Agreements to Avoid? The Use and Experience of s20 Agreements in Child Protection

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Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 ("s20") allows social workers to accommodate children in foster or residential care with the agreement of those with parental responsibility for the child. This section was enacted with the intention to provide respite for families suffering with illness or disability. However, it has gradually morphed into a safeguarding tool. Social workers now frequently resort to making 's20 agreements' with parents to enable them to remove and accommodate children due to child protection concerns. Accommodation under s20 occurs without judicial scrutiny and often without any prior legal advice to the parentsand/or the social worker. This has, in recent years, become a cause for concern; particularly following a number of reported cases where s20 has been used to remove children unlawfully (by coercion, for example) or for lengthy periods with no legal security.