How a care order is made

The local authority applies to the court for a care order. However, before the local authority applies for a court order it will investigate the child's circumstances. The local authority may start these investigations for any of the following reasons:-

when directed to do so by the court
when the child has persistently failed to comply with an education supervision order
when it suspects that a child in its area is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm
when a child is in police protection
when a child assessment order has been made
when an emergency protection order has been made. This is an order to protect the child from harm by removing her/him from a place or requiring her/him to stay in a specific place.
The social services department's primary duty is to work with the parents and the child to prevent the child being made the subject of a care order, or to return her/him home as quickly as possible. When the local authority has investigated the child's circumstances, it will work with the family to resolve the problems by providing support services to the child and her/his family in the community. It will also discuss with the parents and the child the possibility of accommodating the child for a limited period until the problems can be resolved

If, having tried to resolve the problems in the ways outlined above, the local authority believes that the child is still at risk, it will apply to the court for a care order.

The application is made to the family proceedings court of the magistrates court. The court will appoint a person to look after the child's interest during the court proceedings. This person is known as the 'guardian ad litem'.

The court may want to see reports about the child and her/his family. These reports will be prepared by a social worker and the guardian ad litem.

If the court decides that the child is at risk it may make a care order or a supervision order. A supervision order requires a child to be supervised by a social worker for up to a year. It could also make one of the following court orders instead of a care order:-

a residence order
a contact order
a prohibited steps order
a specific issue order.
If the court decides the child is not at risk it cannot make a care or supervision order but may decide to make one of the other orders listed in the above paragraph.

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