Final hearing

[Raja2A]

Hi the final hearing for our case (my nieces) is today, the local authorities plan is to grant us an SGO for the youngest child and the older 2 to stay together in long term foster care. Dad (my brother) has agreed to this but Mum is contesting everything. Both parents are addicts and were using together but it was seemingly under control to a certain extent while they were together, as far as I can see things are worse now than ever for both parents. What happens when the parents won’t agree to the care plan? Will anything be resolved today in court?

[Robin D]

Sorry to be replying so late in the day as clearly this was playing on your mind. I suspect I may have missed the boat so to speak.

Hopefully if you are at court, it has not been too stressful. It is always difficult to be prescriptive on court outcomes, but based on what you have said I suspect that mum's objections will be aired but that the court will rule in favour of the local authority. Edit to add. The parents do not have to agree, and in my limited experience it's rare that they do!

You do not say if the assessment has taken place for a SGO? If not, then I would expect the court would only rule that the status quo is maintained while the assessment is completed and will have set a timescale for that, and any other aspects that need to be dealt with.

It's not within the power of the local authority to grant a SGO. Only the court can do that. The LA can propose that as a way forward, but the final decision is the sole remit of the court based on the assessment and any other evidence presented to it, as well as the welfare principle that a child's welfare is the paramount consideration.

You mention that the children are your nieces, but it's unclear if you have care of any or all of them, or if they are with someone else. It matters not as we try to make everyone welcome, but helps steer you to appropriate advice.

Please post back with an update on todays and if you need further advice. Again, my apologies that I did not see this earlier in the day.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Raja2A

Welcome to the kinship carers’ discussion forum and thank you for your post.

My name is Suzie, online adviser at Family Rights Group, and I will respond to your post.

I understand that there is/was a final hearing in the care proceedings relating to your nieces today. You posted very early this morning, and I can only assume that you may have been worried about today and what would or could happen in the final hearing. Please accept my apologies for not having been able to respond to your post earlier. It may well be that today’s hearing has by now concluded and if that is the case that the best outcome has been achieved for the children.

Generally our forums are being monitored 5 days/week and as outlined in our Advice and Advocacy Standards we aim to respond to forum requests for advice within five working days.

I note that you have already received some good and hopefully reassuring advice from another poster.

You explained that the Local Authority’s care plan is for the youngest one of your nieces to be placed with you under a Special Guardianship order and for the older ones to stay together in long term foster care. It seems that the father of the girls (your brother) is supporting this care plan, whereby the mother is not in agreement with this and seems to contest everything.

With the information provided I can only assume that the court felt it necessary to list the matter for a contested hearing.

A contested hearing can take place during care proceedings when children’s services and parents do not agree about who should care for a child. The court is likely to hear oral evidence from some or all the parties. Oral evidence is the chance for the different people involved in the case to be asked questions. They can then explain their point of view or their recommendations.

The court may also hear from experts (professionals who may have completed specialist assessments of the parent (s), the children or potentially prospective special guardians) who are there to provide the court with expert opinion.

The hearing can be anything from 1 day to 10+ days - The length of the hearing will vary, depending upon the number of witnesses required to attend the hearing

Towards the end of the hearing, the parties’ lawyers will make speeches to the judge. These are called submissions. It is a chance to explain again what each party involved in the case thinks is best for the child and why. It is also an important opportunity to highlight to the judge what the most important information and evidence in the case has been.

Using all this information, the Judge will assess and decide based on the best interests of the child in question. Judges will use the evidence presented to them in conjunction with the ‘welfare checklist‘ to make a decision that is in the best interests of the child.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge will give judgment to determine the outcome. This is a speech in which the judge summarises all the key information about the child and family. In it the judge explains the evidence they have listened to and considered. It states what decision the Judge has reached. And the reasons for their decision.

I hope you find this information helpful. There are many different ways to contact Family Rights Group if you seek further advice in the future regarding children’s services :

• A free telephone advice line open Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 3pm (excluding Bank Holidays) on 0808 801 0366
• Easy-to-follow online information. Features include an A-Z, FAQs, films, ‘top tips’ and legal advice sheets;
• Online forums where families can receive advice, discuss issues, and find support;
• A webchat service where you can message an adviser online, who will help you find information and advice to support you.

Best wishes, Suzie

[Raja2A]

Thank you all for replying. Yes we have completed the assessment for an SGO and it was a positive outcome. My youngest niece was in foster care but now spends her time between me and the previous foster carer (I believe that this was in the hope of the SGO being granted we would be able to do a quick transition) I was not asked to attend court as I have my niece this week (the foster carer needed to leave the country for a family matter) our social worker said she would call once the hearing had finished but we haven’t heard from her or been able to contact her. I have left messages and emails. My niece is due to be picked up by foster carers on Sunday evening and then returned to our care on Thursday but I don’t know if this will still go ahead? It’s all very confusing and I can never seem to get any answers. Thank you for replying, I guess it’s still just a waiting game.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Raja2A

Thank you for your updating post. We hope you have heard back from the social worker with an update. If not, it would be a good idea to email her again and copy in the team manager to ask for an acknowledgement of your email and a response within 3 working days. Please find HERE our ‘top tips’ when working with social workers.

I can see that your niece has overnight staying contact with you and the plan is hopefully for a full transition into your care. I would suggest you make sure there is a transition plan in place to support this. Whilst I am sure it will go well; the local authority should have procedures in place to support with this type of move. It would be a good idea to get this in writing and for both you, the local authority and the child (if appropriate) to think about the ‘what ifs’ and how to address them should they arise.

Best wishes, Suzie.