Child protection is a special area of law that concerns safeguarding the interests and wellbeing of the children amidst the breakdown of a marriage or in more severe cases that involve abuse or neglect. The safety of any child involved in a family dispute should be a priority and our child support lawyer in London understands the importance of this. With our help, you can rest assured that your case is handled with the utmost care and diligence.
Understanding the manner in which social services work in England, as well as the situations in which the authorities can apply for a Court care Order or Supervision Oder in case of children is important as these will determine parental responsibility and will ultimately influence who will make the choices for the child or children. Working with our child protection lawyers will be helpful for understanding the court proceedings and how these orders are issued and will help you have a clear image of the best options for the child in the given situation.
Our divorce lawyer in London focuses on the well-being of the child or children during and in the aftermath of a divorce. We assist families and aim to help them get through the divorce, from a legal perspective, as easily as possible. Working with an experienced lawyer, such as our solicitors in London, will help you benefit from tailored solutions, ones that focus on your and your child’s unique needs.
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The Care Order and the Supervision Order
The Children and Families Act 2014 defines the care and supervision proceedings as well as the details of the supervision orders. The care order is issued in those cases in which it is determined that the child is to be placed in the case of the local authorities whilst the supervision order places the child under the supervision of the designated local authority.
The conditions under which the Court may issue a supervision order are listed below by our child support lawyer:
- suffering: if the authorities determine that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm;
- the nature of the care: if or when the care given to the child is not as reasonable as expected to be offered by a parent; our child protection lawyers can give you more details;
- the control: the child is beyond parental control, meaning that he or she can be subject to suffering because of lack of parental control.
For the purpose of issuing a supervision order, harm is defined as ill-treatment or impaired health or development (be it physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioral). Ill-treatment can include both sexual abuse as well as non-physical forms. Our child support lawyer can provide clarifications in the manner in which local authorities decide that a child is subject to harm.
The supervision order can be issued for one year, however, it can be discharged earlier or it can be extended for a period of three years. A lawyer can help those interested appeal against a supervision order, however, it is more common for a child support lawyer to assist the parent against whim this order was issued when working with the authorities.
Our child protection lawyers can give you more details on car and supervision orders and the Interim Care Orders, or Interim Supervision Orders, should these be required for a child to be temporarily placed under the care of supervision of the local authority during the proceedings.
Services offered by our child support lawyer
Our family law department specializes in representing parents as well as other family or extended family members in relation to social services and their decisions issues as per the care or the supervision of the children, including decisions pertaining to where the child will reside.
Our child support lawyers provide legal assistance and advice to families that are involved with social services procedures and also offer guidance on the treatment and the wellbeing of children in cases involving divorce or child maintenance. In our work, we focus on delivering fast solutions that are in the best interest of the child. We also provide specialist legal advice and representation for children in court proceedings.
Our team of child protection lawyers can provide you with detailed information on legal aid in England and how you can apply in many cases involving children.
The Office for National Statistics offers important facts and figures about the children in need topic. Thus, the following apply as per the March 2020 statistics:
- children in need: there were 389,260 children in need on 31 March 2020, a decrease of 2.6% from the same date in 2019;
- child protection plans: the number was 51,510, a 1.4% decrease from March 2019;
- rate per 10,000 minor children: the rate of child protection plans per 10,000 children under 18 years was 42.8, down from 43.7 in 2019;
- common factors: domestic violence from a parent remains the most common factor for child protection plans.
Working with children can be a sensitive issue, however, our team of child protection lawyers focuses on offering adequate solutions.
Contact our child support lawyer for more information on the dedicated services we offer for the protection of the child’s safety and best interests.
