A v Minister for Health and Social Services
| Jurisdiction | Jersey |
| Court | Royal Court |
| Judge | J. A. Clyde-Smith,Jurats Bullen,Liddiard |
| Judgment Date | 03 July 2008 |
| Neutral Citation | [2008] JRC 104 |
| Date | 03 July 2008 |
[2008] JRC 104
ROYAL COURT
(Samedi Division)
J. A. Clyde-Smith Esq., Commissioner, and Jurats Bullen and Liddiard.
and
Advocate M. J. Haines for the Applicant.
Advocate C. M. M. Yates for the Minister for Health and Social Services.
Advocate L. K. A. Richardson fro the Second Respondent.
Children (Jersey) Law 2002.
Re G (Children) (2006) UK HL43 .
On 24th June 2008, we made a residence order under Article 10 of the Children (Jersey) Law 2002 (“the Law”) in respect of a child L, in favour of the applicant. It is clear that a child should not be removed from the primary care of his or her biological parents without compelling reason (see Re G (Children) (2006) UK HL43) and we now set out our reasons. For convenience, we will refer to the child, the great aunt (the applicant), the mother (the first respondent) and the father (the second respondent) respectively.
The child was born in Jersey on 6th July 2006 and is therefore just two years of age. His mother is now twenty and his father twenty-five and they were not married at the time of the child's birth. Their relationship ended shortly after his birth. The father has not subsequently applied under Article 5 of the Law for an order that he shall have parental responsibility for the child.
The Children's Service became involved in the child's welfare shortly after birth because of concerns as to the mother's ability to cope. The mother is a habitual drug user.
In September 2006, the mother commenced a relationship with H, a known drug user and supplier. On 22nd September 2006, she left Jersey for the United Kingdom, supposedly for 24 hours, leaving the child in the care of a sixteen year old boy. She did not in fact return until 26th September 2006. The Children's Service placed the child with his great aunt (now aged forty-two) in her absence.
On the 26th October 2006 the child was placed on the Child Protection Register under the category “neglect”. The mother began to leave the child in the care of his great aunt for increasingly long periods and on 1st November 2006 he went to live with his great aunt permanently.
On 30th January 2007, the mother was placed on twelve months probation for larceny offences on condition that she attend a six months treatment order which required her to remain clean of non—prescribed drugs. She was admitted to the Women's Refuge due to fears of domestic violence from her partner H, but she was evicted from there and subsequently from the Kensington Street Homeless Shelter.
On 12th April 2007, the mother was sentenced to a term of imprisonment following further offences. The father was also serving a prison sentence at that time for unrelated offences.
In anticipation of the mother's release from custody the child was placed under an interim...
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