Can parents get help with expenses when having contact when their child is in care under a court order?

Children’s services may help parents with the costs of contact. This may be paying for travel. It may be helping with other expenses, such as meals out and activities.

But this will only happen where children’s services believe:

• The visits could not otherwise be made without ‘undue financial hardship’
• The circumstances justify the payment (see schedule 2, paragraph 16 of the Children Act 1989).

This simply means children’s services can help with these expenses, but they do not have to.

Parents can talk to the child’s social worker about what help they need with contact costs. And find out what costs children’s services can cover.

If contact can’t happen without a parent being given some financial help and there are no other sensible options, then the parent may want to consider making a complaint.

The following guidance may assist with this:

• Parents and carers have a right to complain where they are concerned children’s services, or a social worker have not done the right thing for their child or family. It can be harder to work with social workers after you a complaint has been made however. This may especially be the case if the child still has the same social worker. So, it may be worth discussing things with one of our specialist advisers before making a complaint by:
• Posting a question on our Parents Forum or Carers Forum to receive advice from one of our expert advisers
• Calling our specialist legal and practice advice line on 0808 801 0366 (the advice line is open Monday to Friday, from 9.30 am to 3 pm excluding).

See our Complaints page for information and advice about the children’s services complaints process.