For this part of the assignment you must research a Serious Case Review concerning a child in the UK aged between birth and 16 y - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... The court proceeding were held on 4th August, 2011 and was presided over by Judge Caddick. Child D was born in 2010 in Kent. The child and her mother resided at the same address immediately after birth. Kent County Council had raised concerns of the child even before its birth. The local authority raised fears that the child was not in good hands since her mother was viewed as her child herself. Her mother was under police protection in Surrey County Council but she principally resided in Kent. The only option left in regards to the custody of child was for the child to be taken up by foster parents in a location where they resided. After birth, Child D and the mother stayed under foster care in Kent after which the mother was transferred to police protection in Surrey County Council. However, Child D remained under the care of foster parents in Kent County Council (Family Justice Review, 2011). Kent Count Council had applied for the Custody of the child and they were granted. The ruling was made in regards to Section 31(1) (a) of the Children Act 1989: “placing the child with respect to whom the application is made in the care of the designated local authority”. The 4th August, 2011 court ruling was an appeal on the case made by the Surrey County Council. ...
At the same time Surrey County Council could not release the mother since she was under protective custody in the address. However, Kent County Council argues that they had the right to grant the child a proper family to enable it to grow in a normal family setting. Additionally, under protective custody the mother was not in the right position to raise the child effectively considering the limitations she had at protected custody (Family Justice Review, 2011). Legally, the case was against the arguments by Surrey County Council as the law stipulates custody should be granted to the local authority which requested for custody and the local authority to which the child was given birth to (Howe, 2009). In this case, the child and her mother were principally residents of Kent County Council and this was enough to grant the local authority custody of child D under the provisions of Section 31(1) (a) of the Children Act 1989. In this particular case, with the mother of child in protected custody and the child at a critical age the case became a serious case review with a lot at stake in regards to the most appropriate decision that would make the child comfortable. In an argument by Mawby (2008) a case concerning a child immediately from birth makes the case critical since its future life will greatly depend on the care it’s given at its first stages of life. The case of custody in regards to local authorities has been provided for by numerous legislations. In the U.K the role authorities in child care and protection is significant as the bodies are given great mandate to determine the status of each and every child in the counties. In the Children Act 1989, Local authorities are given great mandate to claim ...Download file to see next pagesRead More