We are raising funds to enable us to formally intervene in public law children's cases in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.  We believe the additional information and knowledge we can provide, would give the appeal court a broader picture than it would otherwise obtain from the individual parties in the case. Crucially, this would assist the court to take into account the wider implications of the issue before them and how their judgment might affect other vulnerable children and families in the future, beyond just the parties before the court.

We anticipate that we could assist the court with its interpretation of legislation and other recent legal and practice changes, for example, in relation to whether the local authority has done enough to identify possible kinship carers for a child unable to remain with their parents, and whether an assessment of a kinship carers was sufficiently rigorous to justify ruling them out at an early stage.

What can you do to help us?

Family Rights Group is seeking funding for this project. We need a minimum of £10,000 for it to be viable.  This would enable us to see two to three cases through to conclusion. Whilst we will rely upon Counsel and Solicitors to represent us pro bono in the court proceedings themselves, this money is required to enable us to fund the person-hours necessary for Family Rights Group to compile a statement/report for the court and other preparatory work, pay court fees and appear at hearings.  We would continue to fundraise once the project was underway to cover the costs of subsequent interventions. 

We hope you will consider supporting this project to enable us to help families to influence judicial decisions so that more children are able to stay safely within their family network, with appropriate support to meet their needs.

We would welcome any donation you feel able to make.