allowance at the same approved rates as unrelated foster carers who work for Children’s Services. They should receive this payment from the date the child is placed with them and should also receive other support to care for the child.

See: advice sheet 12: Immediate placements of looked after children with relatives or friends.

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MEDIATION

This is a service which helps people who disagree about aspects of a child’s care (for example), to find solutions to the problem themselves without having to go to court.

A family mediator is a trained professional who helps family members negotiate. They do this by keeping the discussion very focussed on the issues which are not agreed and on the child’s needs rather than those of the adults. The mediator is neutral and therefore does not take sides. It is the people taking part in the mediation rather than the mediator who make plans for the child. Sometimes this involves the mediator seeing the child to ask his/her views on particular issues to inform the adults’ discussions.

In many cases, mediation can be very successful in helping find solutions that work for the child and the adults involved, for example in agreeing the arrangements for who the child should see and where they should live. However agreements reached at mediation are not legally enforceable without taking further legal steps.

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NEGLECT

Neglect is the continuing failure to meet a child’s basic physical and psychological needs. It can be caused by a wide range of things, including for example:

a mother misusing drugs during her pregnancy; or once the child is born,
failure to provide a child with
- Adequate food, clothing or shelter
- Protection from physical and emotional harm or danger
- Adequate supervision
- Access to adequate medical care
- Protection from neglect by another person.

Neglect is defined in more detail by the government in Working Together to Safeguard children (2010) Department for Children, Schools and Families (p.38, paragraph 1.36).

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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NO ORDER

This is a key principle in family law that says that the court shall only make an order about a child if this would be better for the child than not making an order.

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OMBUDSMAN

See Local Government Ombudsman.

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OUTLINE CHILD PROTECTION PLAN

A child protection plan is a plan of support and services put in place at a child protection case conference when a child is considered to be at risk of significant harm. An outline plan is drawn up at the initial child protection conference. A more detailed plan is made later at core group meetings. The outline plan should:

Identify likely sources of harm to the child and ways in which the child can be protected from that harm;
State specific things about how the child will be protected and how he/she will be cared for;
Make clear who is responsible for what and time scales.

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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PARALLEL PLANNING (ALSO KNOWN AS TWIN-TRACK OR CONTINGENCY PLANNING)

This describes how several plans may be made at the same time during the early stages of a child becoming looked after. It means that a number of different possible placements are being considered at once. For example, to see whether it’s possible for the child to return home to parents, but at the same time having a back-up plan for the child to live elsewhere, like with a family member or foster carer if that is not possible. That way if the child can’t return home, time isn’t wasted starting assessments of new carers all over again.

This process can also include considering long-term foster placements or adoption should the other plans be unsuccessful. Children’s Services would need to have a care order or placement order to enforce these.

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PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY (PR)

Parental responsibility is defined in law as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority, which by law a parent has in relation to the child and the administration of his/her property.”

In practical terms, it means the responsibility to care for a child and the right to make important decisions about the child, for example agreeing to medical/dental treatment, taking the child abroad or applying for a passport.

Any person caring for a child, for example a family and friends carer can make all the day to day decisions about the child to make sure they are well looked after, but they should speak to someone who has Parental Responsibility when it comes to important decisions about the child.

The following people have parental responsibility for a child:

All mothers
Married fathers
Unmarried fathers with a parental responsibility agreement (forms are available from local courts) or a parental responsibility order from the court
Unmarried fathers named on the child's birth certificate (after 1 December 2003)
A second female parent will have parental responsibility for a child conceived by assisted reproduction if she is in a civil partnership with the mother at the time or before the birth. She will obtain it also by entering a civil partnership later. She will only be a ‘second female parent’ if they both formally consented with the licensed treatment provider at the time, to her being a parent. If they don’t enter a civil partnership she can obtain it by being named on the birth certificate, by parental responsibility agreement with the mother or by a court order.
Step-parents (including civil partners) if they have made an authorised agreement with both parents with parental responsibility or
Anyone who has a Residence Order for the child
Anyone who has been appointed as guardian of the child by a parent with parental responsibility who has died (and there is no surviving parent with parental responsibility)
Anyone who has a Special Guardianship order for the child
The local authority if they have a Care Order or Emergency Protection Order for the child
Adoptive parents
Prospective adopters when the child is placed with them

You cannot give parental responsibility to anyone else, although you can arrange for other people to meet your parental responsibilities, for example, if your child is being looked after by relatives or while your child is at school.

