Please remember this list is not exhaustive, there may always be additional things to consider depending on the needs of the children and their situation.

 

You will need to:

 

• Confirm with relevant kingship assessment team their timescales for any viability assessments and kinship/special guardianship assessments. Ensure that these filing dates are within the 26 week timetable.

 

• Family Group Conference or an equivalent meeting within your local authority has been held and the minutes have been shared with your legal team.

 

• Confirm with your relevant manager and legal team the need for any proposed expert assessments, identify who the expert will be, make their CV available to the parties and confirm their filing timescales are within the 26 week timetable, write questions for the Letter of Instruction, and confirm with your legal team that they have made a ‘part 25’ application (the method to ask the court to approve the use of an expert).

 

• Confirm who is completing any parenting assessments, the timescales of those, and what model is being used (i.e. Parent Assess). Ensure a parenting assessment proposal, even if it is for an updating parenting assessment, is ready and has been shared with the parties ahead of the Case Management Hearing (CMH).

 

• Set up any proposed drug and alcohol testing / DNA testing arrangements.

 

• Confirm when you can complete your final evidence and consider that it is usual to timetable this to come in 2 weeks after the last assessment is filed, or 3 weeks if the plan may be adoption (as you need to complete the child permanence reports (CPRs) and get an Agency Decision Makers (ADM) decision).

 

• Read the case summary your legal team are writing and approve it. It needs to be filed by 11am the day before the hearing.

 

• Ensure you have spoken with the Child’s Guardian and know their views, have considered them, and discuss with your relevant manager whether the Guardian’s views, they have a different view, do or do not change any aspect of your proposed care plan.

 

• Ensure you have read all the position statements or evidence that the parents and Guardian has filed, so that you understand what everyone is saying and what your instructions to your legal team will be in the hearing. Give full instructions to your legal team ahead of the advocates meeting, which should be held at least one day before the CMH.

 

• If the local authority is seeking to remove the children, ensure you have a plan of how this will be done. Do you know where the children will be on the day? How will you get their belongings? How will you travel with them to the placement? How will they say goodbye to their family or siblings? Who is supporting you with all these tasks?

 

• If the local authority is seeking to remove the children, ensure you have a plan set up for when they will see their family next. Will you facilitate a meeting the next day prior to this being formally set up by the contact centre? Have you made the relevant referrals in advance to the contact centre?

​

​