Child Protection Procedures - East Ayrshire Council

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• An assessment of the alternatives to an application for the order • The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child, having regard to the child's age and understanding • The child's physical, emotional and educational needs, including any special need during the period of the order if made • The likely effect on the child of a change in circumstances which might result from an application for an order • The child's age, gender and family circumstances • The circumstances giving rise to the application • The need for any directions relating to, for example, contact and assessments and which the Court may attach to the child protection order if made • The nature and effect of any other orders or requirements already made in respect of the child, for example, a residence order, contact order or supervision requirement. 7.10.2 Before making an application for a child protection order the Team Leader must consult with the Service Unit Manager (<strong>Child</strong>ren and Families). 7.10.3 The Team Leader should consult with the authority's legal services. 7.11 Information required for an application 7.11.1 All applications for a child protection order must be made to a sheriff. Justices of the Peace cannot make child protection orders (although they can authorise the use of emergency child protection measures in specific circumstances.) 7.11.2 All applicants for a child protection order must demonstrate to the sheriff that the criteria for granting an order are met. The application to the sheriff must identify the applicant and, as far as possible, the child. There must be a statement of the grounds on which the application is made and this must be accompanied by supporting evidence, written or verbal. This information is necessary to enable the sheriff to determine the application. The sheriff will give such weight as he or she thinks appropriate to any relevant hearsay, opinions, social work and other relevant records, medical reports, including any statements made to the police. 100
7.12 Procedure for making an application 7.12.1 The application should be presented by a Solicitor appointed by Legal Services. The Social Worker/Team Leader should liase with the Solicitor in relation to what information needs to be provided in support of the application and decide, in consultation, who should attend the Hearing. 7.12.2 When an order is to be served and there is insufficient time to employ any of the methods specified in paragraph (2) of Rule 3.15 of the Act of Sederunt (<strong>Child</strong> Care and Maintenance Rules) 1997, the person seeking the child protection order should consider seeking a direction from the sheriff regarding effecting it orally, or in another manner. 7.13 The application to the sheriff 7.13.1 In presenting an application to the sheriff, the Solicitor appointed by Legal Services needs to ensure that the application satisfies the main issues of concern to the sheriff, namely that: • The criteria are satisfied • Attempts to proceed without an order have failed or are not appropriate • The making of an order would be better for the child than not to make an order. 7.13.2 The Solicitor appointed by Legal Services must advise whether the application is to be made under Section 57 (1) or 57 (2). An application would only be made under Section 57(2) where parents/carers are preventing access to the child. Hence the lower test of "grounds to suspect" rather than "grounds to believe" that the child is at risk of significant harm is the test of the evidence put before the sheriff. Section 57 (1) refers to "any person" whereas Section 57(2) is specific to the local authority. The application should address the question of why the order is necessary to protect the child. Even where it can be shown that the grounds in Section 57 (1) (a) are satisfied the social worker will need to show that other ways of protecting the child have been considered but are not appropriate, e.g. voluntary arrangements with the family; application for another order; placement of the child with friends or relatives. 7.13.3 In addition to giving evidence to the sheriff verbally, as much of the evidence as is possible should be written down as part of the application. Any written reports or statements received by the social worker should also be included. 7.13.4 Under Section 57 (1) the sheriff must be satisfied there is evidence to show that there are reasonable grounds to believe a child has been, or will be harmed. Therefore, the social worker will need to demonstrate what observations he/she has made or what information 101
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CHILD PROTECTION PROCEDURES The Eas
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CONTENTS Foreword Section 1: Defini
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Section 5: The Child Protection Reg
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APPENDICES Appendix 1: The Main Tas
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1.0.4.1 If it is agreed that a join
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1.3 Sexual Abuse 1.3.1 “Any child
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SECTION 2 Investigation of Suspecte
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Team Leader will liaise with the Se
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interviews by a Police Officer and
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e widely available to general pract
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2.8 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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properly investigating them can als
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person with whom the child shares h
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(i) (j) (k) (l) Once a referral has
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for formal intervention in this par
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public interest to prosecute. It is
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(Article 19 of the UN Convention on
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made available. The criminal aspect
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3.7 Convicted Offenders 3.7.1 A sep
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serious addiction by the parent who
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3.12 Children with a disability or
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3.14.1.3 Any such concerns should b
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3.14.8 Deciding on How the Matter s
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3.14.13.3 The Link Worker/Family Pl
Page 49 and 50: 3.15.1.4 Attention to young peoples
Page 51 and 52: 3.15.4.6 While the possible need fo
Page 53 and 54: • deciding that there is an alleg
Page 55 and 56: The safety of other children 3.15.6
Page 57 and 58: 3.15.7.8 An assessment of the immed
Page 59 and 60: 3.15.7.21 At an appropriate stage t
Page 61 and 62: 3.15.7.35 Any involvement of a youn
Page 63 and 64: 3.17.2.2 There are two important el
Page 65 and 66: 3.17.4.2 Social workers must submit
Page 67 and 68: 3.19 The Data Protection Act 3.20.1
Page 69 and 70: 3.21.6.5. A child may have to give
Page 71 and 72: eport this to the Service Unit Mana
Page 73 and 74: of making this decision. It may wel
Page 75 and 76: 4.6 Professionals and Others 4.6.1
Page 77 and 78: his or his wishes and feelings and
Page 79 and 80: 4.13.1 Once a child’s name has be
Page 81 and 82: 4.18 Key worker 4.18.1 A key worker
Page 83 and 84: Section 5 The Child Protection Regi
Page 85 and 86: 5.7.1 There are two Child Protectio
Page 87 and 88: (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) (l) (m) (n)
Page 89 and 90: 5.15 A Registered Child moving into
Page 91 and 92: SECTION 6 Informing and Consulting
Page 93 and 94: 6.5.4 Family members will need to k
Page 95 and 96: • The procedure for making an app
Page 97 and 98: 7.5 Information required for an app
Page 99: to any person or class of person sp
Page 103 and 104: for recall or variation the Team Le
Page 105 and 106: 7.16.3 The sheriff when considering
Page 107 and 108: notification for the application fo
Page 109 and 110: 7.22.7 If an emergency authorisatio
Page 111 and 112: (e) (f) (g) (h) Having undertaken i
Page 113 and 114: procedures for application to a She
Page 115 and 116: Families) or equivalent. It will be
Page 117 and 118: there is significant concern for th
Page 119 and 120: 8.7.8.5 The Team Leader will inform
Page 121 and 122: (o) Where there is disagreement abo
Page 123 and 124: It will be the responsibility of ea
Page 125 and 126: (b) (c) (d) (e) No explanation of t
Page 127 and 128: Abdominal Injuries In a few cases,
Page 129 and 130: • Unusual genital odour. • Anxi
Page 131 and 132: APPENDIX 3 Referral/Reporting Conta
Page 133 and 134: Glossary of Medical Terms and Condi
Page 135 and 136: Appendix 5 HIV and other blood-born
Page 137 and 138: • Should worker’s aim for a sam
Page 139 and 140: APPENDIX 6 List of Sign Language In
Page 141 and 142: APPENDIX 8 East Ayrshire Council Ch
Page 143 and 144: Risk Assessment Risk Assessment is
Page 145 and 146: for each release in a planned progr
Page 147 and 148: Assessment and Supervision of Sex O
Page 149 and 150: • is over sixteen • is a convic
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Help To: The Director of Social Wor
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APPENDIX 11 EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL E
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Signed: Print Name: Status: Date: S
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Child Protection Procedures - East Ayrshire Council

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