You cannot be forced to accept this, and the law states that the social worker must make sure that you fully understand what you are accepting. In Medway Council v Mother and Others [2014] EWHC 308 (Fam), Theis J. held that the principle of expeditiousness set out in section 1(2) of the Children Act 1989 applies not only to the conduct of the proceedings but also to the question of the procedure. As made clear in Williams, local authorities should give parents clear information about what they have done and their rights. Parents should also be informed of the responsibilities of the local authority. This may include information about the power (and duty) of the local authority to initiate proceedings if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the child would be at risk of serious harm if it fails to do so. As with any deal, it`s important that you know what you`re signing up for. The agreement is not intended and should not seek to restrict the right of parents to remove the child. Any person exercising parental responsibility may voluntarily authorize the local authority to place his or her child in accordance with section 20 of the Children Act 1989. I do not know what your questions are about police protection powers? By OPP, I assume you mean the police protection order? There is no such thing, an order is issued by the courts, the police have protective powers. Sometimes, when a child is placed in foster care under section 20, it has resulted in an unacceptable deviation and delay in decisions about the child`s long-term future. In H (A Child – Breach of Convention Rights: Damages), it took Los Angeles nearly a year to initiate proceedings while the child was under section 20, a delay that the court found to be both “unjustified” and “inexcusable.” In addition, the LA did not care enough to ensure that parents understood what was going on.
The parents were each given £6,000 for violating their fundamental rights. Please do not contact Ian Josephs. He will advise you not to work with anyone, to call social workers “scum”, etc. etc. No one will listen to you. If you complain that section 20 is being misused, there are now (unfortunately) quite a few cases where the courts have awarded damages for human rights violations under the Human Rights Act 1998. I have presented some information in this post: In some situations, it may be better to initiate legal proceedings, as the judge may not agree that a child should be kept out of your custody and will refuse requests from the local authority. But it`s always a good idea to get the advice of a lawyer before refusing to continue working with a deal. You have the right to seek legal advice before entering into an agreement under Article 20 in order to fully understand the terms and conditions. You may also be entitled to legal aid after an examination.
You can always request that an agreement under section 20 end, but you should seek legal advice first. If you choose to end the agreement and Children`s Services is concerned about the care your child would receive when they return home, they can ask the police to place the child in preventive custody or the court to allow them to keep the children in their care. If you don`t receive answers, contact the court to comply with the wardship order – if so. I think that has to be the case when it has been brought before the courts. Problems have arisen when parents feel that they have been “rushed” or even intimidated to make the decision to accept their children being placed in accordance with article 20. Sometimes LOs only obtain consent from one parent, but the other opposes. A legal officer should always try to obtain the consent of all those with parental responsibility. As Sarah says, they are not allowed to force you to sign an S20.
How could they? Please describe what happened. I don`t think the average social worker would threaten you or blackmail you, perhaps by saying they would give your baby up for adoption. Please don`t tell me they did. I guess they just suggested that you should cooperate, and they temporarily took the baby away for his own protection. What happened at the family conference? Why didn`t your mother or another family member offer to take care of the baby for you if they had concerns about you? I guess they had a family conference. They must consider all alternatives to deportation and give reasons for refusing them. What reasons did they give? I`m surprised they never offered to put you and the baby in a supervised mother-child unit because they know how much removing babies from birth mothers affects their attachment and secure attachment. They must be really bad if they didn`t organize it at the prenatal child protection conference. How long before the birth did the conference take place? Women in prison are allowed to keep their new babies for 18 months.
If they refused you. I can only think that you are not telling us everything. Are you sure you are not taking drugs? What reason did they give you for taking the baby? If you were in court, I assume it must have been a care procedure. Where was your lawyer? Why did he not explain things to you? You can`t just “refuse to discuss it in court.” You need to understand what is happening urgently. From what you are saying, they behaved horribly, but you have to realize that the professionals will always give the social worker the advantage of doubt. They will pay little attention to theirs. Judges prefer professional evidence. You need a lay lawyer and an expert lawyer by your side. Do you have a lawyer? If not, you should treat one as soon as possible. That`s all I can really say. Section 20 agreements allow the local authority to remove a child and place the child in foster care without the need for a court order. Whether or not to enter into an agreement under section 20 is a voluntary decision of the parents with the local authority.
Section 20 agreements should only be used if the parent is clearly able to give consent. It is important that parents always consult with independent counsel before agreeing to section 20 accommodations. It is very likely that the AL will not be satisfied with its arguments in favour of the EPA or the IPO. I`m just a parent like you, not a professional counselor, but the answer to your question is that all you have to do is contact the local authority and inform them that you want to revoke the S20 you signed, and then take them home after contact or ask the social worker to take them home now. I don`t know their age, but it`s entirely possible that they`ve already been traumatized and emotionally eliminated by withdrawal, and it seems there`s no real reason for that. I suggest that an immediate return may now be in their main interest. God knows what they suffer in the care, and as long as it is there, it is possible that even with contacts, they do not feel free to tell you everything about it. They are often too scared or forbidden to do so. When they`re very young, they won`t understand what`s going on anyway, just clueless like you. While children are under an S20, sometimes, instead of arranging support for you when you need it, and without conducting a full and impartial investigation (including your interrogation and review of house conditions, etc.), they simply conduct a witch hunt and accumulate outrageous hearsay evidence, police information, etc., for the sole purpose of ensuring that the next time they receive the order. receive.
In addition, especially with very young children, they interrogate them and collect false evidence from them with the offer of rewards or punishments. Los Angeles` impartiality can`t always be trusted, and if it`s ever been hindered by the court, you can`t be sure. Do you know if the judge quashed the orders because the children were already housed away from you under section 20, or if that was irrelevant? Ask your lawyer for advice.
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