Child Care Proceedings Team

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Samantha Barker

Solicitor Advocate

Sarah Dummett

Chartered Legal Executive

Jennifer Lynch

Solicitor Advocate

Care proceedings

The council can start care proceedings if they’re very worried about a child. They can apply for a care order, which means the council will assume parental responsibility for your child and can determine where your child can live.

The council can also apply for a placement order as well if they believe that the child should be adopted. This allows the council to place the child with suitable adopters.

Interim care proceeding orders

At the start of care proceedings, the council asks the family court to make a temporary court order called an interim care order. If the court agrees, the council can take the child into care on a temporary basis. This can be for up to 8 weeks.

Looking at the case

It can take up to 26 weeks for a court to decide what should happen to the child. Some complex cases can take longer.

During this time a social worker and an officer from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) will look into the reasons why the child may be at risk. They will also look at what can be done to keep them safe. They will talk to the parents and the child. They may talk to other family members or friends about looking after the child if they cannot safely live at home. The parents might also get support.

Reports

The social worker and Cafcass officer will each write a report for the court. These will outline what they think should happen to the child. They will include whether they think the child should be taken into care or stay with the family.

Once all the information has been gathered, there will be a court hearing.

Client Testimonials

Samantha Barker is extremely experienced and able. Samantha turns her hand to a wide range of children work, particularly care work achieving outstanding outcomes for a variety of clients who often present as extremely vulnerable. The team at Brighton and Hove Law have a wide breadth of practice which is second to none.

Kristina Hopper, Barrister

Sarah Dummett goes well beyond the extra mile every time. Her clients are really well supported and guided by her as they navigate their way through the often challenging legal process.

Gerardine Buckley, Barrister

Thank you for the order and for all the help in bringing my daughter back home. It has been the worst experience of my life and I couldn’t have got there without your professional help. You have been amazing. I will be forever grateful for everything.

Ms S

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to you and the team – not the nicest of circumstances – but it was a real pleasure working with you, which resulted in the right outcome. You certainly kept me sane and my feet on the ground throughout the process. Finally, thank you for keeping my costs down. I have already recommended you to several people should they need any legal advice.

Mr S – East Sussex

Lucy has the rare quality of combining compassion and understanding with excellent knowledge and professionalism. She always made sure I understood what were sometimes difficult legal processes and she was realistic about time-frames and risks. Lucy manages to calm difficult situations and we got the best result possible. I hope I won’t need her services again but have already recommended her to a colleague.

Ms C

Thank you very much for your help, you were fantastic, and I really appreciate how you have handled matters in such a professional and quick manner

Mr G

I received a very good and prompt service and I would recommend you to my friends.

Ms W

Lucy is a robust, calm and thoughtful solicitor with an amazing eye for detail and sound judgement. She is a strategic thinker who is excellent with clients, approachable, empathetic and gives clear advice that is always focused on a pragmatic outcome. She goes above and beyond to assist clients and is top-tier.

Ben Earle, Barrister

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