At Home Care Order?

[bayescr]

I see that JW 2023https://transparencyproject.org.uk/when ... -guidance/ outlines that an at-home care order should only be made in exceptional circumstances.

A family breaches an interim SO where one parent can only have supervised contact, by traveling together for a trip. Everything else remains the same and the LA wanted a final SO. The child has been placed at home under an interim SO during the proceedings, and that the LA's monitoring/support remains the same under either SO or CO. A CO adds nothing than a SO. How can the trip justify a change from SO to CO?

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The PLWG recommendations and guidance were reduced by the Court of Appeal to the following short points:

a) a care order should not be used solely as a vehicle to achieve the provision of support and services after the conclusion of proceedings;

b) a care order on the basis that the child will be living at home should only be made when there are exceptional reasons for doing so. It should be rare in the extreme that the risks of significant harm to a child are judged to be sufficient to merit the making of a care order but, nevertheless, as risks that can be managed with the child remaining in the care of parents;

c) unless, in an exceptional case, a care order is necessary for the protection of the child, some other means of providing support and services must be used;

d) where a child is to be placed at home, the making of a supervision order to support reunification may be proportionate;

e) where a supervision order is being considered, the best practice guidance in the PLWG April 2023 report must be applied. In particular, the court should require the local authority to have a Supervision Support Plan in place.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear bayescr,

Thank you for your post. This is Suzie here, the online adviser at Family Rights Group.

From the information you have given I think that a care order has now been made for your child, but the child remains at home in the care of one of the parents.

It is unusual for a care order to be made when the intention is for the child to remain at home, but it sometimes seen as necessary by the court. A care order gives children’s services parental responsibility whereas they do not hold any parental responsibility under a supervision order. If the court feels that children’s services should hold parental responsibility for a child then they may make a care order rather than a supervision order.

The court will have made a final decision about what they believe is the best interests of your child. I cannot comment on why the court made the decision to make a care order rather than a supervision order as this is very specific legal advice and I do not have the full information. I think that it would be best for you to discuss this with your solicitor and ask them for advice about this. They can also advise whether there is any legal basis to apply to court to appeal the care order. You can share with them the information that you have found on The Transparency Project’s website.

Please do post again if you have further questions about children’s services involvement. You can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons.

Best wishes,
Suzie