Marie represented a Mother of two young children, who has significant learning difficulties to the extent that she lacks capacity to instruct lawyers herself and the Official Solicitor is her Litigation Friend.
In spite of her client’s significant challenges, Marie successfully prevented the Local Authority from removing the children from her care at a hearing for an interim care order, and the Mother is in a Mother and Baby foster care placement.
After failing at a further hearing to obtain an order and remove the children, the Local Authority changed their care plan to that of remaining in the foster placement, together with a community PAMS assessment by an Independent Social Worker (ISW), to which the Mother agreed.
The ISW assessment is cautiously optimistic that, with the appropriate support, the Mother can care for her children in her own home. There will now be a further period of transition into the Mother’s own home and further assessment to see if this can be achieved and maintained.
With Marie’s sensitive and pragmatic support of her vulnerable client, no care orders were made and the Mother was able to retain her children in her own care in the foster placement. Marie further negotiated a care plan of transition to the Mother’s own home, with a support package.
