Safeguarding Children in Todays World - Case Study Example

Safeguarding Children ‘JUDGEMENTS ON HOW BEST TO INTERVENE WHEN THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT HARM TO A CHILD WILL OFTEN AND UNAVOIDABLY ENTAIL AN ELEMENTOF RISK – AT THE EXTREME, OF LEAVING A CHILD TOO LONG IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION OR OF REMOVING A CHILD UNNECESSARILY FROM THEIR FAMILY.’ (DOH, 1999) WORKING TOGETHER TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN (TSO P2 1.8). CONSIDERING THE PROFESSIONAL DILEMMAS INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGISLATION, POLICY AND PRACTICE GUIDANCE IN PROTECTING CHILDREN AND PROMOTING WELFARE. Student name Instructor name Course name/University name Date ABSTRACT This paper focuses on safeguarding children in today’s world. It will consider how the components of legislation and policy that social workers need both to be aware of and comply with may give confused and conflicting guidance about how best to promote a child’s welfare. We look at the dilemma faced by social workers across the country; consider government policy and the acts that govern children and the problem of inter agency working for social workers arising from different agency resources, aims, values and cultures. To illustrate these issues, I will reflect on an actual case history and consider the role of supervision, training, ongoing professional development and being a reflective practitioner as one possible means of striving for practice excellence in the child protection field. Safeguarding Children Introduction Where can you find a heart that has not been tainted by the horror’s of the world in which we live? For most, the first and last place to look would be to the small child. However, even this is under threat simply because the love, respect, protection and understanding that children once had are under attack. Child abuse in various forms, shapes, sizes and manners is one of the fastest spreading epidemics. Its greatest effects are that of corrupting innocence, inflicting pain and imparting fear to a heart that only wants the love and protection that it is supposed to be due. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children defines child abuse as “when a child suffers harm or even death because of physical cruelty, emotional cruelty, sexual abuse or neglect by an adult” (2005). Often the adult is a parent or someone whom the child knows and trusts. It has therefore been up to the laws of the state and the efforts of social workers and agencies to protect these children from those who are most in a position to harm them. Sexual abuse According to Working Together Department of Health (1996) sexual abuse is forcing or enticing a child or young person to take in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, non-contact activities, production of pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Child sexual abuse can occur within or outside of the family. However, a large proportion of abusers are fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, brothers and uncles. Women also abuse children sexually, but current figures report a low percentage of female sexual abusers compared to male sexual abusers. One example of this is the case of Peter Sanderson who was sexually abused by a member of his family. He suffered stress, disturbances and fear of some family members for years as a result. Children with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse (NSPCC, 2001). The main Framework for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children in the UK, including protection from sexual abuse is the Children Act 1989, 2004 for England and Wales. The framework recommends better agency co-operation and the need to assess the child’s condition and situation fully before concluding that sexual abuse has taken place. The child’s story should be listened to, but the child should not be subjected to repeated interviews or medical examinations. Legislation Although the Children’s Act of 1989 provides a great deal of protection for children, stating that the paramount importance is the health and safety of the child in question, this law also requires that children be kept with their families whenever possible and that the parents of the child be kept informed of their well-being even when the child no longer lives with them (Children Act 1989). There are clearly stated offences which relate to the sexual abuse of children, but the provision of family involvement resulted in many abusers not being prosecuted because of the difficulty involved in proving sexual abuse (Kay, 2003). Child protection under this provision required a great deal of investigation at considerable expense, which eventually led to further legislation that would change the direction in which social workers and agencies approached their clients. The primary dilemma facing social workers and other professionals is in determining how to identify which children and families require support and to what extent. This includes identifying in which areas of their development children are impaired as a result of abuse or neglect and what types of service would be most effective in working to overcome them. However, these sorts of tests and studies require a great deal of time and expense, which is often lacking within the social work system. It was to address this need that the government produced the Guidance Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families through the Department of Health (2000). It was believed the cost involved in assessing these needs and then deciding which services should be provided could be reduced through the use of a structured framework. This framework for assessment (DOH, DfEE,HO, 2000) recommends that all assessment and interventions should be rooted in child development, taking into account the feelings and wishes of the child. Completing this programme of work also ensures the child is not seen solely in deficit terms and provides evidence that care is good enough by providing a consistent way of collecting and analysing information about an individual child. This enables a more coherent understanding of the child’s world. It guides practitioners when undertaking an assessment of a child to address the child’s developmental needs, parenting capacity and family and environmental factors. However, as the detailed case will demonstrate, this was not always the case. In 2003 ‘Every Child Matters’ (DoH) set out five