10/23 If Parents Consents to Disposition Order Being Made That Will Remove Child - Section 41 (4)

If Parents or Guardians Consents to Disposition Order Being Made That Will Remove Child - Section 41 (4)

“Where a parent or guardian consents to a disposition order being made pursuant to Section 42 that would remove the child from the parent or guardian’s care and custody, the court shall:
(a) “ask whether the agency has offered the parent or guardian services that would enable the child to remain with the parent or guardian”
(b) ask whether the parent or guardian or the child over 12 years old has consulted with independent legal counsel concerning the consent.
(c) “satisfy itself that the parent or guardian understands and, where the child is 12 years of age or older, that the child understands the nature and consequences of the consent and consents to the order being sought and every consent is voluntary.”

Comments:

• So what is being said here? Look carefully. The court only has the obligation to ask these questions and satisfy itself that the parent and child understands IF the parents have consented. If the parent has NOT consented, there is no obligation under this act to ask these questions and seek these clarifications.

• In any case, the Court is not asking these questions! Even if these questions were asked, there is nothing in the Act that specifies what the Court should do when the answers are in the negative: that the parents were not given services, that the child over 12 had not consulted with independent counsel concerning consent, that the child does not consent or that the child’s consent was not voluntary. But then, of course, this is not needed because, as already stated, these questions are not asked .