When do you need to get a solicitor involved and what can they do?
What is the legal process regarding Child Law and Social Services?
The legal process behind this is something that only a specialised solicitor can help you navigate through. You should seek legal advice from the outset, and ensure you take action as soon as possible to rectify the situation, but also respond to any allegations being made against you as a carer parent or guardian.
There is a process that social services follow, and therefore you as a parent need to be guided through this process, and ensure you are prepared, and any legal deadlines and time frames are adhered to. There are various stages to the process, but they begin with an initial assessment.
The second stage if the matter progresses is the single assessment stage, this is when social services feel they need to look into the matter in more detail. Both stages can be daunting, but the single assessment stage means that social care services have carried out the initial assessment and have decided that they need to look into the matter in more detail.
The decisions that they could make are that there is nothing to worry about and they will end their involvement, or they might be worried about the children and decide that they need to keep an eye on things to make sure that they get better, or they might arrange a Child Protection Conference.
What is a Child Protection Conference?
The Child Protection Conference and plan would be a detailed meeting. A solicitor will guide you through, provide the support and help you thought this emotional period. There may be a possibility of also going to Court. If social services have felt that the matter needs to proceed further to court, then a solicitor would help defend you as a parent/carer/ guardian and present evidence and information to rebut the allegations being made against you.
Why do I need a Solicitor in a Child Protection case?
The reason for why a solicitor would need to be involved at this stage could mean that your child could be taken away from your care.
No matter what stage, you should always seek specialist legal advice to make sure you as a parent are doing everything.
Contact Our Child Care Solicitors
If you are seeking advice or legal guidance regarding a child law case, or if you have been contacted by social services, contact our specialist child care solicitors today. Call 0207 095 5700 or email newenquiries@wainwrightcummins.co.uk
