The District Court made a care order for Child 1 until his 18th birthday after finding that the statutory threshold under section 18 of the Child Care Act 1991 was met. The court said Child 1’s health, development and welfare would suffer if the order were not made.
The application was heard from 19 to 21 November 2012. Child 1 had been in HSE care under an interim care order since October 2011, which had been extended 30 times. The court said its decision was delivered on 21 November and circulated in writing to the parties on 18 December 2012.
The judge heard evidence from professionals involved with Child 1 and his mother, as well as from the mother and the child’s Guardian ad Litem (GAL). Evidence described Child 1’s significant speech and language delay and improvement after support from a speech and language therapist, his grandmother and preschool. The social worker described concerns about the mother’s parenting capacity and mental health, her limited engagement with services, and Child 1’s improvement in care. The mother disputed aspects of that account, denied that she had schizophrenia, and opposed the care order and placement with her mother.
The GAL supported a care order until age 18 and recommended that access be supervised, monthly and for half an hour while uncertainty remained about the mother’s mental health. The court directed that access be at the HSE’s discretion, subject to section 37 of the Act and with due attention to the GAL’s recommendations. It listed the case for an access review on 21 February; the judgment specifies 21 February 2013 for re-entry.
The court approved the care plan and Child 1’s relative foster placement with his maternal grandmother. It also directed that the GAL remain appointed until 21 February 2013, recommended that the mother be kept informed of Child 1’s progress, and set out circumstances in which the case must be re-entered, including an unallocated social worker or fostering link worker for four weeks, a change in placement, or a missed annual review. The judgment gives no calendar dates for the specified 18th birthday or 17th birthday.