Social Services and Your Children
If social services have become involved in your family life, it can be stressful, frightening and overwhelming. Many families feel helpless, so it’s important to have someone on your side to help you through this difficult time.
Here at Nash & Co Solicitors in Plymouth, our family law experts are on hand to support and guide you through the process. If you’ve been affected by care proceedings, have had your children removed from your care or are being investigated as a result of allegations or injuries, we can provide legal advice and representation. Our team of family law solicitors are members of the Law Society’s Children’s Panel and have decades of experience in working with parents and children who are involved with social services.
Helping you through a tough time
If you have Parental Responsibility or a duty of care for the child and if social services are concerned about your child’s welfare and care in your home, you may need to contact us.
If the matter is serious and the Local Authority (council) wishes to take the matter to court, where a Judge will decide on the care of the children, then if you are a parent, you will be eligible for free legal advice in the form of Legal Aid. Legal Aid may also be available if you are another family member. Should this happen to you or your family – whether you are a parent, grandparent, or another family member – it is vital you receive expert legal advice as soon as possible. We are an experienced firm of solicitors that deal with social services, and many other public services and bodies on behalf of our clients.
What you need to know
We all have a responsibility to protect children and we are encouraged to report possible abuse, but not all reports are substantiated. Whilst the majority are made in good faith, some reports can be malicious in nature and completely fabricated.
If you are in any doubt about what to do or how to handle the intervention from social services, please contact us. We can also help you prepare for any meetings or hearings, giving you and your family the best chance of staying together. We can advise you further regarding obtaining Legal Aid if you are a parent or person without parental responsibility but need to be involved in the proceedings.
What you should do right now
While child protection is a priority, for many it can be very hard to seek advice and help following an intervention from social services. We will do our level best to assist you in any way that we can, and this help starts with a conversation. So please just pick up the phone and contact Helen Bull on 01752 827024 or one of her team. Helen’s email address is hbull@nash.co.uk.
We know that this may be difficult time for you and your family and that is why we have a team of lawyers who have considerable experience; people who will listen and who understand the sensitivities.
Shaken baby and non-accidential injury
Social Services have a duty to investigate and to take action to protect a child whenever an allegation of physical, emotional, or sexual harm is made. This also includes instances where Shaken Baby Syndrome or non-accidental injury are suspected.
Care proceedings
If a medical professional, teacher, or social worker is worried about the welfare of a child, they may contact the local authority to report their concerns. After looking into the report, social services may decide that further intervention is required to keep the child safe. To do this, they may decide to open a court case (often referred to as a public law case or care proceedings) to seek a care order or supervision order.
Special Guardianship
Special Guardianship is a Court Order that places a child to live with one or more adults who become the child’s Special Guardian, with legal and parental responsibility. Special Guardianship is intended for children who can no longer live with their birth parents and who would benefit from a legally secure placement; it is quite common for children who have been removed from the care of their parents by a local authority to be placed with relatives under a Special Guardianship Order.
Get in touch
Fill out the form below and let us know whether you would like us to call you, or email you. One of our family team will be in touch as soon as we can.
If your inquiry is urgent then please call us on 01752 664444