outcomes for children, which are now the primary drivers for all children’s policy. These include being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving the most out of life, making a positive contribution to the community and to society, and achieving economic well being. According to Bell and Wilson (2003), when New Labour came to power, they added their momentum to a broad policy shift already in existence toward additional family support and early intervention. One feature of New Labour’s family policy has been recognition of the important role poverty plays in family dysfunction. Accordingly, their term of office has witnessed a number of attempts to eradicate child poverty through such means as the new children’s tax credit as well as through measures to encourage employment among parents, including the employment of lone mothers. Other initiatives have worked through new policies to promote stable families through good parenting schemes such as Sure Start. In addition, for the first time ever, a Children’s Commissioner position was established to give children and young people a public voice under the Children Act 2004. Family responses Despite these initiatives, parents still say they find it hard to balance work and family life. Some mothers feel they have to return to work too soon after their child is born, new parents feel isolated and parents still aren’t able to spend as much time with their children as they would like. According to Aldgate and Tunstill (1995), assessments of children have generally focused on parenting deficits and the impacts of the environment, poverty and inequality. These have not always been sufficiently understood. “Even the most satisfactory mother could do little to mitigate the insidious effects of grinding poverty” (Parker, 1999 p.1151). According to Gregg (1999), there is a growing body of research that suggests poverty has an immediate and long term consequence to children’s health and well being. As a result, too many children are leaving school at age 16 and failing to obtain a job or seeking additional training. In addition, too many children are taking up smoking, drinking and taking drugs (HM Treasury, 2004). It could be argued that if assessments recognised the impact of poverty and deprivation on children and families, practitioners might feel paralysed by their inability to effect structural changes in society. However, this approach may result in a failure to recognise the tremendous strength families have in combating the effects of poverty and may also deprive them of access to necessary services (HM Treasury, 2001). It is still a common public perception that social work agencies exist to protect children from bad or incompetent parents. Few recognize these agencies as being there to support families who experience difficulties from time to time. Therefore, social care agencies are rarely sought for help or advice. This negative public perspective is often influenced by the approach taken towards children and their families by the social work professionals and the way in which agencies implement new policies. Case study The ‘Assessment Framework for Children in Need and their Families’ (2000) is designed to extract ecological and child centered clarification details of children’s individual needs as well as ensuring that all social workers in the field have a theoretical knowledge in child development and attachment theory. Through the use of this policy, it is anticipated that more families with child protection concerns will be dealt with through section 17 of the Children Act 1989, resulting in fewer of the more costly section 47 investigations. Section 17 provides services for ‘children in need’ which are designed to keep the child within the home as no immediate danger is perceived. Section 47, on the other hand, provides the ability for local authorities to remove the child from the home if there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives or is found in their area is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm. This was the case for Victoria Climbie, who was incorrectly treated under section 17. Because Victoria did not enter the formalised child protection system, serious harm was able to occur without the recognition of authorities. Eight-year-old Victoria died in February of 2000 in London after a history of abuse and neglect by her aunt. Social services had a history of involvement in the case, but failed to take decisive action to protect the child. According to the BBC News (Monday 6 January 2003 at 17.20 GMT), Ealing social services failed to intervene after being told by a relative that Victoria was being abused. However, doctors at Central Middlesex Hospital disagreed over the cause of her injuries and Victoria was placed in even further risk. After moving to Mannings flat in Tottenham, Haringey, Victoria was once more in hospital but social services failed to speak to her on home visits. This demonstrates a multi-agency failure for this case through a failure to properly adhere to the Framework of Assessment’s (DoH) five ways of working with children. In the Victoria Climbie case, the social worker failed to consider the child’s wishes and feelings into consideration. This is a requirement for all social workers as children generally know what they going through better than anyone else. In addition, communication issues should be solved with the use of an interpreter when necessary and all agencies, according to London Child Protection Procedures (2004), are required to recognise communication difficulties for children and families for whom English is not the first language. Social care Many government publications have emphasised the value of identifying and building on family strengths. However, the printed government guidance does not automatically bring about changes in the values of individual practitioners, the way services are provided, or in public opinion regarding how those services are carried out. According to Beckett (2000), there are ways in which social workers may hide behind procedures or the organisational policies in place at the agency in which he or she works. This practice might put children at additional risk rather than providing the assistance anticipated. Hiding behind the system involves the social worker effectively subverting that system in order to ward off hostility. Examples of this include instances where the social worker insists their own decisions are being overwhelmed by the