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Fit for the Future and for Purpose Netta MaciverPrincipal Reporter/Chief ExecutiveScottish Children’s Reporter Administration
Date: 25 September 2008
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Children’s Hearings System
• Care and justice system for children in Scotland.• Deals with care and protection of children as
well as offending.
Key principles:• Child’s welfare should be paramount in all
decisions.• Child’s views should be taken into account in
decisions about them.
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Historical Context
• Rapid rise of non-offence referrals to the Reporter (graph shows number of children)
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
1997/98 2006/07
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Historical Context (cont’d)
• Recognition that not all of these referrals were necessary
• Feeling that the CHS was becoming a gateway to service provision
• Need to allow the Reporter to concentrate on those children requiring compulsory measures of supervision
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The Children’s Hearings System Review
• Scottish Government Review in 2004
• Found broad support for the principles and ethos of the CHS
• Identified some challenges and scope for change and development of the system
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Getting it Right for Every Child
• Getting it Right for Every Child established some key principles– Every child gets the help they need, when
they need it– Integrated, co-ordinated approach across
agencies– Child at the centre of the system
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GIRFEC & the Children’s Hearings System
• GIRFEC’s fundamental principles are aligned with those of the CHS– CHS is the means of providing compulsory
intervention where necessary– Children should receive help on a voluntary
basis wherever possible, without the need for referral to the Reporter
– Child is always at the centre
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Workstreams
• Ministerial Task Group on non-offence referrals
• Pre-referral screening initiatives
• Pathfinder projects
• SCRA initiatives
• Single agency for the CHS
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What’s the impact locally?
Local Authority
2006/07 2007/08 Change
Dundee 711 502 ▼ 29%
Edinburgh 4,346 3,401 ▼ 22%
Falkirk 1,893 1,495 ▼ 21%
Highland 1,633 1,393 ▼ 15%
Perth and Kinross
213 161 ▼ 24%
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What changes are we seeing?
• Reduction in the rate of non-offence referrals• 40,204 children in 2007/08• However numbers of Hearings and Supervision
Requirements are both up in 2007/08
Hearings Supervision Requirements
42,302 13,219
Up 1% Up 4.5%
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What changes are we seeing?
• Child Protection Orders slightly down from 624 to 518 in 2007/08
• SCRA research into CPOs in Edinburgh– 30% newborn babies– Half on child protection register– 52% had open referral or subject to SR– 87% of grounds were lack of parental care
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So where are we?
• Reporters dealing with increasingly complex cases, but more of the right children
• Change in the source of referral
• Better working practices
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Looking forward
• Focus on outcomes-the so what question?– For children who do not require compulsory
measures– And for those who do
• More multi-agency planning and delivery• Clarity around interventions• A single body-an administrative change or
one that is more aspirational that can answer the so what question?