Care

When a child is ‘in care’ it means a court has made an order placing that child in the care of children’s services. When this happens, children’s services share parental responsibility with the parents (or whoever else has parental responsibility).

When making any decision about a child ‘in care’, children’s services must find out what the parents want. However, children’s services have the final say and can make plans for the child even if the parents do not agree.

The court orders that place a child in the care of children’s services are:

• An interim care order (which is temporary – it usually lasts until the court can reach a final decision at the end of care proceedings)
• A final care order (which is likely to last until the child is 18)
• An emergency protection order (which lasts up to 8 days).