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Public Law Outline

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Know the changes that need to take place in managing court procedures ... the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Welsh Assembly Government ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Public Law Outline


1
Public Law Outline
  • What this Means to my Practice
  • Reaching early resolutions and better outcomes
    for children, young people and their families.

2
Learning Outcomes
  • Know the changes that need to take place in
    managing court procedures
  • Clear understanding of your role in the Public
    Law Outline
  • Clear understanding of the roles of others and
    the need to work in partnership
  • Know how to support social workers in using the
    PLO in their work
  • Know where to find National Local resources

3
  • Welcome
  • Overview
  • Guidance
  • Public Law Outline
  • Practice Changes exercise
  • Comfort break 20 mins
  • Questions
  • Supporting social workers in their work
  • Close

4
CARE PROCEEDINGS REFORMS An Overview Aim To
summarise the background to the reforms and
outline the main changes to become effective in
April 2008
5
Context
  • Over 14,000 applications (by child) for care or
    supervision orders each year
  • More than 60 of care proceedings involve
    children under six years of age
  • Cases frequently take longer than 12 months to
    reach a conclusionand the longer it takes, the
    longer a child has to wait for a decision as to
    their future
  • These children, and their families, are some of
    the most vulnerable and socially excluded people
    in our society

6
Why the Change?
  • Care Review (May 2006) found unnecessary delay
  • caused by complex set of drivers
  • poorly prepared court applications
  • ineffective case management
  • scarcity of judicial resources
  • variation in quality of representation
  • expert evidence that takes a long time to
    commission and/or is requested late and/or does
    not provide suitable guidance for the court
  • late allocation of the childrens guardian
  • alternative carers emerging late in
    proceedings
  • variations in regional practice.

7
Care Review Recommendations
  • The Review of the Child Care Proceedings System
    in England and
  • Wales (May 2006) highlighted five key areas for
    attention
  • Helping families - ensuring families and
    children understand proceedings
  • Better informed resolution - ensuring
    applications are made after all safe and
    appropriate alternatives have been explored
  • Preparation for proceedings - improving the
    quality and consistency of applications
  • During proceedings - improved case management
  • Inter-agency working - ensuring closer
    professional relationships

8
Key Principles for Engaging with Families
  • Good evidence based assessments
  • No surprises
  • Parents to be fully involved
  • Plans to be written in plain English
  • Effective communication with children
  • Identification of the cause of the worry
  • Clarification on all expectations and
    consequences
  • Identification of significant adults in the a
    child's family and their role
  • Quality initial and core assessments

9
Children in Need Meeting
  • Produce a plan which everyone agrees with
  • Make clear the outcomes that need to be achieved
    and how they will be measured
  • Agree timescales for outcomes to be achieved
  • Make clear everyones contribution to the plan to
    achieve the outcome

10
Looked After Children
  • Health Assessments
  • Assessment of Family members and/ others who can
    care for the child/yp
  • Need to make clear decisions in the best
    interests of the child
  • Need to ensure that as Corporate parents we are
    all agreeing to the plans before we get to Court

11
Cafcass
  • Need to be notified when agreement made to apply
    to court
  • Provide information earlier
  • Work actively with children
  • Seek childs views
  • Use analysis
  • Less duplication of information in their reports
    refer to evidence submitted

12
Co-operation
  • All parties and representatives should
    co-operate wherever reasonably practicable to
    help towards securing the welfare of the child as
    paramount consideration
  • The public law outline p17

13
Key Reforms
  • Volume 1 (Court Orders) Children Act 1989
    Guidance and Regulations
  • revised statutory guidance for local authorities,
    issued by the Department for Children, Schools
    and Families and Welsh Assembly Government
  • issued under the Local Authority Social Services
    Act 1970
  • Public Law Outline
  • replacing the current Protocol for Judicial Case
    Management
  • setting out how cases will be managed through the
    courts

14
Statutory Guidance
  • Key changes
  • Incorporates Framework for the Assessment of
    Children in Need and Their Families - ensuring
    core assessments are completed
  • access for parents and those with PR to
    pre-proceedings legal advice
  • front-loaded preparation emphasis on
    pre-proceedings work by local authorities

