Navigating PLO pre-proceedings (Public Law Outline)
If you received a letter from Social Services urging you to contact a solicitor and attend a meeting about your children, it is important to act quickly and contact a lawyer straight away.
Why you have received this letter
If you have received this letter, it is because Social Services is worried about your children and want to work with you to improve the care being given to them. This letter is a final notice that if positive changes are not made, your Local Authority may start Court proceedings, and your children could be taken into foster care.
What is the PLO process?
The PLO process typically lasts 12 weeks but can be extended or cut short in some circumstances. Social Services will put forward a plan of action that you will be asked to agree to, in the hopes that this will improve the situation for your children and address its concerns. Progress with this plan will be monitored at review meetings every 4-6 weeks.
At the end of the process, there will be a final review meeting where the social work team will get legal advice and decide to either start Court proceedings or step down its involvement with your family.
How we can support you
We understand how scary it can be to face the Local Authority alone. We provide legal aid to parents who have been invited to engage in the PLO process. We can arrange a consultation with you, talk through the letter you have received, attend the meetings with you and provide legal advice and practical support through this process.
Contact our Family Team in Birmingham and speak directly with one of our Lawyers who can help you to navigate these challenging circumstances.
Call us on 0121 643 4121 and ask to speak to our Birmingham Family Team directly.