SCOTLAND

Failing the vulnerable

The Scottish children's hearing system, once the envy of the world, is in crisis. Figures revealed in The Herald today show that last year just 140 children's reporters, working on a standstill budget, handled a record 97,000 referrals relating to a record 54,000 children. Perhaps it is not surprising that at a time when the profiles of both youth offending and child protection have been raised that reporters and panels will be busier. However, despite the claim last week from justice minister Cathy Jamieson that Scotland is losing the war against persistent offenders, the number of youngsters being referred to the Children's Panel for offending behaviour remains fairly stable.

It is the category of those referred for their own protection that is expanding rapidly. When children's hearings last faced a major overhaul in the early 1990s there was a numerical balance between victims and perpetrators. Now those in the system for offending behaviour account for fewer than one-third. Yesterday, senior sources close to the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) warned that the system was close to breaking point. Meanwhile, a package of reforms has been shelved, in favour of new child protection measures arising from the Bichard inquiry into the Soham murders; and it appears that a package of emergency funding to help the SCRA cope with its extra workload has been refused.

The children's hearing system was launched in 1971 to address the needs of young people with serious problems in their lives. There was a recognition that those problems were complex and that perpetrators and victims were not necessarily two distinct categories. Many of those who get into trouble are children who have been failed by both the system and their parents. There is special concern about the children of those with drug and alcohol problems. A key virtue of the system is its child-centred approach. However, it can only do its job if it has adequate resources and staff.

The rising numbers of children being referred for their own care and protection may give the impression that these children will get the help they need. This is not the case. Instead, hard-pressed staff will have no alternative but to prioritise, picking out the most-pressing cases and marking the majority for no formal action. Even if the SCRA were better supported, the options available to it would be restricted by the shortage of social workers, foster parents, child mental health experts and other specialists needed to support at-risk children.

There are two dangers in this situation. The first is that one day soon, one of these vulnerable children will become the next Caleb Ness or Danielle Reid, who died at the hands of those who should have given them love and protection – their parents. The fact that this child may have been referred to the panel by the police will merely move the pointing finger from them to the SCRA. The second danger is that by failing a generation of vulnerable children, we are creating the next generation of offenders. An adage, and a good one, is that prevention is better than cure.

Editorial
26 June 2006

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/64738.html

 
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