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Councils have come up under fire over child protection thresholds. Only it tin be tough to ensure consistency. Molly Garboden reports
A consequent criticism across all Ofsted reports on local authority safeguarding relates to thresholds. Recent reports from the watchdog on councils include these remarks: "Inconsistent e_SDHpapplication of thresholds by managers beyond referral and cess teams", "in that location is no written multi-agency agreement on thresholds for access to services", "at that place is too much variation in the level and blazon of final response provided past individual social workers".
In that location are many reasons why local authorities and social workers struggle to maintain thresholds. Child protection consultant Perdeep Gill says they are set too loftier and are probable to edge even college as resources ebb away.
"Thresholds are fix depending on budgets. Panels agree how many children can be accommodated then just effort and bat away or close cases they tin can't fit in," says Gill.
Independent safeguarding board chair Paul Fallon says, although the Children Act gives clear thresholds on looked-after children, section 47 child protection cases and when a kid is "in need", the problems ascend when children autumn in between: "The debate is usually around those children who fall between being a kid-in-demand or a kid needing protection. Ultimately, that comes downwards to how much can we afford to deliver. To pretend that it's absolute is to mislead the public."
Stephen Cameron, an contained social worker and trainer based in Bristol, says during the preparation he gives to teachers and other multi-agency partners in child protection, he is constantly bombarded with concerns about local authorities sweeping too much under the carpet. According to Cameron, multi-bureau partners say their concerns are passed over by children's services departments because of high thresholds.
"Conspicuously, if teachers or other agencies contact social services with concerns nearly a child, information technology's correct that they exist asked questions to determine how valid that might be," he says. "Just, increasingly, I'm hearing from agencies who would know pretty accurately when to refer, that even when they've built up a concern over time and spent fourth dimension with the family unit, they're being told to do a common cess framework (CAF) or that their concern doesn't see the social services' thresholds. That does indicate that children'due south services take resources battles.
"My business concern is that at that place might be an avoidance of the scale of the problem on the social services side. There'south a sense of resignation and despair amidst teachers and other partners and that needs to change. Nosotros tin't encounter thresholds every bit then moveable."
However, resources aside, keeping consequent thresholds in place is never easy.
Gill says information technology depends largely on individual estimation. "In that location's been a new document for London councils that is supposed to spell out what is a CAF, what is a child-in-need, when does a child need to go on a child protection plan, for example. But the descriptions are so vague that everything in kid protection becomes subjective past whoever receives the referral."
Joanna Nicholas, child protection consultant, trainer and social worker agrees: "It's very difficult to say one situation is abuse and another isn't – there needs to be greater clarity and uniformity between and within local authorities."
Nicholas admits, however, that no matter how clear the legislation or guidance, these professional decisions are going to come down to private opinions on some level.
"A lot of information technology is down to personal sentence," she says. "For case, I know my professional views changed as to what was adequate in a home after I had children of my own. It would be skillful if we could factor that kind of thing out of the procedure, but it's very difficult."
Nevertheless, she says that talking through things with colleagues and on teams is a proficient way to gainsay personal bias: "If we were discussing cases with one another, people would share their opinions and there would exist more uniformity. With many cases, information technology's not clear cut, particularly in cases of fail."
Laura McClean, a frontline children and families social worker in Renfrew, Scotland, agrees that peer back up is crucial in maintaining thresholds – from informal chats with colleagues in the office to seeking the views and perceptions of colleagues in other agencies.
"Making sure that all appropriate agencies are involved and their views on the risk to children are sought is and so important, both at the investigation stage and likewise in decision making-forums such as child protection instance conferences," she says.
Instance STUDY
Fiona Waddington, joint director of children and families service, Trafford Council
Multi-agency working is cardinal to effective thresholds
Trafford Council recently received a "proficient" Ofsted rating for its safeguarding services and inspectors commended the effectiveness and staff agreement of thresholds.
Co-ordinate to Fiona Waddington, joint director of children, young people and families, successfully maintaining thresholds comes down to constructive multi-agency working.
"Nosotros developed our threshold criteria on a multi-agency ground, so it was never isolated inside social care," she says. "Considering everyone is in agreement and aware of the process, everybody's on lath throughout. Every agency is aware of the progression of a instance and more chiefly the reasons why a kid's situation was considered to meet a sure criteria. It leads to so much more clarity and saves a huge corporeality of time."
Waddington added that good communication between the different agencies was crucial also. To encourage these relationships, Trafford's intake team has a full-time duty social worker available to give social intendance communication to any partner agencies that might need it.
"If any of our partners are unsure whether a referral should be fabricated, they tin can ring upwardly the duty social worker and talk about the instance without betraying confidentiality. Information technology'southward an investment on our part, but completely worth it in the long-run considering the average quality of referrals we receive is then high every bit a result."
THE LEGAL POSITION
Social care lawyer Ed Mitchell says a lot of time is spent by the family courts untangling the reasons backside variations between and within local authorities with regard to thresholds.
"There's picayune consistency across councils and even within a unmarried council," he says. "Often, the more than articulate and clued-up parents receive a better deal. Too, more unreasonable, demanding parents might receive better services too. More arbitrary factors have also been identified, for case the point in a local say-so's financial year when the request is made may have a big bear upon."
Mitchell says at that place is not the same certainty that there is in adult services, where over-arching regime guidance about eligibility criteria steers practitioners. Challenges over children'due south services thresholds are harder to handle in court.
Another complication is the distinction between services provided past social intendance and those provided by the teaching sector.
"What oft causes defoliation is that some services that look like social services are actually provided by education departments," says Mitchell. "Under didactics legislation, in that location's less room for eligibility criteria to operate because there'southward a law that all children are entitled to a suitable education."
This article is published in the 1 July 2010 edition of Community Care under the headline, "How much risk is safe?"
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Source: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2010/06/24/effective-thresholds-in-child-protection/
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