Child Protection Procedures - East Ayrshire Council

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There has been some confusion that social workers are not allowed to offer support to children prior to court because it may contaminate evidence. This is inaccurate. Much needed support can be offered to the child provided certain <strong>Procedures</strong> are followed. 3.21.3 The focus and pace of therapeutic work should be directed by the child. The following areas can be addressed: • Acknowledging that the child will have complex feelings about the abuse and allowing the child to express them • Building of self esteem and positive self image • Offering support with consequences of the trauma • Reducing future vulnerability 3.21.4 It should be stated to the child at the beginning that emphasis is on how the child feels about what happened, not detail of the abuse. It is recognised that some children may still talk about the detail of the abuse and that this is more likely to occur with younger children. If a child does this, the social worker should not stop the child talking but should not ask questions. It may be appropriate to remind the child that they cannot explore this further as this will be discussed in court. The social worker may be called to court to speak about the work done with the child. 3.21.5 It is good practice to advise the procurator fiscal of any work ongoing. Routine liaison with the Procurator Fiscal is appropriate and not simply to clarify points of uncertainty or confusion. 3.21.6 Support regarding the court appearance 3.21.6.1 Legal processes are a vital part of the child protection system both for the prosecution of the perpetrator and the protection of the child. Giving evidence is a stressful experience for children who are vulnerable witnesses 3.21.6.2. Relevant, age-appropriate support at the right time can greatly reduce the potentially traumatic effect of the experience. 3.21.6.3 Carers can significantly influence how the child deals with the court process and the emotional impact of the experience so it is important that they are also offered guidance and support. 3.21.6.4 There are 3 stages to the support process: • The period after the initial investigation and prior to the court proceedings • During court proceedings • Post court proceedings 68
3.21.6.5. A child may have to give evidence at two court hearings: a court hearing to establish grounds of referral for the <strong>Child</strong>ren's Panel and the criminal court. The Reporter can decide to defer the former until the case has been heard at the criminal court to attempt to avoid the child having to give evidence at two court hearings. The Reporter's decision on how to proceed in such circumstances should balance the desire to avoid the stress of two court appearances for the child with any urgent need for statutory measures to protect the child. 3.21.7 Pre –Court 3.21.7.1 The team leader should identify the appropriate person for the child with regard to offering support before, during and after giving evidence at court. The team leader should table this for discussion at the core group meeting. If the child's social worker is likely to be called as a witness on the case by either side, they should not be allocated the task of offering support to the child throughout the court process. This task should be allocated to someone who will not be called as a witness on the detail of the case. 3.21.7.2 The team leader should ensure that the support person has access to suitable materials and professional advice on offering support to the child. This assistance can be made available by the Family Support Team. 3.21.7.3 The support person should offer support while bearing in mind the need to avoid contamination of evidence 3.21.7.4 The support person should: • Seek and respect the child’s views wherever possible about how they wish to give evidence • Collate information about the individual child’s needs, developmental stage, culture, learning or other difficulties and home circumstances. • Arrange a pre-trial visit to court for the child, including the use of TV link equipment and a demonstration of screens, if being used • Record carefully any discussion with the child • give the the child the opportunity to ask questions e.g. * who will be there? * will people I do not want to see be there? * can my mum stay with me? 69
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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
Page 17 and 18: interviews by a Police Officer and
Page 19 and 20: e widely available to general pract
Page 21 and 22: 2.8 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Page 23 and 24: properly investigating them can als
Page 25 and 26: person with whom the child shares h
Page 27 and 28: (i) (j) (k) (l) Once a referral has
Page 29 and 30: for formal intervention in this par
Page 31 and 32: public interest to prosecute. It is
Page 33 and 34: (Article 19 of the UN Convention on
Page 35 and 36: made available. The criminal aspect
Page 37 and 38: 3.7 Convicted Offenders 3.7.1 A sep
Page 39 and 40: serious addiction by the parent who
Page 41 and 42: 3.12 Children with a disability or
Page 43 and 44: 3.14.1.3 Any such concerns should b
Page 45 and 46: 3.14.8 Deciding on How the Matter s
Page 47 and 48: 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: 3.19 The Data Protection Act 3.20.1
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 and 100: to any person or class of person sp
Page 101 and 102: 7.12 Procedure for making an applic
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
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8.7.8.5 The Team Leader will inform
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(o) Where there is disagreement abo
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It will be the responsibility of ea
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(b) (c) (d) (e) No explanation of t
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Abdominal Injuries In a few cases,
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• Unusual genital odour. • Anxi
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APPENDIX 3 Referral/Reporting Conta
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Glossary of Medical Terms and Condi
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Appendix 5 HIV and other blood-born
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• Should worker’s aim for a sam
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APPENDIX 6 List of Sign Language In
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APPENDIX 8 East Ayrshire Council Ch
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Risk Assessment Risk Assessment is
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for each release in a planned progr
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Assessment and Supervision of Sex O
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• 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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