Sometimes a child who is Looked After may be Adopted. An Adoption Order, made by a Court, transfers parental responsibility to the adoptive parents. These Orders are only made after extensive enquiries are carried out and it is considered to be in the best interest of the child. When an Adoption Order is put in place any Care Order ends and the adoptive parents will have sole parental responsibility for the child.
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What is a Supervision Order?
A Supervision Order places a child under the supervision of the Health and Social Care Trust. This is issued when a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm due to the care given to the child or if the child is beyond parental control. Under a Supervision Order, a supervisor is appointed to help the child so that they can make sure that are getting properly cared for.
What is a Guardian Ad Litem?
A Guardian Ad Litem is someone who is appointed by the Court to look after a child or young person’s rights and interests during cases where social services are seeking an order, such as a Care Order or in contested Adoption cases.
What is a Care Plan?
A Care Plan is a very detailed plan about a child’s care arrangements written by the social workers that are involved in the child’s case. It explains arrangements for contact with family, plans for education and details of any foster or residential placement.
A Care Plan will be made within the first two weeks of a Care Order being issued and will be reviewed regularly. The child has the right to have their wishes and feelings expressed at these review meetings and to be informed of the main points of discussion. These review meetings are referred to as Looked After Child (LAC) Review meetings.
What is a Care Order?
A Care Order is issued when a child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering significant harm, because they are not getting enough care or their parent is unable to look after them (beyond parental control).
Only a court can make a Care Order when an application is made by Social Services. The court may initially make an Interim (Temporary) Care Order.
A Care Order places the child in the care of the local Health and Social Care Trust who then also have Parental Responsibility for the child. When a care order is made, the local Trust must look after the child and provide them with accommodation and care.