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I

In Care

These are the legal words used to describe children and young people who are looked after by Plymouth City Council when a Court Order has been made. This means that we have been to court and it has been decided that you are not able to live at home and we should look after you.

When you are looked after by us and in care:

• we share responsibility for you with your parents.
• we should talk to your parents so that they can decide together how you are best looked after.
• sometimes we may feel that we have to keep you safe and need to decide by ourselves what is best for you. However, your views will always be taken into account.

If you are in care, your parents cannot take you home unless we agree or unless the court decides to remove the Care Order.

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Independent Visitors

If you are looked after by us and are not visited much by your parents or are not seeing your parents or other members of your family at all, or if you are in secure accommodation, then you can have an Independent Visitor to call and see you.

An Independent Visitor:

• is a volunteer who is not employed by the Council and they do not get paid by anybody.
• has the role to visit you like an older friend, be kind to you and make sure you are being looked after properly.
• can attend your reviews if you want them to.

You should talk to your social worker if you are interested in Plymouth City Council finding someone who could visit you. However, it might take a bit of time to find someone because the Council want to make sure that people who want to be Independent Visitors are suitable to become friends with children and young people, with similar interests for example.

If you do have an Independent Person to visit you and you later find that it really isn’t working out, then you can ask your social worker to tell the person to stop visiting at any time you want. You may want to talk to your social worker or carer before making a decision to stop visits.

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Interim Care Orders

An Interim Care Order is made by the court when a social worker has applied for a Care Order but everyone concerned is not ready for the full case to be heard. If an interim Care Order is made, you will still be in Care.

While there is an Interim Care Order:

• the social worker will need to find out as much information about you and your family as possible.
• when your social worker talks to you, you should let her/him know your views and what you want to see happen.
• the court will also ask someone called a ‘Children’s Guardian’ to talk to you to find out what is in your best interest.
• you will also be given a solicitor to represent your views.

The court may decide which members of your family can have contact with you. It may also decide that you need a medical examination or assessment. The court should take your wishes and feelings into account. Your social worker should talk to you about what is happening, why you are being looked after, and who you can see and have contact with.

There may be a number of Interim Care Orders made, the first one can last up to 8 weeks. The court can make further Interim Care Orders, each one can last no more than 4 weeks. Interim Care Orders may be made until the final court hearing date is fixed when a decision about your future is made.

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