The Successive Government Child Care Policies

The Successive judicature electric razor C ar PoliciesSuccessive governments maintain refined both formula and indemnity, so that in general, the legislative frame deed for protecting peasantren is basically sound. I conclude that the gap is non a matter of law but in its implementation. ( ennoble Laming, 2003, p. 7)The name social policy is used to apply to the policies which governments use for welfargon and social protection and the ways in which welfare is developed. kindly work practice session is not only or so individual selects, it also considers social context. This social context includes the range of inter- superior agencies contributing to packages of care and protection, as well as the relationships in the midst of serve up users and their families, friends and communities. REF actual UK social policy is the restructuring of public services in order to get them to achieve the goals of grater economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and closer links between th e public sector and early(a) providers of welfare. (2010, p.13)This essay ordain look at some of the key legislations and policies aimed to protect baby birdren from any type of maltreatment. Firstly, I entrust give a definition of kid abuse and before discussing the question posed on this essay, I am going to outline some of the key legislations, policies and guidelines concerning sister protection, as well as brief description on each. I will then go on to discuss some of the outlined legislations and policies and their impact on social work practice and also if they have been helpful in protecting children in the UK. Finally, the last straggle of this essay will be a conclusion on the arguments that have been unfolded on the essay.Child Abuse Prevention Report (2002), defines child abuse as constituting all forms of physical and emotional ill treatment, sexual abuse, failure or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm in the childs health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power .?England has a long history of child protection laws dating covering to 1889 with the Childrens Charter. Since then, England has passed umpteen laws and policies as a result of death inquires. Following the death of Dennis ONeill in 1946, the Curtis Committee was set up to examine the conditions of children deprived of a practice family life which later on resulted in the Children playact 1948 (Hill, 2003). The main principles of the Act included establishing Local Authority Childrens departments, promoting foster rather than residential care and where feasible rehabilitating children back to their families (Hendrick, 2003) full ref.As a result of many other subsequent inquires carried out in the 70s and 80s, as well as a adopt for clearer guidance in laws relating to children, the Children Act 1989 (CA89) was implemented. Its fundamental principles were that it addressed the balance between child protection and family support services introducing the concept of a child in need, it also emphasised parental responsibility rather than focusing on parental rights. The Act introduced a range of new orders including here the Child judgment Order, Family Assistance Order, Specific Issue Order, Prohibited Steps Order, and Educational Order) as well as extended the circumstances in which Interim Orders could be made. (Jowitt OLoughlin, 2006).fullSince the CA89, many new laws have been passed to strengthen the ways in which children are protected. Victoria Climbie aged eight, died from no less than 128 injuries, in February 2000. The subsequent inquiry into her death chaired by Lord Laming was the first inquiry to include all 3 key agencies, Local Authority, Health Services and the Police. The inquiry made over 100 recommendations for restructuring child protection services, largely focussing on the responsibilities of individuals and age ncies to children and families, and on service co-ordination.The Governments response to the Laming Enquiry was almost immediate through the production of the green paper all Child Matters, 2003 (ECM) which focused on four key themes. These included supporting families where a need is identified and early intervention in relation to child protection. In conjunction with ECM came the Children Act 2004 (CA04), the Act encompasses several compvirtuosonts based on recommendations from the Laming Report (Allen, 2008)The reforms presented by the ECM agenda and CA04 aimed to improve multi-disciplinary functional and merged service delivery and increase accountability. I am in no doubt that effective support for children and families cannot be achieved by a wholeness function acting alone. It depends on a number of agencies working together. It is a multy- disciplinary task (para. 130)The Children Act 2004 however, does not introduce a range of new child protection powers, Bammer expla ins the CA04 as ..setting the foundations for good practice in the use of existing powers through a holistic integrated approach to child care (Bammer, 2010, p.182)CAF is one of the many changes introduced in the Children Act 2004 and plays a major part in improving services to children and families in line with the government all(prenominal) Child Matters agenda.CAF will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and modern people by ensuring services are timely and responsive and based on consistent assessment of their individual needs.Some of the benefits to children, young people and their families areAssessments using CAF are de-stigmatising, as they look at the whole child and backpack account of family strengths as well as their needs.CAF assessments are undertaken in partnership with families, and enable them to