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How the State intervenes to protect children
Published April 2008
The developing story of the abduction and rescue of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews has brought into sharp focus the powers of the State to intervene to protect children, according to family lawyers at MFG Solicitors who have offices across Worcestershire and Shropshire.
Julia Bond, an associate at the firm’s Telford office, said: “Much of this work goes on in private behind closed doors where Magistrates Courts on a regular basis act to protect children that are considered to be vulnerable.
“Powers to remove a child from its natural home may seem draconian but the procedure to invoke them is not entered into lightly.
“In the first instance, the local authority will seek an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) but it must be able to establish that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is likely to suffer significant harm if he or she is not removed to safe accommodation.”
Initially an EPO can be obtained for eight days and it can only be extended once to make a total of 15 days from the initial order.
If the local authority then wishes to continue to protect and keep the child in safe accommodation it must then apply for an Interim Care Order.
Julia Bond said: “Care proceedings such as these are only instigated in exceptional circumstances and in a ruling in 2006 Judge McFarlane stated that EPOs would rarely be granted in cases of emotional abuse, non-specific allegations of sexual abuse or fabricated illness syndrome unless there was a risk of immediate significant harm.
“There is a very high burden of proof that is required to carry out these proceedings and they are never entered into lightly.”
The Magistrates Court considers such applications in private and effectively gives the local authority responsibility for the child in question.
MFG Solicitors, which has offices in Halesowen, Telford, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Wellington, Stourport-on-Severn, Cleobury Mortimer and Oswestry, has one of the largest and most experienced family divisions in regional law firms.
Partners Jonathan Tougher and Clare Backler are members of The Law Society’s Family Panel and Robert Pearce is a member of the Children’s Panel.
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