ADVOKS GLOBAL · KENYA
Children Act
145. Proceedings in respect of children in need of care and protection
Edition: 2022-12-31 · In force
145. Proceedings in respect of children in need of care and protection
(1)Any person who has reasonable cause to believe that a child is in need of care and protection may report the matter to the nearest authorised officer, who shall take such steps as may be necessary for securing a Court order for the care and protection of the child in a place of safety or other alternative care in accordance with this Act.(2)An authorized officer or any other person who has reasonable cause to believe that a child is in need of care and protection shall take the child into safe custody and, at the earliest opportunity, place the child in a place of safety in facilities other than those in which children in conflict with the law are held, pending presentation to the Court for appropriate orders.(3)The Secretary shall monitor and ascertain whether the facilities in which the children are committed to in this section are suitably equipped to ensure the highest attainable standards of hygiene, sanitation and comfort, having regard to the special needs of the children.(4)Any child in need of care and protection may take refuge in a place of safety, and no person shall turn away a child in need of care and protection from any place of safety.(5)Where an application is made to a children’s Court for an order under section 150, and the child is not in a place of safety, the Court may direct the applicant to bring the child before the Court, whereupon the provisions of subsection (3) of that section shall apply so as to enable the Court to make an interim order for the temporary accommodation of the child in a place of safety or for his or her temporary committal to the care of a fit person.(6)Where a Court makes an order under subsection (5), the Court may make such other orders as it considers necessary for—(a)the establishment of contact between the child and his parent, or between the child and any person who has parental responsibility over the child; or(b)the enforcement of the order.(7)Where a child is taken to a place of safety by an authorised officer or other person without reference to the Court, the parent or guardian or any person who has parental responsibility in respect of the child may apply to the Secretary for the release of the child from the place of safety into his or her care:Provided that if the Secretary refuses an application under this subsection, the Secretary shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision and the reasons for the refusal.(8)An applicant who is aggrieved by the decision of the Secretary under subsection (7) may apply to the Court for an order discharging the child from the place of safety concerned and placing him or her into the care of the applicant.(9)Where a child is taken or ordered to be taken to a place of safety in accordance with this Act, the person who takes or brings the child before the Court shall—(a)lodge with the Court a statement specifying the grounds on which the child is brought before the Court; and(b)give reasonable notice requiring the child’s parent or guardian, or such other person who has parental responsibility over the child, to attend at the Court before which the child is to appear.(10)Where any person intends to make any application under section 151, the person shall forthwith notify the Secretary or his representative of the name and address of the child and the day and hour when, and the nature of the grounds on which, the child is to be brought before the Court.(11)On receiving the notice under subsection (10), the Secretary shall investigate and present to the Court a report on the child containing particulars as to the home, circumstances, age, state of health, character and general antecedents of the child, or such other information as may be necessary in assisting the Court in making appropriate orders under this Act.(12)When it appears to an officer of a county government entity or a charitable children’s institution that a child in its local jurisdiction is in urgent need of care and protection, and that its intervention is necessary, the county government entity or charitable children’s institution shall receive such child into its care without the need to immediately bring the child before a Court:Provided that—(a)the county government entity or charitable children’s institution shall notify the Secretary within seven days of receiving the child into its care;(b)the child shall be brought before a Court within seven days;(c)the county government entity or charitable children’s institution shall submit a monthly report to the Secretary of all children received and accommodated in their respective institutions;(d)the Secretary or an authorized officer, county government entity or charitable children’s institution investigates all cases involving children who are taken under their care and protection;(e)the county government entity or charitable children’s institution shall not retain the child in its care if the parent or guardian of the child seeks to assume the care of the child;(f)the county government entity or charitable children’s institution shall, when it appears to be in the interests of the child, endeavor to secure that the care of the child is assumed by a parent or guardian or a person who has parental responsibility for the child by a relative or friend who shall, if possible, be of the same religion, race, tribe or clan as the child.(13)The Council shall prescribe guidelines for the carrying out of investigations under subsection (12) (d).(14)A county government entity or charitable children’s institution which receives a child into its care under the provisions of this section shall be entitled to recover the cost of maintenance of such child from his parent, guardian or the person who has responsibility over the child.