How to contact us for advice
We provide advice to parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and kinship carers who are involved with children’s services in England or need their help. We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.
Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). For Textphone dial 18001 followed by the advice line number. Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.
Our get help and advice section describes the processes that you and your family are likely to go through, so that you know what to expect. Our webchat service can help you find the information and advice on our website which will help you understand the law and your rights.
Legal aid is the use of government money to pay for people to get legal advice, and help with mediation. The Legal Aid Agency is the government body responsible for providing legal aid in England and Wales. If you receive legal aid, you will be able to get free legal advice from a solicitor.
Parents and those with parental responsibility also get legal aid for the pre-proceedings process. If children’s services give a parent a public law outline letter, they can at that point go to a solicitor to receive legal aid. This letter will cover the the cost of a solicitor attending children’s services meetings with them and helping to negotiate with children’s services. If children’s services issue care proceedings, then their solicitor will apply for a legal aid certificate, and can then represent the parent in the care proceedings.
Legal aid is also available in some other situations. For example, if a relative wants to apply for an order for a child to live with them because they do not think that the child has been properly cared for by their parents, or if there is domestic abuse in the home. However, in this situation legal aid will be means tested (i.e. it depends on how much money the person wanting legal aid earns or what savings they have). The person wanting legal aid will have to prove they have a good case (they must meet the ‘merits’ test). There are also strict evidential criteria as to what demonstrates child abuse or domestic abuse (this is known as ‘gateway evidence’).
A specialist children law solicitor will be able to advise as to whether someone is eligible for legal aid.
Your donation will help more families access expert legal advice and support from Family Rights Group.
Donate Now