As long as it is practical and is in the interest of the child, a child should be able to contact their parents or any person who has parental responsibility, is a relative or a friend.
This contact should be direct and on a regular basis, unless it’s not in the child’s best interest.
A Care Order will last until a child turns 18. However, you can go to the court to ask for the judge to stop the order. Taking a child into care should normally be a temporary measure and should be stopped as soon as it is possible to do so.
The Court is responsible for making sure that they try to reunite children with their family and enable regular contact, as long as it is in the child’s best interest.
A social worker will try to allow a child to have contact with their family, as long as this is in their best interest. However, if contact with their family does not appear to be in their best interest, the authorities will try to find a fair balance. The child will be able to have a say about contact.
Under Article 9 of the UNCRC the Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust is required to try to maintain contact between a child and their siblings or keep siblings together, as long as this is practical and in their best interest.
Child have a right to have contact with anyone close to them, including their family, friends, neighbours or previous carers. This should be encouraged as long as it is practical or in the child’s best interest. If it’s not possible for the child to have contact, they should have access to information on the situation of their family members.