If the Local Authority starts care proceedings in relation to your child or children, one of the documents you are likely to receive is a threshold document.
Your solicitor is likely to mention it right at the beginning of the case, and the judge or magistrates may also refer to it.
It can be quite difficult to understand what this document is and what you are expected to do with it. It may contain a list of allegations about you, your parenting, your relationship or events which have happened within your family. Some of what is written may be accepted by you, while other parts may seem unfair, exaggerated or simply wrong.
What does “threshold” mean?
Before the court can make a care order or supervision order, the Local Authority must show that the legal threshold for the court becoming involved has been met.
In other words, the court must be satisfied that your child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, and that this is because the care being given to your child is not what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to provide, or because your child is beyond parental control.
The threshold document sets out the facts which the Local Authority says establish this.
It is important because it sets out the factual basis upon which the Local Authority is asking the court to intervene in your family life.
The court may consider threshold at an early stage when deciding whether to make an interim care order. At this stage, the court is considering whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold is met. This is not the same as making final findings about what has happened. Those decisions will be made later in the proceedings.
Do I have to agree with it?
You should not feel under pressure simply to agree with everything in the threshold document, but it is not always helpful to deny everything simply because you disagree with the Local Authority’s overall view of your parenting.
There may be some events or facts which you accept happened, but you may disagree with the way they have been described or with the conclusions the Local Authority has drawn from them.
For example, you may accept that there was an argument at home but disagree that your child witnessed it. You may accept that you struggled with your parenting during a particular period, but explain that your circumstances have now changed.
Your response can reflect those differences.
How do I respond to the threshold?
Your solicitor will usually go through the document carefully with you.
For each allegation, you can explain whether you:
- accept it;
- accept part of it but not all of it;
- disagree with the way it has been described;
- deny it; or
- need further information before you can properly respond.
Your solicitor can then help you prepare a written response which accurately sets out your position.
You do not need to use complicated legal language. What matters is that your response is clear, accurate and genuinely reflects what you say happened.
Does accepting threshold mean I will lose my child or children?
No.
Sometimes a parent is advised to accept that the legal threshold for the court’s involvement is met while still disagreeing with some of the allegations made by the Local Authority.
Accepting threshold does not, by itself, determine where your child will live at the end of the proceedings.
The court will consider much more than the threshold document. It will look at the assessments undertaken during the proceedings, the progress which has been made, the child’s needs, the available care options and the evidence as a whole.
The position at the beginning of proceedings may be very different from the position several months later.
What if things have changed?
This is important.
Care proceedings are not simply about looking back at what has gone wrong. The court also needs to consider what the situation is now and what is likely to happen in the future.
If you have made changes, engaged with professionals, addressed difficulties or shown that you can provide safe and consistent care for your child, that will be relevant.
Your solicitor can help make sure that the court understands not only what happened in the past, but also what has changed.
Take your time with the document
Receiving a threshold document can be upsetting. It can feel very personal because it deals with your family life and may describe you in a way that you do not recognise.
Try not to respond in anger or feel that you need to answer immediately. However, it is important to discuss the document with your solicitor promptly because the court will set deadlines for responding.
Read it carefully and discuss it with your solicitor. Identify what you accept, what you disagree with and, importantly, why.
A thoughtful and balanced response is usually much more helpful than simply agreeing with everything or denying everything.
The threshold document is important, but it is only one part of the care proceedings. Your solicitor will help you understand what it means, prepare your response, and make sure that your position is clearly put before the court.
If you would like advice about your own situation, please call us on 01235 425500 or get in touch online. Our specialist family law team will be happy to help.
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