15
Public Law Outline (PLO)
  • Key changes
  • Four stages, rather than six
  • Advocates meetings
  • Timetables focussed around the needs of the child
  • Cafcass analysis and recommendations

16
  • STATUTORY GUIDANCE
  • Aim To cover the revisions to the Statutory
    Guidance and the introduction of the
    Pre-proceedings Checklist

17
Pre- Proceedings Activity
  • Pre Proceedings Checklist
  • Legal planning meeting
  • Letter before proceedings letter
  • Legal advice for parents
  • Meeting with parents
  • Legal planning meeting
  • Pre-proceedings checklist finalised
  • Application for a care/supervision order

18
Legal Planning Meeting/Discussion
  • Identify the concerns with LA legal team
  • Agree if threshold is met
  • Identify the documentation needed as evidence
  • Consider the action needed to be taken by parents
    and LA

19
Letter Before Proceedings
  • Written by the LA
  • Gives parents a summary of the concerns
  • Gives information about the LA has done to
    support
  • Identifies the needs to be addressed
  • Defines the outcome if concerns not addressed
  • Provides encouragement to seek legal advice
  • Invitation to attend a meeting to discuss

20
Meeting with Parents
  • Chaired by social workers manager
  • Identifies concerns and outcome
  • Agrees action to be taken to safeguard the child
    , by whom and when to be completed
  • What action the LA will take if no change
  • Written action plan given to parents and others
    that have attended

21
If No Change?
  • Manager liaises with CLU, a further legal
    planning meeting/discussion
  • Agreement made on action
  • Directions on future assessments
  • LA responsible for making an application to court

22
Summary - Key Changes
  • Ensuring core assessments fully completed
  • Exploring kinship opportunities as fully as
    possible
  • Issuing a letter before proceedings as
    appropriate
  • Pre-proceedings legal advice - helping to clarify
    the issues for parents
  • Meeting between parents, advocates and local
    authority
  • Completion of pre-proceedings checklist

23
  • Public Law Outline

24
Stream lined Process
  • Six stages reduced to four
  • Issue and First Appointment - to allocate and
    give initial case management directions
  • Advocates meeting and Case Management Conference
    (CMC) - to identify issues and give full case
    management directions
  • Advocates meeting and Issues Resolution Hearing
    (IRH) to resolve, narrow and identify any
    remaining issues
  • Final Hearing - to determine remaining issues

25
  • flowchart showing the court process
  • supplementary application form PLO1 (Annex A)
  • local authority case summary form (Annex B)
  • draft case management order (Annex C)
  • Timetable for the child
  • Cafcass guidance for completion of the analysis
    and recommendations

26
Understanding and promoting the childs
immediate and life-long welfare needs, and
promoting the childs active participation, is
core to Cafcass analysis, intervention and case
management
  • Maximise safety
  • Direct work to understand Needs, Wishes
    Feelings
  • Appropriate participation so views reach court
    as directly as possible
  • Work with family, social professional networks
    to ascertain ability to meet the childs NWF
  • Inform child of outcomes
  • Handover to IRO
  • Make information available for childs lifetime

Child-centred intervention
  • Appraise LA work in the case
  • Focus on key issues
  • Regular information to the court

Analysis
Childs immediate lifelong welfare
Case management / planning
  • Case planning process focuses on reducing
    non-purposive delay so timetable meets the
    childs needs
  • Narrow the issues / outstanding action /
    information needed to assist court in case
    management e.g. experts level other parties

26
27
Court Proceedings
  • Stage 1 Issue and 1st appointment
  • Stage 2 advocates meetings/discussion and case
    management conference
  • Stage 3 Advocates meeting and Issues resolution
    hearing
  • Stage 4 Final hearing

28
Experts
  • There will be a separate Practice Direction on
    how and when experts will be appointed in court
    proceedings
  • The appointment of an expert is a matter to be
    determined by the court
  • An experts report should not take the place of
    core social work - e.g. initial and core
    assessments, and assessment of family members as
    carers

29
Day 1
  • Application issued by court officer
  • Court case manager nominated
  • Pre-proceedings checklist considered and
    directions given
  • ?allocation/transfer to County Court
  • Childrens guardian appointed case analysis and
    recommendations for 1st appointment
  • Solicitor appointed for child
  • Date set for 1st appointment (before Day 6)

