Can a child be taken in to care at 16

[mary84]

Can a child of 16 be taken in to care by childrens services ??? I have been told different things by people including cs. If a child is on a protection plan, what happens when they reach 16. Also as a child can legally leave home at 16, can the cs remove a child of 16 from there parents ???

[Murray72]

If the Child is under a full Care Order this last's until the Child is 18 years old.

I think a Child can be removed at 16, but they can apply to the Courts to be returned home and the Judge has to give full consideration to the Child's wishes.

[mary84]

Thanks, could you please explain what a full care order is ??

[braveheart]

Hi Mary

A full care order is when the courts grant the Children Services a Placement Order, this means that they have the full rights to place a child in long term care until they are 18 either be it with a foster family or a care home with other children or adoption (for younger ones). But they will only get this if they can prove to the court that there is no other viable option for the child i.e. to live with other family members or friends or if the family environment is not safe for the child long term, these procedures in court can take a long time so the judge cannot not make a hasty decision about it.
Hope this helps.

Carolanne

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi,
I just wish to clarify that there are differences between care and placement orders. Have a look at our advice sheet about care proceedings.
care proceedings
Page 25 explains what a care order is and you will find on page 27 an explanation of what a placement order is.
A care order gives children services parental responsibility which allows them to make decisions about what it thinks are the best arrangements for a child including where the child will live. For example, as carolanne says- the local authority could decide to place a child with family members or in a foster care placement or a residential placement. (However, it is not correct that the local authority can place a child in an adoptive placement. They can only do this with a placement order. )
Parents will keep their parental responsibility but children services will have the final say. Parents should be consulted regularly and the plan for the child while they are under a care order is reviewed regularly. You could have a look at advice sheet 11
Duties of the local authority when a child is in the care system
Care orders can last until a child is 18 but can end before that time if there has been a real change in circumstances and the court thinks it is in the best interests of a child. (see page 30 of the advice sheet about care proceedings).A child must be under 17 (or 16 if married) before a care order can be made

A placement order is made when the court support a plan for adoption of a child. It gives children’s services authority to place a child for adoption. Once a child is placed for adoption, then the adopters go back to court for an adoption order. An adoption order ends the parent’s parental responsibility. There is more detailed information about adoption and placement orders in advice sheet 23
adoption.

Suzie