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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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• 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

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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

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• Public Law Outline

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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By Day 3

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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• Comfort Break
• 20 mins

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Response to Questions
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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)

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Managers Supporting Social Workers
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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?

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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

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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.

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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