decisions of others higher up in the chain of command. These actions only serve to create ineffective, dishonest working relationships which are professionally and organisationally dangerous. Instead, social workers should be trained to request a colleague to work with them on a joint visit to intimidating households or to bring the subject up for discussion to supervisors. Further sources of distrust arise from a long catalogue of cases where residential care workers have been accused of abusing children in residential establishments. Corby (2001:77-8) lists no fewer than 18 public inquiries held in the UK in the period from 1967-2000 investigating such cases. According to the BBC News (26th November 2004), Ian Huntley, a man with a criminal record, slipped through the net under different name. The Pindown inquiry in Staffordshire held in 1991 investigated concerns about cruel and degrading methods of punishment (Staffordshire County Council, 1991). This incident led the government to tighten the law regarding criminal records checks. However, there will always be some risk for children as disclosures may not provide information on people who were convicted abroad. Caution must be exercised on the part of the social worker at all times. According to Pierson and Thomas (2002), institutions can systematically discriminate against members of oppressed and excluded groups, and this can affect some children in certain section of the community. This type of racism is more difficult to address because it is implicit in the policies of organizations and is often unconscious. This relates to the concept of institutional racism which was defined in the Macpherson report as the “collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.” It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage ethnic minority people (Macpherson, 1999, Critical Social Policy (2004) Vol 24 (3) page 313). According to Beckett (2004), staff shortages and high turnover of staff may result in some cases going for long periods without receiving any attention, or in cases being passed on again and again from one temporary member of staff to another. The latter can result in children and parents having to get to know and explain themselves to a succession of strangers, each of whom will have her own different ideas. Since any new caseworker has to get up to speed on a complex case, rapid turnover of staff can lead to effective paralysis of decision making. The concept of children’s rights is central to a number of debates about how children are cared for in the society. Children Act 2004 section 58 allows common assault of children to be justified as reasonable punishment. The problems for social workers are in defining what unreasonable or reasonable punishment is. One of the main debates regarding care of children in Britain today is the smacking issue. According to Kay (2003) discussions in Scotland about the possibility of banning the smacking of children under age 3, and the smacking of any child on the head, has raised the profile of both the anti smacking lobby and those who oppose banning physical punishment of children in England and Wales. The DoH (2001) publication, Protecting Children, Supporting Parents summarises the findings of a survey whether the proposals in Scotland should be mirrored in England and Wales. They concluded that there is little public support for changes in the law. The government view is that it would be quite unacceptable to outlaw physical punishment of a child by a parent (Department of Health, 2001). But organisations such as the NSPCC (2001) support a no smacking policy and argue that smacking can escalate into uncontrolled violence in some cases. And this is the challenge for social work practice. To differentiate between parents who hit their child from time to time, one who strikes them continuously or one whose use of this technique will lead to the death of the child. Lauren Wright, age 6, was systematically beaten by her stepmother so severely that she died from multiple injuries (Guardian Unlimited, 2 October 2001). Her digestive system collapsed fatally after a punch or kick to the stomach from her stepmother. Lauren was seen on three previous occasions by social workers but was not removed from the family home. Cases such as this highlight the failure of social services to act to safeguard the child. According to End Physical Punishment of Children (2000), in 13 percent of serious child physical abuse cases, the cause lay in escalating physical punishment of the child. Children sustain many injuries, ranging from accidental excessive hard smacks to fatal assaults, which might require medical attention. This means that other professionals such as teachers and social workers do have to exercise some judgement as to which injuries should be regarded as suspicious and which injuries merit asking for further medical opinion. Conclusion According to Bell and Wilson (2003), elements of effective work with families where there are child protection concerns have been emerging through practice research and professional debate. This requires child care professionals to focus on a child through direct communication and comprehensive, ongoing development and attachment observation. Research suggests that when professionals take a strengths-based approach to assessment, refusing to overlook problems and concerns in favour of ease, families become more involved, finally seeing themselves as actors in the process of finding solutions to the issues that face them (Graybeat, 2001) rather than powerless observers to the process. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aldgate, J. and Tunstill, J. (1995) Making Sense of Section 17: Implementing Services for Children in Need within the 1989 Children Act. London: HMSO BBC News 6 January 2003 London BBC News 26 November 2004 London Beckett, C. (2003) Child Protection an Introduction London. 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(eds), The Development of Critical Reflection in the Health Professions. London: Higher Education Academy, pp. 8-17 United Nations Conventions of the Rights of Children (1991) HMSO Kay, J. (2003) A Practical Guide Protecting Children London: Continuum. Laming, L. (2003) the Victoria Climbie Inquiry. London. The Stationary Office Websites www.basw.co.uk www.gscc.org.uk www.doh.gov.uk www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/childcare) http://society.guardian.co.uk/climbie/story/0,10939,576651,00h Read More