Start with the harm that needs to stop
A child may be missing school, moving between homes or losing contact with a parent while adults wait for another report or hearing. The first task is to identify what needs a decision now. A lawyer should turn that problem into a specific request: temporary contact, a stable care arrangement, a child-sensitive assessment or implementation of an existing order.
Explain the consequence for the child. For example, a request to restore contact should address how meetings will start, where handovers will happen and what support is needed after a long interruption. Allegations of violence require a safety assessment and suitable protective arrangements; a standard contact schedule may be unsuitable.
The child’s lawyer has a separate job
Identify each person’s role: your lawyer represents you; the child’s appointed lawyer represents the child; a social worker or agency representative has a different function. Get the appointment decision and establish the representative’s actual authority. The child’s interests may differ from either parent’s proposed outcome.
In N.Ts. and Others v. Georgia, the European Court of Human Rights found that agency reports and hearing attendance had not provided meaningful representation. The children had little continuing contact with the representatives. The judgment concerns the former Social Service Agency and the facts of that case; it provides a concrete warning about representation that exists only on paper.
- Has the child received an understandable explanation of the proceedings?
- Has the lawyer had an appropriate opportunity to speak with the child independently?
- What position has the representative put before the court, and on what factual basis?
- Have important omissions in the agency opinion or urgent protection needs been raised?
Act when the appointed representative is inactive
If the lawyer does not respond, misses a hearing or adopts an agency opinion without addressing obvious omissions, put the specific failure in writing. Ask for an explanation and action before the next procedural deadline. Your own lawyer should also raise the child’s unmet representation needs before the court.
Where the failure continues, seek review of the appointment or replacement through the competent appointing body or court. A complaint to the Legal Aid Service or a professional complaint may address conduct, but the pending child case still needs its applications filed on time. A parent’s private lawyer cannot simply take over the child’s separate role where interests conflict.
What to do with a State Care Agency opinion
The body often referred to by its trafficking-related name is the LEPL Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking, commonly called the State Care Agency. Identify the territorial unit and the author of the opinion in your case.
An unreasoned opinion can make the litigation harder. If it recommends residence with the mother simply because she is the mother, the response should expose the missing assessment. Georgian law gives parents equal rights and requires the child’s individual interests to determine the decision. The same reasoning applies to an unsupported preference for the father.
Ask what was actually investigated: both proposed homes, daily care, schooling, health, safety and the reason contact ended. Separate what the author observed from what one parent reported. Address the effect of interrupted education or prolonged separation from a parent instead of accepting that the present situation must continue.
Turn objections into requests the court can decide
A general accusation that a social worker is biased gives the court little to resolve. A focused objection identifies the conclusion, the omitted fact, why it matters and the procedural step needed. An agency opinion is not automatically decisive: Article 105 of the Civil Procedure Code requires the court to evaluate the evidence. Counsel can seek the author’s attendance or written clarification through the court, identifying the unanswered questions.
- If only one home was visited, request assessment of the other proposed home and the practical care arrangements.
- If the opinion describes a child as settled but ignores repeated school moves, seek attendance and transfer information and an explanation from the author.
- If a parent’s allegation is repeated as a finding, ask the author to identify its source and seek the underlying material where lawfully available.
- If the report is stale or incomplete, seek an updated assessment or an appropriately qualified expert opinion. Specify the questions to be answered.
Do not let the final case become an excuse for indefinite separation
Article 355 of the Civil Procedure Code permits interim regulation of matters including care, contact, residence and child maintenance. Where a temporary arrangement is needed, identify the requested measure and explain why waiting for the final judgment would harm the child.
For contact after a long gap, a proposal can address initial supported meetings, their frequency, progression and review. If an order already exists but is not being implemented, determine what enforcement step is available instead of repeatedly seeking the same order. Your lawyer should distinguish that task from an application to change an unsuitable arrangement.
Keep the child’s voice independent
A child should be heard through a suitable, supportive process. The Code on the Rights of the Child protects participation and requires an individual best-interests assessment. A statement that the child refuses contact needs careful examination of the reasons, the child’s experience and any safety concerns.
Do not coach the child, repeatedly question them or ask them to produce evidence against a parent. Request a child-sensitive opportunity to express views and, where needed, appropriate professional assistance. The lawyer’s task is to bring those views and the surrounding circumstances before the court, including difficult facts.
Choose the right response to the right decision
Distinguish an opinion submitted as evidence from a separate administrative decision or refusal by the Agency. The former may need objections and applications in the family case; the latter may require an administrative challenge with its own filing requirements and time limit. A letter to a supervisor should not be treated as a substitute for the applicable remedy.
Where a child has lived abroad, a foreign residence or return order exists, or removal is threatened, identify the countries and existing proceedings at the outset. Residence litigation, recognition, enforcement and international return proceedings can involve different questions. Protect the immediate position while the lawyer identifies which procedure addresses each one.
Official sources
- Code on the Rights of the Child: Articles 5 and 74–81
- Civil Code of Georgia
- Civil Procedure Code of Georgia
- State Care Agency: founding regulation and institutional name
- General Administrative Code of Georgia
- N.Ts. and Others v. Georgia, 2 February 2016: paragraphs 74–84
- Legal Aid Service: assistance in family disputes
Sources checked on 22 October 2026.
Discuss the applications your child needs now
Tell the lawyer whether contact has stopped, a hearing is approaching or a move is planned. Request a written plan for urgent protection, the disputed agency opinion and the child’s separate representation.