Ccp and care order help

[ParentInNeed50]

Hello,

I have been working under a Cin plan with ss for the last 7 months, my daughter ran from home and alleged abuse, ss investigated and found the allegations unsubstantiated, I asked that a private arrangement be setup up whilst camhs and ss looked into helping me rebuild my relationship with my 10 year old dd and to unpick why she was making allegations, since then the arrangement has broken down between me and the carers and the social team have been awkward with my request, and I said I would withdraw consent unless they changed the social worker and gave me an advocate to help me.

The social team changed the worker and the advocate and then alleged I was harassing the carers therefore they took my case to cpc, the school have been amazing support for me and my family throughout but they have not been listened to with their views. The school are working with my daughter and have seen many of the escalating behaviours.

The social worker then presented a care order to me the day before the cpc informing me they were worried about my dd returning home due to her making threats to runaway if she was made to return to my care.

I have been told that the other two children in my care will be spoken to to decide whether they need to go to a care order too despite there never previously being any concerns made by any agencies regarding them.

I have been told as the care order has not been actioned yet, I am not entitled to legal aid, so I feel in limbo.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear ParentInNeed50,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

You say in your post that you have a 10 year old daughter who was been subject to a CIN plan for 7 months, due to her running away from home and alleging abuse. You mention a private arrangement involving carers, which has now broken down, and said that you would 'withdraw consent' if there was not a change of social worker and advocate, which has now happened. I am not clear what you mean by a 'private arrangement' - is this an arrangement that involves carers coming to your home? Or is your daughter living outside of home, and if so, is there a S. 20 in place?

You say that the case has been escalated to child protection conference; this means that that children's services had reason to believe that your daughter had suffered significant harm or was at risk of suffering significant harm. I am assuming from your post that it was decided at the child protection conference that your daughter should be subject to a child protection plan? You can read more about child protection procedures here.

You say that prior to the child protection conference, the social worker presented you with a care order and said that she was worried about your daughter returning to your care as she had threatened to run away. You have also been told that the other children in your care will be spoken to in order to decide whether they need to be subject to a care order, and that since the care order has not been 'actioned' you are not entitled to legal aid.

It is important to clarify that a social worker cannot present you with a care order; this is an order that can only be made by a judge at the end of care proceedings in court. It may be that the social worker has informed you that the local authority intends to enter pre-proceedings, which is a last opportunity period of time for you to make the changes needed in order to safely care for your child in order to avoid them being removed from your care. If children's services intend to enter pre-proceedings, they should present you with a letter before proceedings inviting you to a pre-proceedings meeting so that you can discuss what these changes may be. You will be entitled to legal representation during this time, and your solicitor should attend this meeting with you.

If children's services are particularly concerned about your daughter and think that it is in her best interests to apply to the courts immediately to initiate care proceedings. If this is the case, the social worker must send you a letter of issue informing you of this and advising you to see a solicitor specialising in children's law. You will be entitled to legal aid. To read more about care proceedings, take a look here.

Should you wish to discuss your situation with an adviser, please telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday.

Best wishes,

Suzie