An unmarried father who does not have parental responsibility will still be a "parent" under the Children Act. He is therefore entitled to be involved in decisions made about his child by the local authority and the courts. To find our more about the rights of fathers see our FAQs for fathers.

For more information see: advice sheet 2: Parental Responsibility.

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PARTIES TO PROCEEDINGS

Parties are the people who are involved in legal cases before the courts. So in children’s cases the parties could be the Local Authority Children’s Services department and the parents; or if the disagreement is just between the two parents, for example over where the child lives, the parties would be the mother and the father.

Other people can join a court case as a party too, for example grandparents who wish to care for their grandchild if the court gives permission.

Parties are allowed in the court room and are allowed copies of all the paperwork, such as reports and other documents. Information will only be kept away from a party if telling the party could put another person at risk.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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PERMANENCE

This describes a plan for a child which is intended to last until the child becomes an adult at 18. It can be achieved through:

a plan to return to the parents, or
a placement with relatives or friends, whether in long term Foster Care, or under a Residence Order or a Special Guardianship Order.
A placement with unrelated foster carer in foster care.
Adoption when a child is legally adopted into another family. This can only happen if clear procedures are followed and the court makes an adoption order.

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PHYSICAL ABUSE

This means any kind of physical harm, including for example by hitting, shaking, throwing or burning a child.

Physical harm is defined in more detail by the government in Working Together to Safeguard children (2010) Department for Children, Schools and Families (p.38, paragraph 1.33).

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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PLACED FOR ADOPTION

This describes part of the process of adoption. Before an adoption order can be made the child must live with the prospective adopters for 10 weeks. If an adoption agency is involved, for example because the child is looked after beforehand, the child can only be placed with the prospective adopters if either:

the parents (who have parental responsibility) agree or
the court makes a placement order giving the adoption agency permission to place the child for adoption against the parents wishes.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption.

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PLACEMENT

This is the name for where a child lives while in care or is placed for adoption.

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PLACEMENT ORDER

Where adoption is the plan, Children’s Services usually apply for a placement order at the end of care proceedings. This order allows Children’s Services to place the child with prospective adopters, even if the parents don’t agree.

For more information see: advice sheet 23: Adoption.

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PLANNING MEETINGS

Planning meetings are held when a child is first looked after by the local authority and they are making initial decisions about where the child should be living, what contact a parent should be having, and how the child's health, education and other needs are going to be met. These arrangements will be recorded in the child’s care plan which will be reviewed at regular intervals at Looked After Children Review meetings.

For more information see: advice sheet 11: Powers and duties of the local authority towards children in the care system.

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POLICE PROTECTION

The police may remove a child to a safe place if they are called to a home and are worried about a child’s immediate safety, for example if a young child has been left alone.

Sometimes social workers ask the police to use these powers if they are worried that a child is in immediate danger and needs to be made safe straightaway, but they do not have time to apply to court for an order.

However, wherever possible, social workers should try to get a court order to give them permission to remove the child, rather than asking the police to use these powers.

A child who is removed by police can stay in police protection for at most 72 hours (three days). The police will ask Children’s Services to look after the child during that time. If social workers continue to have concerns for the child’s safety for longer than this they would need to ask the court to make an order or ask the parents to agree to the child being accommodated.

For more information see: advice sheets 9: Child protection procedures and 15: Care proceedings.

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PR

See Parental Responsibility.

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PRIVATE ARRANGEMENT

Sometimes when there is a problem in the home, a grandparent or other relative will agree to care for a child. If this is done by agreement with the parents, and not at the direction of a social worker, this is a “private arrangement” sometimes also known as a “family arrangement”. In that situation, Children’s Services have not taken on any legal or financial responsibility for the arrangement.

However, this is often an area in dispute. Sometimes parents find that social workers are very involved in making plans for the child, but then say it is a private arrangement and therefore they do not have to give the carer any financial or other help. If this happens to you, you should take advice from a solicitor or Family Rights Group about what you can do to challenge this.

A private foster carer is someone who is not a relative or a foster carer working for children’s services who is (or plans to be) caring for a child under the age of 16 (or under 18 if disabled) for more than 28 days and the arrangement was made privately, not through social workers. A relative in this context is a step parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or older sibling whether full or half blood, marriage or civil partnership.