take the lead in identifying needs.CAF assessments are shared, with consent, between agencies so families will no longer have to repeat their information again and again to different agencies and service providers.CAF assessments will support and enhance effective communication between agencies, enabling them to work together more effectively in order to meet the needs of children, young people and families.This is where the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) comes in. The CAF is be introduced in all LEAs between April 2006 and December 2008. You may be familiar with the process because your school may already be piloting it.We all desire better lives for our young people and we know that some pupils dont thrive either in or out of school or get support until it is as well late. The CAF will help identify them earlier, before things reach crisis point.The easiest and most consistent way to do this is to book surely that every person whose job involves working with young people is prepared and able to help if something is going wrong. The CAF is a tool that will help identify needs for all services, including health, social service s, jurisprudence and schools etc.The extend of the failure to protect Victoria was lamentable. Tragically, it required nothing more than basic good practice organism put into operation. This never happened. Lord Laming (2003, para.1.17).Another key element of the ECM dodging is the introduction of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) which was introduced by the CA04. CAF focuses on early intervention for children in need and although consent driven, can be initiated by any professional concerned round a child. A single lead professional would be nominated by the child or family and would be responsible for putting together a package of services to meet the childs needs. The lead professional would also square up whether concerns by other practitioners along with information gathered warranted intervention and would be responsible for the sharing of information between all persons involved on a need to know basis (Parton, 2006).CA04 reforms also implemented Local Safeguarding C hildren Boards (LSCB) as the statutory successors of Area Child Protection Committees (ACPC), (Parton, 2006, p.159). LSCBs were set up in 2006, when strategy externalises for children and young people were published. Some of the tasks that the LSCBs are required to perform include, agreeing how different organisations in their topical anaesthetic area co-operate to caution and promote the welfare of children, provide single and inter-agency training and guidance for recruiting people applying to work with children, (Department of Health, 2006. Section 3.3).Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) were established under the Children Act 2004 and have the responsibility for co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of the work of partner bodies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (Children Act 2004, Section 14). switchs to the child protection commemorate where also implemented following Every Child Matters. The child protection register was abolished in 2008 as a result any child previously included on the register is now known as A Child who is subject to a Child Protection Plan. Case conferences and Core Groups are still being held for children who are at continuing risk of significant harm, however, intelligence are no longer in favour for or against registration, but if the child should remain subject to a Child protection Plan (Oldham LSCB, 2006 FULL). The plan should outline what needs to change, how this will be achieved and by who, with realistic timescales to implement changes and a contingency plan should this fail (DOH Working Together, 2006. Section 5).Further amending legislation such(prenominal) as the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 have been introduced and in the aftermath of the well-publicised Baby P case we may see more legislative activity. paroleOver the last forty days, reform after reform has been intended to improve the quality of the protection provided to children and young people and compensate for failures in practice. numerous of these reforms were a response of evidences from numerous inspections and high-profile reviews into childrens deaths, (Apendix 1)Recently, the circumstances around the death of Baby Peter led to .The Coalition Government has already endorsed the work of the SWRB has following the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force and within weeks of its formation the new Government has proceeded with further reforms including new statutory guidance on the publication of SCRs.The many changes have been most striking in relation to social work practice, an area where it can be argued there was most need for improvement. While in the mid-seventies there was relatively little guidance on dealing with child abuse and neglect, social workers now have a range of assessment and finish making tools, access to research evidence, and software programmes that shape, often in unintended ways, how a case is managed.The 1989 Children Act was described by the then Lord prime minister as the most comprehensive and far reaching childcare law in living memory (Hendrick, H, 2003, Child welfare, pg 96.) It promoted the welfare of the child as being paramount. This meant it was the first piece of legislation that put children at the forefront of its agenda. According to Hendrick (2003) although rights for children had been advanced, it did not consult any children in the process of the forming of the Act and it is stemmed from Government authorities.The Children Act 2004 introduced a foundation for good practice, however, section 58 of this Act as it currently stands legitimises the use of physical punishmentit has long been recognised by the law that a parent or person with parental authority may use mediocre punishment to correct a child. This is the defence of reasonable chastisement or reasonable punishment (CA 2004, s. 58, paragraph. 