30
By Day 3
  • Childrens Guardian will be allocated
  • LA serves application form and the checklist
    documents on all parties to the proceedings

31
1st Appointment
  • By day 6
  • Confirms timetable for the child
  • Arrangements for contested hearing if need
    notified to the court
  • Confirmation of allocation/transfer
  • Childrens Guardian requested to prepare care
    analysis and recommendations for the Case
    Management Conference
  • Scrutiny of the Care Plan
  • Identify additional parties and representation
  • Give initial case management directions
  • Identify if suitable for early final hearing

32
Advocates Meeting/Discussion
  • 2-7 days before the Case Management Conference
  • Legal advocates
  • Consider case summaries, case analysis,
    recommendations
  • Identify and agree proposed experts and draft ?s
  • Notify court if a contested hearing
  • LA to complete the Draft Case Management Order to
    filed no later that 11 am before the Case
    management Conference

33
Case Management Conference
  • Held no later than day 45
  • Reviews and confirms childs timetable
  • Confirms allocation/transfer
  • Scrutinises the care plan
  • Identifies remaining issues/concerns
  • Considers the case management directions in the
    draft case management Order
  • Scrutinises the expert directions
  • Compliance checked with existing directions
  • Court issues the case management order
  • Issues resolution hearing listed
  • Final hearing

34
Final Approved Draft Case Management Order
  • Parties/legal reps to submit electronic form of
    the final draft case management order by the end
    of the day.

35
Advocates meeting 2-7 days before Issues
Resolution Hearing
  • Legal advocate
  • Consider case summaries and case analysis and
    recommendations
  • Draft case management order
  • Notify court of contested hearing
  • Time for oral evidence to be heard
  • LA file Draft case management order to court no
    later than 11am on the day before the issues
    resolution hearing

36
Issues Resolution Hearing between 16 25 weeks
  • Identification by the court of the key issues if
    any to be determined
  • Review an confirm the timetable for the child
  • Scrutinise compliance with directions
  • Consider the draft case management order
  • Scrutinise the care plan
  • Give direction for Hearing documents
  • Court issues case Management order

37
Final Hearing
  • Timed to be in accordance with the individual
    timetable of the child
  • All parties file and serve updated case
    management documents and bundles
  • Draft final orders in approved form
  • Judgement/reasons

38
Summary Key Changes
  • Filing checklist documentation and supplementary
    form PLO1 with the application
  • New, streamlined court process
  • New allocation record and timetable for the child
  • Ensuring advocates meetings take place
  • Completion of draft case management order
  • Focus on identifying, narrowing and resolving
    issues at all stages of the PLO
  • Change in reporting role for childrens guardian
    - incremental and analytical reporting at all
    stages

39
How does my Practice need to Change?
  • What are the differences I will need to make to
    my practice?
  • What questions do I have?
  • (30 mins)

40
  • Comfort Break
  • 20 mins

41
Response to Questions
42
How Can I Support Social Workers
  • What ideas do you have and what key principles do
    we need to have within CSF to support social
    workers to use the PLO in their work
  • (20 mins)

43
Managers Supporting Social Workers
44
What next?
  • Who else needs to be informed about the changes?
  • What extra information do we need to feel
    confident to implement?
  • What does my team need?

45
Resources
  • www.justice.gov.uk/docs/faqs-careproceedings-refor
    m
  • www.tactcare.org.uk
  • http//www.cafcass.gov.uk/publications/my_needs,_w
    ishes_and_feelings.aspx
  • Connect - organisatoncsfLDa-zworkshopspubli
    c law outline

46
For Professionals
  • New forms processes
  • New ways of thinking
  • New guidance
  • Development of different skills
  • Assessments to be completed with analysis
  • Need for SMART planning
  • More collaborative working with other
    professionals
  • Different relationship with CAFCASS
  • Expert assessments to be earlier.

47
For Children their Families
  • More focus on resolution of issues
  • More honest and open
  • Timetable for child linked to their needs
  • SMART plans with outcomes
  • Emphasis on working together to reach best
    outcome for child
  • Childs views actively listened to by the
    Guardian and reported to the court
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