When a child is privately fostered, the parent and the person caring for the child need to tell Children’s Services as soon as possible. Within seven days, a social worker will visit the home where the child is staying. The social worker will speak to the carer and the child and make sure the child is safe and well cared for. The social worker must carry on visiting the child at regular intervals for as long as the child is privately fostered.

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PROSPECTIVE ADOPTERS

These are people who want to adopt a child who have been approved by the adoption agency.

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PUBLIC FUNDING

This means free legal advice or representation by a solicitor. It used to be called legal aid. All parents and other people with parental responsibility automatically get public funding to cover the costs of having a solicitor in care proceedings. Public funding is also available in some other situations.

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PUBLIC LAW OUTLINE (PLO)

This is the system which guides both Children’s Services and the courts on how to prepare for and carry out care proceedings.

Guidance elsewhere says that social workers must work with the family to try to find solutions to the problems before proceedings start (unless there is an emergency).

The PLO says that the court must check that this work has been done at the first hearing. It must also check to see if there are any family or friends carers who could care for the child (if the child is unlikely to stay at home). The PLO also says how the court should manage the case and the timescales which should be followed up to the final hearing.

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Q - S

REGULATION 24 PLACEMENT

This is a law which allows children’s services to place a child with a family member or friend in an emergency situation for up to 16 weeks (without doing a full fostering assessment) provided they have carried out certain basic checks about that person’s home circumstances and their ability to care for and protect the child. This should allow Children’s Services to be satisfied that the placement will keep the child safe and well.

See: advice sheet 12: Immediate placements of looked after children with relatives or friends.

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RELATIVE

This has a specific meaning in law. It means a close relative, which is a step parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling (whether full or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership).

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RESIDENCE ORDER

A Residence Order is a legal order which establishes with whom a child lives. It also gives parental responsibility to whoever is given the Residence Order. It does not take away parental responsibility from the child's parents. A residence order may last until the age of 18, or can be ended earlier by the court.

For more information please see: advice sheet 18: DIY Residence Orders: information for family and friends carers.

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RESIDENCE ORDER ALLOWANCE

Children’s Services may give financial help to someone with a Residence Order (who is not a parent, or married to one) by paying them a Residence Order Allowance. They don't have to pay this allowance and any payments they agree to make will be means tested. These allowances are usually reviewed on a regular basis. The details of how much they pay and the criteria they use should be set out in Children’s Services’ family and friends care policy.

For more information see: advice sheets 18: DIY Residence Orders: information for family and friends carers and 21: Support for relatives and friends who are caring for children.

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RESIDENTIAL CARE

This means a place where a Looked After Child may live such as a children’s home or other group living arrangement. A residential setting is managed by professional staff and may specialise in children with particular needs, such as physical disability or behavioural problems.

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RESPITE CARE

Respite care is most often provided to children with disabilities but children’s services can also provide respite accommodation to any child in need who may benefit from this.

When Children’s Services provide respite care to a child they must produce a written care plan for the child and review these arrangements.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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REVIEW CHILD PROTECTION CONFERENCE

The purpose of the child protection review conference is to look at whether or not there are still serious concerns about the safety of the child and the parents’ ability to care for and protect him or her (in other words, whether the child still suffers or is likely to suffer significant harm).
The review conference can agree that the child doesn’t need a child protection plan any longer. Or, the conference might decide that the child protection plan needs changing, or that the child should stay on the same child protection plan.

This is the part of the law (section 17 of the Children Act 1989) that gives Children’s Services the power to help families of children in need. Children’s Services do this by offering family support services.

For more information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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SECTION 20

This is the part of the law (Section 20 of the Children act 1989) that gives Children’s Services the power to look after a child at the request of their parent. This is also called voluntary Accommodation.

For detailed information see: advice sheet 4: Family Support Services.

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SECTION 47

This is the part of the law (Section 47 of the Children Act 1989) that gives Children’s Services the responsibility to investigate suspicions of risk of harm to a child. This is also sometimes called a Child Protection Investigation.

For detailed information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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SECURE ACCOMMODATION

Children’s Services can place a child over 13 in secure accommodation if he/she:

has a history of absconding (running away), is likely to, and is likely to suffer significant harm if so; OR
if secure accommodation isn’t used, he/she is likely to injure him/her self or others.

