Children-Protection 1 & 2 Flashcards
INTRO- what parts and act?
Part III, Part IV and Part V of the CA 1989
what is part 3 for?
is to safeguard, promote the welfare of children and those children are defined as children in need
what is part 4 for?*
is about parents and the local auth working in partnership, part 4 is about compulsory itnervertion by things called care or supervision orders
what is part 5 for?
is emergency protection so that’s how the act is divided up
overview of child protection?
Overview if parents aren’t looking after children properly then the state can step in- these are the ways the state can step in family to safeguard children
what happened btw 2008-2012?
Between 2008 and 2012 – 50% rise in care order applications
1 reason for rise?
more high profile cases of child abuse going undetected = baby p case,
- social services are becoming more vigilant
- lots of different ways of how abuse is viewed
What is abuse?
- Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child.
- Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm.
- Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting; by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults or another child or children.
time limit for orders?
26 week limit for care or supervision orders (Children and Families Act 2014)- court has to deal within this time frame
GENERAL DIFF- what about the evidence?
not easy to tell child harmed, also diff with evidence to look into future to say who is going to harm child- in def’s it looks at child is actually suffering harm or likely to suffer harm so its
- How much harm should happen before court intervenes- interevention can be harmful- balancing act of when to and not int.
case for general diff?
Re S-B (Children) [2009]
- If abuse is established, what is the correct response?
best response might not always be to remove child, cause u might remove child from home then place child in place where they feel very vunerable, so it might be better to exclude the abuser
POSS CONFL- Possible conflicts with ECHR?
Echr obvs has impact here, so you have a right to right private and family life
what are the possible conflicts?
- Paragraph 2 of Article 8 (right to private and family life) - says it okay to intervene
- Any removal of child automatic infringement but justified if it protects the rights and freedoms of others-if remove protected by this art - Abused children have a right to Article 8
- Article 3 – Prohibition of torture-has right to protect child from torture and inhumane and degrading treatment
- Article 2 – Right to life- protect children from death (risk of death) so you have got sort of balance
quite wooly rules
MAIN- Main Provisions?
- Provision of Services (s 17, s 20)
- Investigations (s 47, s 37, s 43)
- Compulsory Intervention
(s 44, s 33, s 35)
PROVISIONS- what is the starting point?
A. Children ‘in need’ – s.17- every local auth has a duty to provide services or children in need
- read so not confined to children- low lev int if parents and local auth work togev for help, prevention better than cure- if fail to engage step up level of int
so what should you say in exam q?
that failure to engage at lower level means more intervention at higher level
what does s.7 Children and Young Persons Act 2008?
imposes general duty on the Secretary of State to promote the well-being of children
what is s. 7(10)?
Who is a child ‘in need’?- not the cause of the need but the level - so if it’s the lack of parental skills they’ll bring someone in to advise,
- if its cos child has disability they can provide help , because of lack of resources in need
what is s 17(11)?
Definitions of disabled, development and health-isabeled etc means physical and mental health
what do these sections give?
IT IS A WIDE DEF GIVES THE LA LOTS OF POWER
If a child is assessed as being ‘in need what do they offer?
- advice, home help, travel facilities, counselling, accommodation and cash (s.17(6) and Schedule 2 Paragraph 8)- cant help unless satis s.17(3)- accom also important
- s.17(3) – ‘provided with a view to promoting or safeguarding the child’s welfare’
- no ‘right’ to services
R (G) v Barnet London Borough Council; R (W) v Lambeth London Borough Council; R(A) v Lambeth London Borough Council [2003]-= duty not a right, so even if you are in need it doesn’t mean you can get these things cos u might not satisfy this, it’s a duty not right, and you cannot compel a la to act - Schedule 2 Paragraph 7 encourages the use of these measures to avoid care proceedings- is a duty once u think about taking ur child into care,the la has a duty to ask or consider whether s.17 order would be better so when youre taking a child into care yu have to consider whether s.17 order would achieve the same cos u must avoid care proceedings at all costs
what is the accommodation section?
s.20
what does accom cover?
this covers lost and abandoned children, where there is nobody with parental respons and 20 1 c is to do with children that have been excluded from family homes= naughty and parents don’t want to live with them anymore
what is s.20(3)?
