Will Contact Take Place During Care Proceedings?
As a parent going through Care Proceedings it is important to know if and when they will be granted contact with their child/children.
Unless there is a serious risk to a child having contact with their parents throughout care proceedings, the Court will always promote contact taking place in some form as it is in the best interest of the child to see their parents. If there is a serious risk and a reason why contact cannot take place in the interests of the children, the court will be asked to decide by way of an application what contact should take place.
Types of contact that can take place?
Contact can take place in various forms such as;
• Direct (e.g. face to face)
• Indirect contact (e.g. telephone calls, letterbox contact, emails or skype)
• Supervised contact
Where will contact take place?
The Court can order that contact should take place:
• At a local contact centre
• With specified individuals under their supervision e.g. at a grandparent’s house
• Within the community e.g. planned trips by the Social Worker
Once a type of contact has been identified, the Court will then determine, if necessary, how often contact should take place. If face to face contact has been agreed, the Court will specify the duration for each session and how frequently contact should take place.
Contact can be reviewed to allow for any necessary changes to be made, for example changed from indirect to direct contact if it has been positive. However, it is also possible for the frequency and duration of contact to be reduced for various reasons.
It can be frustrating for parents to be told when, where and for how long they are to see their child/children for at a time. The parents have a right to be heard in respect of decisions made relating to contact.
Any parent has an expectation that they can have contact with their child/children throughout care proceedings and it is in the best interests of the child/children to have regular and meaningful contact with them. The Court will always consider this when making an Order for contact when invited to do so.
Emily Sherwood
November 2019