The initial placement can only be for up to 72 hours. To remain there any longer children’s services must make an application to court. The young person has the right to be legally represented at this hearing .

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SEXUAL ABUSE

Sexual abuse can mean many different things. Broadly speaking, it means getting a child involved in sexual activities, whether or not violence is used and whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The sexual activity does not need to be physical. It could involve for example watching sexual images, encouraging a child to behave in a sexual way or grooming a child for future sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse is defined in more detail by the government in Working Together to Safeguard children (2010) Department for Children, Schools and Families (p.38, paragraph 1.35).

For more information see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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SGO

See: Special Guardianship Order.

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SHORT BREAKS

A child may be looked after on a short break arrangement which means that the child has a series of placements in which no single placement lasts more than 17 days and the total time looked after in any 12 month period is 75 days.

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SIGNIFICANT HARM

The Children Act 1989 introduced the phrase "significant harm" to describe the amount of harm that a child must be suffering before Children’s Services become involved in family life against the family's wishes. For example, Children’s Services must:

carry out child protection enquiries if they suspect a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, and
take steps to protect a child whom they have reasonable cause to believe is suffering, likely to suffer, or has suffered significant harm - either in agreement with the family or through the court.

"Harm " means "ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development". It includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, damage to mental or emotional well-being (emotional abuse), and neglect. There is no definition of "significant" but the law requires local authorities and the courts to compare your child's health and development with a similar child to establish whether the harm is significant.

For more information please see: advice sheets 9: Child protection procedures and 15: Care proceedings.

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SOCIAL WORKER

The social worker (sometimes called a key worker) is a qualified and registered professional . A children’s social worker’s job is to make sure children are safe and well cared for. Most are employed by Children’s Services but some are employed by other agencies or may be self-employed independent social workers.

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SOLICITOR

A solicitor (sometimes called a lawyer) is a qualified professional who is regulated by the professional body called the Law Society.

In some circumstances (for example for parents in care proceedings) their services are free. If Children’s Services go to court to seek a legal order for your child it is a good idea to choose a solicitor who is knowledgeable and experienced in this area and who is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Children Panel. You can find a family solicitor in your area here.

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SOUTHWARK RULING

This case law makes clear that if children’s services are involved in placing a child with a family or friends carer, then, unless they specifically agree something different with the carer at the time of the placement, the child will usually be treated as a being looked after child. This means that the carer must be assessed, approved, paid and supported in the same way as any unrelated foster carers who works for children’s services.

See: advice sheets 12: Immediate placements of looked after children with relatives or friends and 21: Support for relatives and friends who are caring for children.

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SPECIAL GUARDIAN

A special guardian is someone who has a Special Guardianship Order for a child. This order may be made by the court when a child is living permanently with someone other than their parents (such as relatives or long term foster carers).

A Special Guardian has parental responsibility for the child which they can exercise to the exclusion of anyone else with parental responsibility. This means they do not have to consult anyone else about most decisions they make. But there are some things they cannot do or decide without the permissions of the parents/others with parental responsibility or the court, such as:

They cannot change a child’s surname
They cannot take the child abroad for more than 3 months
They cannot agree to the child being placed for adoption.

For more information see: advice sheet 19: DIY Special Guardianship – information for family and friends carers.

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SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ALLOWANCE

When someone is granted a Special Guardianship Order, Children’s Services can give that person financial help by paying them a Special Guardianship Allowance. Children’s Services don't have to pay this allowance and any payments they agree to make will be means tested and are usually reviewed on a regular basis.

If a Special Guardian was previously receiving fostering allowance for the child, they may get a higher rate of special guardianship allowance for the first two years.

For more information see: advice sheets 21: Support for relatives and friends who are caring for children. and 19: DIY Special Guardianship – information for family and friends carers.

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SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDER (SGO)

A Special Guardianship Order is a legal order which secures a child’s home with someone who is not their parent on a long term basis. In theory, the order can be ended before the child is 18 but this would be unusual, especially as parents cannot apply to end the order without the permission of the court and they would only get this permission if they could show that there had been a significant change of circumstances since the order was originally made.

