childcare-50years

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9 Because our society is in the process of continual change, public expectations about many aspects of our daily life have been rising in recent years. We are now regarded as a consumer-led society with the emphasis on meeting the needs and requirements of individuals. As a consequence greater expectations are held in respect of better quality and greater choice. These same expectations are being applied to public services. There is now a trend by Government to set national standards for care and an increasing drive to ensure that they are met. The corresponding implications will therefore be considerable for the range of social care agencies statutory, voluntary and private. However, it should be acknowledged that successive Governments and the public at large have placed a general vote of confidence in the development of the child welfare system. It has grown from a small professionally untrained service with few facilities, into large dynamic organisations involving a range of statutory and voluntary agencies. The main statutory responsibility rests with the local social services departments and they have developed various investigative, protection and support services some in partnership with nonstatutory organisations. Child care work is mainly undertaken by professionally trained and qualified staff. All social services agencies are required by the Department to have in place procedures and protocols to deal with the numerous child care responsibilities. These have emerged through a continuous review of practice and have been refined over a number of years. The requirement for procedures and protocols however remains a key issue for child care practitioners particularly in the arrangements for the involvement of statutory and other agencies, but these alone do not achieve good decision-making and life planning for children. This is dependent on the expertise and skills of staff and the nature of supervision and support provided by management. In general this works well. However, as inquiries have shown there is a need to ensure good communication both internally and externally between all the agencies involved to reduce the potential risk to children. There is a need to continually address the costs attaching to the delivery of a high quality service. Children's services involve relatively 50 YEARS OF CHILD CARE IN NORTHERN IRELAND 188
9 high resourcing mainly due to the staff costs. These services now face similar pressures to the rest of the economy in recruiting and retaining trained and experienced staff. Related to this is a serious trend away from the pursuit of professional careers in the child care field at the present time - most noticeably in England, although less so in Northern Ireland. If steps are not taken to tackle these circumstances the country could face a crisis in staffing its child care services in the not too distant future. Having moved into the new century the evidence clearly points to an improved child care system which holds a central position within society. This is indicative of a series of major advances made over the past 50 years. Services and resources are now much more comprehensive and focused on the needs of children and their families. Northern Ireland has kept pace with the rest of the United Kingdom in its development of legislation, policies and services and is held in high regard for many aspects of its child care provision and standards of practice. Political change within Northern Ireland has created the potential to generate a new drive in the development of child care services. The recent establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly has brought about the potential and opportunity to take forward a number of major initiatives aimed at improving the lives and well-being of children and in particular those from a disadvantaged or deprived background. Within a comparative short period the Assembly, the Executive Committee, the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety have all promoted significant developments which will impact on the provision as well as the standard and quality of the services over the next few years. The Executive Committee has made clear its commitment towards improving opportunity for the children of Northern Ireland in two major policy papers. The Programme for Government in setting the context of the financial resources available over the 3 year period sets out plans and priorities to improve public services. These include a 50 YEARS OF CHILD CARE IN NORTHERN IRELAND 189
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50 A Better Future 40 30 20 10 Depa
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PREFACE There is both an acceptance
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Finally, I am indebted to Mr Selwoo
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1 decisions, taken in the late 1940
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1 1946 which resulted in the Childr
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1 recognition of the effect of the
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Chapter FOSTER CARE 2 Background an
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2 adequacy of the supply of foster
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2 residential care to children wher
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Both these issues were addressed in
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2 "On balance and taking into accou
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2 Numbers of children fostered and
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2 Safeguarding children in foster c
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2 Prior to the adoption of the Nati
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2 • encourages partnership workin
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2 "The most important general issue
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2 The main achievements in foster c
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2 The Human Rights Act 1998, also b
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3 Adoption of Children Act (NI) 192
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The social context to 1947 3 Povert
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The management and structure of ado
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3 cent were under 2 years. Third pa
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3 baby boy: the child's mother did
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3 The management and structure of a
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3 Adoption (NI) Order 1987 however
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3 figures available show that in 19
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3 situations, Catholic lists remain
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3 The Adoption Allowances Regulatio
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3 population) had been freed or wer
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3 Table 4 - Number of children adop
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3 could be assured within the law t
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adoption. In the near future, few p
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3 The post placement and post adopt
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3 professional responsibility for s
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3 Church of Ireland Adoption Societ
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3 • the establishment of speciali
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4 During the 1950s the main concern
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4 • every attempt was to be made
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4 failed, however, to anticipate th
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4 "Boards should seek to reduce the
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4 taken to ensure that these childr
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4 Practice, however, soon establish
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4 • the need for a complaints pro
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4 Kincora, as early as 1967, there
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4 • there were social, economic a
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4 Table 7 - Number of children in c
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4 The Child Welfare Council Report
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4 within homes as a consequence of
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4 The past 50 years have, therefore
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4 The devolved administration, the
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Chapter 5 JUVENILE OFFENDING Develo
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5 • the view that imprisonment wa
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5 the order did not appear as a cri
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5 Having commenced with a small gro
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5 The decline in numbers of young p
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5 considerably, juvenile liaison bu
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5 years the percentage of cases giv
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3. Working with young offenders req
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5 remanded or placed in a secure un
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Chapter DISABLED CHILDREN Introduct
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6 In the absence of a full and read
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6 in Northern Ireland designed to p
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6 are known are receiving either ca
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6 other conditions. This became the
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6 cent of children who fell within
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6 Sixteen percent of parents said t
Page 139 and 140: 6 The treatment of handicapping con
Page 141 and 142: 6 Nursing Team) and the Children's
Page 143 and 144: 6 The 1950 Children and Young Perso
Page 145 and 146: 6 them) her young siblings made a j
Page 147 and 148: 6 Legislation and the development o
Page 149 and 150: 6 based homes and hostels. Some chi
Page 151 and 152: 6 The Children Order was implemente
Page 153 and 154: 6 In an ever-changing social contex
Page 155 and 156: Chapter 7 CHILD PROTECTION Origins
Page 157 and 158: 7 the 1908 Act did not allow such a
Page 159 and 160: 7 under the supervision of a probat
Page 161 and 162: 7 Boards to set up registers on chi
Page 163 and 164: 7 supposed satanic abuse in the Ork
Page 165 and 166: 7 can be uncomfortable to the profe
Page 167 and 168: 7 Work like this is not given much
Page 169 and 170: 7 Alongside these educational progr
Page 171 and 172: 7 the responsibility of one agency
Page 173 and 174: Chapter SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION & TRA
Page 175 and 176: 8 basic qualification in social wor
Page 177 and 178: 8 proposed a two year generic socia
Page 179 and 180: 8 in Residential Care for Children
Page 181 and 182: 8 CCETSW's report "Care for Tomorro
Page 183 and 184: • high expectations are placed on
Page 185 and 186: 8 people that are involved across a
Page 187: 8 7. Since the 1990s there has been
Page 192 and 193: 9 specific commitment to improve co
Page 194 and 195: 9 who wish to work in the care serv
Page 196 and 197: 9 establish a contract with SCIE to
Page 199 and 200: BIBLIOGRAPHY • ‘Adoption of Chi
Page 201 and 202: • Department of Health, ‘Adopti
Page 203 and 204: • O’Halloran, K. ‘Adoption La
Page 205 and 206: • Tresiliotis, J. Shireman, J. an
Page 208: ISBN 0-946932-07-7 Published by: De
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