Keyword

Contact Order

A Contact Order is an Order made by the Court requiring the person with whom a child lives to allow the child to have contact with the person named in the order. The Order is made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989, where the child is not the subject of a Care Order or a Placement Order, and can be made when an Adoption Order is made.

Where a child is the subject of a Care Order, there is a general duty on the local authority to promote contact between the child and the parents. A Contact Order can be made under section 34 of the Children Act 1989 requiring the local authority to allow the child to have contact with a named person.

Where the local authority considers that a child should be placed for adoption, there is a duty to consider contact arrangements but there is no general presumption for or against contact. A Contact Order can be made under section 26 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 when a Placement Order, is made, requiring contact arrangements (direct or indirect) to be made for the child with a named person.