Social services do not have the authority to decide when to remove a child. If they believe the child to be at risk of significant harm, they can’t remove the child from the home unless a court order has been granted.
Q. What do social services need to remove a child?
A court order, known as an emergency protection order, is required for social services to take a child away from parents, unless there are immediate concerns for the child’s safety, in which case a child may be removed by the police and placed in police protection for up to 72 hours.
Q. How do you tell your foster child they are leaving?
Take some time to explain foster care adoption to the child. Finally, break the news to the child that he will be moving. Be sure to focus on the move being due to the foster home’s needs and not the child being in the wrong. Say, “We need to focus on our family right now, but we are very concerned for you too.”
Q. How long can a child in need plan last?
It is the expectation that a child will be subject to a Child in Need plan for no longer than 9 months. Any children remaining on a Child in Need plan at 6 months will be considered through a Peer Management Review to ensure that Child in Need remains the most appropriate and proportionate intervention.
Q. What is the difference between a child protection plan and a child in need plan?
A child in need plan operates under section 17 of The Children Act 1989 and doesn’t have statutory framework for the timescales of the intervention. A child protection plan operates under section 47 of The Children Act 1989, and happens when a child is regarded to be suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.
Q. What is a Section 17 of the Children’s Act?
The Children Act 1989 Section 17 of the Act places a general duty on all local authorities to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need. ‘ Basically, a ‘child in need’ is a child who needs additional support from the local authority to meet their potential.
Q. What should you avoid if a child makes a disclosure?
Don’t:
- promise confidentiality.
- ask leading or probing questions.
- investigate.
- repeatedly question or ask the girl to repeat the disclosure.
- discuss the disclosure with people who do not need to know.
- delay in reporting the disclosure to the Safeguarding team.
Q. What to do if a child tells you a secret?
Reassure the child that they did nothing wrong and that you take what is said seriously. Don’t promise confidentiality – never agree to keep secrets. You have a duty to report your concerns. Tell the child that you will need to tell some people, but only those whose job it is to protect children.
Q. When a child is on a child protection plan?
If your child is made the subject of a child protection plan, it means that the network of agencies considers your child to be at risk of significant harm in one or more of the following four categories: physical abuse. sexual abuse. emotional abuse.
