Social Services Guidance
If social services become involved in yours and your children's life, it can feel overwhelming and daunting. Their primary duty is to safeguard children and ensure their welfare, there are sets of rules they must follow when interacting with you and your children and it's important to know what these are to help you get the best outcomes.
Understanding the laws that govern the social services will help you feel more in control of the process.
The laws governing Social Services
1
The Children Act 1989
This law is the primary piece of legislation that social services follow to protect children. They have a duty to investigate any risk of harm that a child may be suffering or potentially suffering from. They do have the power to make an application to court for a Care Order or Supervision Order if they believe this is necessary to protect a child's welfare.
If social services is successful in their application for a court order but you don't agree, you can appeal.
2
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021
Social services and the courts need to consider the impact of any domestic abuse or domestic violence on children, as this piece of legislation recognises children as victims in their own right if they see, hear, witness or are victims of abuse.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, social services should try to work with you to make a safety plan to support you to keep your children and yourself safe. Social services first priority is to keep families together safely. See the links below for further guidance on social services and domestic abuse.
3
The Family Procedure Rules 2010
Practice Direction 12J requires the court to consider any allegations of domestic abuse and/or risk of harm to your and your children.
If social services have been involved with your family in the 3 months prior to your application, the court may ask them to prepare a report on the potential risks to your children if child arrangements go ahead.
If social services have been involved with your family previously, the courts will be able to access these reports. If more than 3 months has passed since their involvement (past your application date) then CAFCASS will be asked to prepare a 'Section 7' report if there are any safeguarding issues to investigate.
See our CAFCASS guide for more detail.
Navigating Social Workers
Although it is important to build and maintain a positive relationship with your social worker, it's crucial to know your rights and responsibilities.
The European Convention on Human Rights 1950 (Article 8)
States that public bodies, including social services, have a legal duty to respect you and promote yours and your children's rights to dignity, safety, a private and family life. They must also safeguard you and your children's freedom and right to not be treated in a degrading or abusive way.
The ECHR (1950) was incorporated into UK law through The Human Rights Act 1998. If you feel that your rights have been affected by your interaction with social services, you have the right to complain to the Local Authority you are under and/or Social Work England.
The Equality Act 2010
Protects your rights to fair and equal treatment regardless of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or race.
You have a right to access the information on your case, the services you are receiving and any decisions that are made. If you are worried about interacting with social services or you are being affected by a Care or Supervision order, see our Specialist Services section for help.
Understanding a MARAC
A Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference is a meeting where multiple government run agencies such as the police, social services, GP, health care team and/or domestic abuse services meet to discuss the risk of harm to your and your children if safeguarding issues have been raised by social services.
The goal of a MARAC is to reduce the risk of harm to children. The MARAC does not decided where or with whom your children will live. You do not attend the MARAC meeting, however you are able to submit documentation to ensure your voice is heard. If you have a domestic abuse support worker or IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) they may represent you in the meeting.
After the MARAC, the agencies wil decide who will take over your case and will put a plan in place to support you and your children. You should be informed of what steps will be put in place at every stage.