237).The FPI believes that giving people who are smaller and weaker fewer rights to protection in this regard is unaccep table. The argument that parents have a right in their own home to discipline their children as they choose, in other words that parents have proprietorial rights over children and a consequent right to fringe them, recalls arguments that were once used in relation to husbands and wives.thither is also an issue of discrimination in the use of visible marks as a meter of the acceptability of physical punishment. This will give less protection to babies and children whose skin is not white.Something about risk assessment and how we can not be sure that the child is fully protected as a result of this assessment.Disabilities on Act 1989.LCBLocal Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are the current statutory mechanism through which the partners in local areas agree on ways to co-ordinate their safeguarding services. Their statutory functions include developing and agreeing local safeguarding policies and procedures providing training making assessments about the impact and effectivene ss of local safeguarding arrangements and undertaking serious case and child death reviews.However the current coalition government is focusing the early intervention on the first years of a childs life pretending that this way they will assure that they are going to be brought up without abuse. Young teenagesinitial assessment from 7d to 10dIn April 2008 the humankind Law Outline (PLO), a new approach to casemanagement, was introduced to reduce delay in care proceedings. It istoo soon to be clear about the impact of the introduction of the PLO,and in particular whether or not it has increased workloads and addedto delays in the process. There is currently conflicting evidence, forinstance, whilst a number of contributions to this report increaseconcerns about the impact of the PLO, in London, the number of careproceedings cases being completed in under 40 weeks in care centreshas risen from 22 per cent to 36 per cent when comparing the datafor the quarter before the introduction of the PLO with the latest datafollowing its implementation.ConcludeSocial policy isThere are a collection of legislations, policies and guidelines that social workers must(prenominal) have knowledge of when practicing their profession. Lord Laming argues in his last report that further legislative change is not what is needed to protect children it is vital that all professionals fully understand the legislative framework in relation to safeguarding and child protection, and have a clear judgment of their responsibilities in the process (2009, p.78).A common theme throughout all is the desire to protect and promote the welfare and safety of children. A sad humankind is that some children will always need the statutory services and intervention of local authorities and the courts as parents are not always able to make the changes required to safeguard their children. Every Child Matters is, in some ways, a refreshing and radical reform in the ways public services are expected t o work with children, young people and families. On the other hand however, it also to some extent offers a sweeping vision about children and young peoples entitlements whilst delegating full accountability for the delivery of the services that enable children, young people and their parents/carers to local public services. What cannot be rejected however is the importance of the papers to get agencies who work with groups of young people to develop more effective ways of working together and creating an arena of more accountability. In the construction of Every Child Matters as a favoured way of thinking, politicians and civil servants have aggressively projected individual collective and national anxieties and insecurities onto diverse, dynamic, complex and uncertain fields of practice where managers and practitioners work closely with many of Englands most vulnerable, troubled / troublesome children, young people and families.In conclusion, the social policies, legislation and organisational context of social work are important factors that go towards the whole process of social work. It is important to know the skills and knowledge in law and policy, but also to have the knowledge and skills in interpreting and applying social work law to practice and emphasising the role of law in promoting social work values and purpose. As stated within the essay, this is part of the challenge of social work, certain laws and policies conflict with other laws, including policies of multi-professional organisations, and where ethical issues come into place allowing the social worker to draw on knowledge and life experience, empowering the service user by using the skills knowledge and values, which will help in challenging inequality, oppression and discrimination. There is also the requirement of the GSCC framework that social workers must be able to work in accordance with statutory and legal requirements, and carry out their work with professional conduct within mul ti-professional organisations and to be accountable if they fail to do so.Baby peter and the cutsJonathan Dickens sees social work poised between the four points of a diamond its duties to the state, its obligations to service users, its responsibilities to its own professional standards, and its accountability to organisational imperatives (2010, p.11)The aim is to make it harder for people to do something wrong and easier for them to do it right. US imbed of Medicine (1999, p.2)Word CountBibliography ReferencesAllen, N. (2008) Making Sense of the Children Act 1989, 4th ed. West Sussex John Wiley Sons.Corby, B. (2006) Child Abuse, Towards a Knowledge Base. Berkshire Open University Press.Department of Health (DOH) (2006) Working Together To Safeguard Children, Every Child Matters, Change for Children. London SOEvery Child Matters (2006) online open at http//education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/CM5860.pdf Accessed 11/1/2011 Hendrck, H. (2003) Child Welfare, Historica l Dimensions, Contemporary Debate. Bristol Policy Press.Hill, M. (2003) Understanding Social Policy, seventh ed. Oxford Blackwell Publishing.Jowitt, M. OLoughlin, S. (2006) Social Work with Children Families. Exeter Learning Matters.Laming, L. (2003) The Victoria Climbi Inquiry. online Available at http//www.sunderlandchildrenstrust.org.uk/content/laming%20report%20summary.pdf (Accessed 11/1/2011)Parton, N. (2006) Safeguarding Childhood, Early Intervention and Surveillance in a modern Modern Society. Hampshire Palgrave Macmillan.Walsh,M. Stephens,P. Moore,S. ((2000) Social Policy and Welfare. Cheltenham Stanley Thorne Publishers. RSPCA (2008) online Available at http//www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirectpg=about_the_rspca Accessed 11/01/2011Children Act (1989), online Available athttp//www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents Accessed 11/01/2011Children Act (2004), online Available athttp//www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/31/notes/contents?view=ex tentAccessed 11/01/2011Lord Laming, The Protection of Children In England A Progress Report, (2009), online Available athttp//www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/resources-and-practice/IG00361/ Accessed 11/01/2011US Institute of Medicine (1999), To Err is Human Building a Safer Health System, Washington D.C., National Academic Press, online Available athttp//www.iom.edu//media/Files/ReportFiles/1999/To-Err-is-human/To Err is Human 1999 report brief.pdf Accessed 11/01/2011Parton, N. (2010), The Increasing Complexity of Working Together to Safeguard Children in EnglandThe Munro Review of Child Protection Part One A Systems Analysis, (2010) online Available athttp//www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/TheMunroReviewofChildProtection-Part one.pdf Accessed 11/01/2011London Safeguarding Children Board Overview Panel Procedures, online Available athttp//www.londonscb.gov.uk/files/resources/cdop/overview_panel_procedure.pdfAccessed 11/01/2011Working Together to Safeguard Children (201 0), online Available athttp//www.education.gov.uk/publications//eOrderingDownload/00305-2010DOM-EN-v3.pdf Accessed 11/01/2011Being a Parent in Real World, online Available athttp//www.dcsf.gov.uk/familyinformationdirect/downloads/BeingParentinRealWorldbkt.pdf Accessed 11/01/2011Children are Unbeatable, online Available athttp//www.childrenareunbeatable.org.uk/pdfs/newsletters/CAU-Issue01.pdfAccessed 11/01/2011Social Work Reform Board (SWRB) in force(p) Case Overview Report Relating to Peter Connelly (2009), online Available athttp//media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/second Accessed 11/01/2011Nick Allen, 2005, Making Sense of the Children Act 1989 online Available athttp//books.google.co.uk/books?id=fWx4kUsXbhUCpg=PR4dq=making+sense+of+the+Children+Act+1989+and+related+legislations+for+the+social+and+welfare+system+2005hl=enei=P4g5Td_YF8WwhQfk8MnJCgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=4ved=0CD0Q6AEwAwv=onepageqf=false Accessed 11/01/2011Dickens, J., 2009, Social work and social p olicy an introduction, Taylor Francis, online Available athttp//books.google.co.uk/books?id=UOcJ8B98Gl8Cprintsec=frontcoverdq=Social+work+and+social+policy+an+introductionhl=enei=y0Q-TfTYB5Tw4gb0jPWNCgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CC8Q6AEwAAv=onepageqf=false Accessed 11/01/2011DoH, Home Office, D of E, (2000) The Framework for Assessment for Children in Need and their Families online Available atStateProfessionService UsersOrganisationFigure 1.1 The social work diamondStateSocial policy, social work and other social professions as parts of the machinery of state support and control.Key factors Roles of central government and local authorities. National policies, legislations, taxation and government spending. Roles of the Parliament, courts, regulatory bodies. Overlaps and tensions between these different parts of the state. governmental conflict about the proper role of the state.ProfessionSocial policy, social work and other social professions as top-down, expert-led a ctivities.Key factors Professional Professional attributes such as training and expertise, standards and skills, service ethics, self-regulation, But there are criticism of elitism, self-interest and status, and the disabling effects of professionals.Service usersSocial policy, social work and other social professions as bottom-up, user-led activities.Key factors Roles of individuals, families and neighbourhoods campaign groups and self-help groups. Concepts of participation, inclusion, empowerment, control. But there are tensions between different service users, and questions about how much power and choice they in truth have or should have.OrganisationSocial policy, social work and other social professions as activities that shaped by their organisational setting.Key factors Type of organisation statutory (e.g. local authority), Voluntary or business. Inter-agency working. Processes for user involvement. Bureaucracy, regulation and managerialism. Budgets and profits.(Dickens, 20 09 p.12-13)