A Special Guardianship Order also gives the special guardian parental responsibility for the child which they can exercise to the exclusion of anyone else with parental responsibility. This means they do not have to consult anyone else about most decisions they make. But there are some things they cannot do or decide without the permissions of the parents/others with parental responsibility or the court, such as:

They cannot change a child’s surname
They cannot take the child abroad for more than 3 months
They cannot agree to the child being placed for adoption.

This order does not remove parental responsibility from the child's birth parents, but their ability to exercise it is extremely limited.

Unlike in adoption cases, the child remains legally a member of the birth family under a special guardianship order.

For more information see: advice sheets 19: DIY Special Guardianship and 20: Special Guardianship – what does it mean for birth parents.

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STRATEGY DISCUSSION

This is a discussion which takes place between Children’s Services, the police and possibly other child care agencies at the beginning of child protection enquiries. The purpose of the discussion is to decide:

whether and how the child protection enquiries should be carried out; and
whether any immediate steps need to be taken to keep the child safe while the child protection investigation is underway, for example, if someone should be asked not to have contact with the child for the time being.

Parents are not normally invited to strategy meetings but should be informed as soon as possible afterwards of what is likely to happen.

For more information please see: advice sheet 9: Child protection procedures.

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SUPERVISED CONTACT

Sometimes a court or a social worker believes it is best for a child if someone else is present when a child’s has contact with someone (perhaps a parent they don’t live with). This is to make sure the person having contact doesn’t do anything that might harm or upset the child.

If the court or the social worker makes such a decision, then arrangements will be made about how the contact will happen for example:

the child and the parents will meet in a specific place, like a contact centre, and the time they spend together will be supervised by staff; or
they may meet in the family home, with another family member being there.

When professionals supervise contact, they will usually make written observations of the contact and these may be used as evidence in court.

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SUPERVISION ORDER

A court can ask Children’s Services to “supervise” how the parent cares for their child. A social worker will agree a contract or supervision plan with the parent which will set out what is expected of the parent and the help the social worker will give.

This order does not give Children’s Services parental responsibility for the child so the basic decision about how the child is raised can be made by the parents/other with parental responsibility but they may still want to discuss things with the supervising social worker to make sure they are happy with the plan.

A Supervision Order lasts for up to one year, and can be extended at most for two more years.

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T - V

TEAM AROUND THE CHILD (TAC)

This is a way of working with children and families which usually follows the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) process .

The lead professional will bring together people from different agencies who are involved with the child and family in order to put together a plan of action /support that will help with whatever difficulties they may have.

Each TAC will be different and will come together to meet the particular needs of the particular child/family. By working very cooperatively with the family and with good information sharing the TAC tries to make sure that the right help is provided.

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THRESHOLD CRITERIA

A court can only make certain orders about a child, like care, supervision or adoption orders, if it is satisfied that, when Children’s Services first got involved in protecting the child, s/he was suffering or was likely to suffer significant harm, and that the harm was due to the parents’ care not being what should normally be given by a parent.

Once the court decides this is true, then the court goes on to decide if it’s best for the child to make an order.

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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TWIN TRACK PLANNING

See parallel planning.

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VOLUNTARY ACCOMMODATION

See Accommodation and section 20.

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W - Z

WELFARE CHECKLIST

When a court makes a decision about a child, for example, about where the child should live or with whom the child should have contact, it must consider the “welfare checklist”. This is a list of things about the child which help the court to focus on the best interests of the child. It means the court must think about:

the child’s wishes and feelings
the child’s physical, emotional and/or education needs
the child’s age, sex and background
the likely effect of the proposed change on the child
the risk of harm to the child
how capable the child’s parent is of meeting his or her needs

For more information see: advice sheet 15: Care proceedings.

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YOUNG CARER

A young carer is a person under the age of 18 who has significant caring responsibilities for another person. They might look after, for example, a younger sibling or a family member with a disability.

A young person should not have to take too much responsibility for caring for others without help. They should be entitled to help support for example:

if they are considered to be a child in need they can get help from children’s services;
they may be able to get help from a local support group for young carers; and/or
if they are caring for a disabled parent then a “whole family” assessment should be completed by Adult and Children’s Services working together so as to work out the package of help for the whole family.

For more information see: advice sheets 4: Family Support Services and advice sheet 6: Support for disabled parents in a parenting role.

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A - C

D - F

G - I

J - L

M - P

Q - S

W - Z

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