Nuffield Family Justice Observatory report on supervision orders...
Commenting on the use of supervision orders, ADCS President Charlotte Ramsden said:
“Every child is unique and it is important that we can provide the right support at the right time to meet their individual needs. We know that where possible children are best brought up in their own families but some will always need to come into care. A supervision order offers the local authority the ability to maintain regular contact with the child whilst working with the family to bring about positive change. Where this is in a child’s best interests it can be transformative, however, the effectiveness of supervision orders has never been formally reviewed in over 30 years since its introduction. ADCS has contributed to a sub-group of the Public Law Working Group which is reviewing this, alongside looking at a range of other court ordered interventions, and is expected to report on its findings later in the year, and we look forward to seeing its conclusions. Indeed, the group’s call for the reduction of supervision orders being used with special guardianship orders is something that ADCS supports.
“It is important that we use our collective experience to identify problems and find solutions for the benefit of children and families. The Care Review provides a once in a generation opportunity to address many of these issues and ADCS is clear that it must be bold and ambitious for those children and families who rely on our support. We are now seeing more children coming into contact with children’s services with a greater complexity of needs. Alongside the Care Review we must have a long-term, sustainable funding settlement that allows us to meet children’s needs early and ultimately improve lives.”
ENDS