Care Law
Child Care Law
Care law for children is a complex area. Nevertheless, the overriding aim of the law is protect children, particularly vulnerable children, from harm, give children rights and carer’s obligations, and provide legal remedies.
There are numerous pieces of legislation which are concerned with the care of children. Today, we’ll examine four important Acts: The Children Act 1989, The Protection of Children Act 1999, the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
The Children Act 1989
This Act is was bought into force with the aim of obligating concerned government authorities to protect children and investigate cases where children are at risk of harm.
Residence, contact and the concept of parental responsibility were also defined by this Act to consolidate the law concerning child custody after divorce or separation. The concept of parental responsibility was defined to allow non-resident parents to continue to play a role in their children’s lives. It also allows parents to make appropriate decisions regarding their children’s welfare, and when the children are in their care they are entitled to do so free from the other parent’s interference.
The Protection of Children Act 1999
This Act introduced the Protection of Children List, which records the names of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children. All regulated child care organisations as defined by the Act are under a duty to refer such individuals to the appropriate authorities. Sports’ clubs, voluntary organisations and scouts club are also able to make referrals.
Any organisation involved in caring for children is under a duty to check whether the people they employ are not the list and if they are, they must not employ them.
Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000
Under this Act, it is an offence for organisations working with children to knowingly employ individuals who are recorded on the Protection of Children List.
The Act further broadens the powers of The Protection of Children Act 1999 by allowing courts to issue a disqualification order for individuals who are convicted of violent or sexual offences against children. A disqualification order lasts for ten years and naturally it is an offence for anyone subject to a disqualification order to seek work involving children.
Adoption and Children Act 2002
This Act officially came into force in 2005 and replaced older legislation including the Adoption Act 1976. It was designed to modernise the law concerning adoption and make children and their welfare the focus.
The Act requires adoption agencies to have a proper look at prospective parents and not apply blanket bans. The matching making process between children and potential foster parents was fairly restrictive in the past. More flexible rules and regulations allow children to be potentially matched to a wider pool of foster parents and increase the likelihood of finding a suitable home to live in.