CHILDREN - SOCIAL SERVICES (Children and Care)
In the Family Court, children cases are usually referred to as either being ‘Public Children Cases’ or ‘Private Children Cases’. In the majority of cases the difference between the two tends to be whether social services are involved or not.
In cases where social service are involved, the Local Authority will usually have brought the matter to Court. This normally occurs because there may be concerns about the level of care that a child is receiving from its parents. These cases are referred to as the public children cases.
By contrast private children cases tend to be cases where parents and family members bring the matter to court. This may be for any number of reasons but tends to be because there is disagreement about which parent or family member a child should live with and how much contact they should have with the other.
I am an expert childcare lawyer who undertakes public and private childcare cases. I regularly offers expert advice and courtroom representation in the following areas of public children law:
• CARE ORDERS (interim or final)
• Supervision Orders
• Interim REMOVAL OF CHILDREN
• Jurisdiction
• Wardship
• Inherent Jurisdiction
• Emergency Protection Orders
• Special Guardianship (arising from care cases)
• Placement and ADOPTION Orders (including revocation and contact)
• s.38(6) applications for assessments
• Contested instruction of expects (including contested questions)
• ‘Late in the proceedings’ intervener status applications
(for example, where social services proposals are for the permanent removal of a child from its parents and to subsequently place the child for adoption, and grandparents or other family members opposed to the child being removed from the family altogether wish to be considered themselves as alternative long term carers for the child)
These cases often involve one or more of the following issues:
• Drug and Alcohol misuse
• Neglect
• Non Accidental Injury
• Severe physical and/or sexual abuse
If you are involved in a dispute about your children or grandchildren and would like to explore your options then call now on 0113 227 0708 to arrange a meeting.