QUESTION: Social services have removed my children and I am in court proceedings, but I am only allowed to have supervised contact. Why?

ANSWER: Being in court proceedings, particularly care proceedings, can be a stressful and difficult and lengthy process.

Recent changes mean they should not last longer than 26 weeks (except in exceptional circumstances). But it can be difficult for a parent to understand why their contact with their child is likely to be supervised.

Care proceeding are brought in the first place, because social services (the local authority) are concerned about one or both parent’s ability to care for their child, and are concerned that there has been “significant harm” caused to a child, or that there is a risk of it being caused.

Under the Children Law Act 1989 (amended by Children and Families Act 2014), social services must allow “reasonable” contact between a child and its carer, parents, guardian, and others with parental responsibility. Therefore social services have to balance this right with their concerns.

QUESTION: Why is contact supervised?

ANSWER: Firstly, so social services can obtain evidence from the contact supervisor, which will be used to show the court how the parents are doing and whether they are continuing to be a risk/concern or not. In other words it forms part of the assessment the local authority is undertaking about the parents’ abilities. Secondly, it is felt this is the best balance to make sure the rights for contact are met, but in a controlled environment, and the child is kept safe.

QUESTION: Why does contact not happen every day?

ANSWER: This is a matter of resourcing, as social services need to ensure a room is available as well as a supervisor to create the correct environment for contact.

QUESTION: How do I get to contact?

ANSWER: You should try to make it to every contact. However, if finance and travel is a problem then it is vital that you speak to the allocated social worker, as many social services will be sympathetic and may have means to help ensure that you can get there. You should also speak to your solicitor if you have one, as they can inform social services of any difficulties.

QUESTION: Can contact be stopped?

ANSWER: Yes it can be suspended and/or stopped, but this comes down to the concerns or risk to the child; if a parent(s) is not attending contact or if there is concerning behaviour. In this situation social services will ask the court for contact to be suspended. However, such suspension should not be for more than seven days, unless the court agrees.

QUESTION: Can my family have contact?

ANSWER: Contact between the child and extended family members is also restricted and is something that should be discussed with the allocated social worker as it is usually not appropriate for parents to bring others to the contact session without agreement from social services. This is not to say that contact between the child and family should not take place, it just needs to be arranged correctly. So, it is best to enjoy the contact you do get and understand it is not being supervised as a punishment, but to balance concerns raised with the right of a parent(s) to have contact, which is important not only for the parent(s) but also the child.

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