Age range is important because its between children between 16 and 18
what is s.20(6) ?
Child’s needs and wishes taken into account,so if the child is competent you don’t need parental approval
another thing about?
this is a la decision not court decision= la power
what are the categories you need to taken into account when s.20?
i. is the applicant a child?
ii. Is the application a child ‘in need’?- does child have place to go dont have to be bad could be burnt down, but could be child just doesnt have noone.
iii. Is the child within the LA area?
iv. Does he or she appear to the LA to require accommodation?
v. Is the need the result of various factor set out in s 20(1)(a)-(c)?
vi. What are the child’s wishes and feelings?
vii. having regard to the child’s age and understanding, what due consideration is to be given to those wishes and feelings?
Lack of PR for LA ?
If you are a looked after child under s.20 it doesn’t give the la pr for you
case for lack of pr?
R(M) Hammersmith & Fulham LBC [2008]
how long does power last if child in s.20?
Once child is s.20 child the power lasts beyond there 18th birth so doesn’t finish when theyre 18
what does s.20 4 demonstrate?
s.20 (4) demonstrates that the power is quite wide ranging so even if soemoen with pr that can look after child ther eis a power to accomodarte child if felt in childs best interest
what is s.20 7?
-Cannot provide accommodation against the wishes of someone with PR
puts spanner in works bc s.20 needs consent of everyone with pr responsiblility so if someone with pr rejects NOT USE S.20, so you wont be surprised that there are other order sthat can be made
when can you get an emergency protection order?
e.g child in need - s 20 order - child live with father but feel need accom and father says no = step up protection and apply for ct order to take child away=EMERGENCY PROTETION ORDER
what does s.20 allow?
allows parents and LAs to work together
what does it mean open to abuse?
open to abuse bc in effect s.20 orders are voluntary and at any point say child goes into voluntary accom and everyone with pr agrees, at any point a person with pr can go an retriveve child, so it happens say when parents been out dirnkign drugs, not in right mind and what they do is want child back
what are the 4 options?
- s.3(5) protection-the la can prevent unsuitable removal of a child by allowing someone without pr to lok after child
- EPO-emergency protection orders
- Foster parents can apply for CAO for residence
- Police
what does s.2 8 say?
s.2(8) – anyone with PR can remove the child
what is Investigations under?
s.47-basically just power to investigate BUT CHILD HAS TO BE – subject to epo, police prtotection or reasonable cause to believe (obvs la need to investigate thats where they get their powers)
when should la make inquiries?
So you can se it says la should make inquires they see necessary –wideranding so it could be, medical, psychological,physical examinations
what are u talking about in reference to s,17/20?
when ur talking about s.17/20 ur talking about CHILD IN NEED HAVE TO PROVE CHILD IN NEED, under investigation the threshold is much lower so if child in polci porotection subject to epo, this more diff b but genrally threshold much lower in need, haven’t talked about what need for epo
so what is the la essentially doing?
SO WHAT LA IS DOING IS DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT IT NEEDS TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION
what in regards to la entering home?
(la allowed to be ivnited in but not allowed to enter)-home if you turn up and u want to ivnestgate child and wont let u in then u apply for epo, child arrangement order, superivison or care so if you turn up onsomeoen door step and want to investigate child, cause suspicions youd fall udner b which would be reason for investigation then ud apply for one of those 4
what does it also involve?
It also involves multi agency work so work for police , courtsystem so if spmeone been suspected for child abuse or gone thru courts of child abuse then social services might want to investigate, as in all child cases
what is s.27 5 (a)?
s.47 5a- wishes of child taken into account
what happens if worried about child?
workers, teachers, police and they meet to discuss child and formulate child protection plan formulate plan for child sets out what needs to be done and by whom
what is a note to make?
NOTE: INVESTIGATION IS JUST AN IVEST THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO DO SOMETHING NO OBLIG TO CALL CONFERNCE OR PLAN