The Centre for Child and Family Justice Research are launching the final report of their Nuffield Foundation funded study focusing on Vulnerable Birth Mothers and Recurrent Care Proceedings. The final report will be launched at a one-day conference on the 4th October at Friends Meeting House, London. Experts in the field will consider the practice … Continue reading Vulnerable Birth Mothers and Recurrent Care Proceedings: Launch event
https://twitter.com/survivecourt/status/864771943731474432 It started before the meeting even began. Emails, phone calls and discussions between you all to synchronise diaries and finalise a time and location that suited everyone. Everyone, of course, except the insignificant mother. My diary was never checked. No-one asked if the time suited me or if the location was convenient. As long … Continue reading The Insignificant Mother
This is a helpful piece for IROs to consider - it provides good guidance as to the workings out of the pros and cons of whether to go s20 or care proceedings AND confirms that both are valid options and that neither are the default option to be followed. Source:Ā @suesspiciousminds This is a case in … Continue reading Child refugees ā section 20? Care proceedings? Either? – @suesspiciousminds
Services to protect vulnerable children in large parts of the country are seeing a dramatic āunfundedā spike in demand, new analysis shows. The County Councils Network (CCN), which represents every county council in England and 10 county unitary authorities, arguesĀ that pressure on childrenās service has risen most dramatically in rural councils, warning that they receive … Continue reading Children’s service pressures – new analysis by CCN
The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) published a joint protocol in February 2017 advising court guardians and social workers to work more collaboratively to speed up cases, and where possible divert them from court. The agreement was criticised by the guardians' association … Continue reading A lesson in collaborative working & conflict: ADCS & Cafcass Joint Protocol axed as unlawful
https://twitter.com/IsabelleTrowler/status/895668276541485056 Over the past four years, numerous councils, projects and charities have made bids for funding to the Department for Educationās Ā£200 million Innovation Fund.Ā Many councils, projects and charities have been backed with pots of money, and many others left disappointed. In 2014, Brighton was one such local authority that was unsuccessful in its bid … Continue reading Building a team around the social worker: how a council is reducing demand and supporting staff
New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, reveals that in 2015/16 councils surpassed their childrenās social care budgets by Ā£605 million in order to protect children at immediate risk of harm. At leastĀ 75% of councils in England have overspent on their childrenās services budgets … Continue reading Children’s social care is at breaking point – LGA calls on the Government to close the funding gap
A local authority has been criticised after an āunbalancedā social work assessment led to the illegal removal of a child from their motherās care and conflicting accounts amongst the professional network about of what happened in professional discussions. This case raises a number of important points - not least in relation to IRO scrutiny and … Continue reading IRO scrutinyĀ in a case which saw a child unlawfully removed from their mother’s care
A flavour of a really important judgement by Sir James Mumby that needs to be read in full please. Read at source: [2017] EWHC 2036 (Fam) Extract: What this case demonstrates, as if further demonstration is still required of what is a well-known scandal, is the disgraceful and utterly shaming lack of proper provision … Continue reading āOne of the measures of a civilised society is how well it looks after the most vulnerable members of its society.ā
The overall effectiveness of Nottingham City Council children's services have been rated "good' following a trial of the new Ofsted inspection framework being introduced next year. However, some services for children are not yet good: 'independent reviewing officers do not have the capacity to sufficiently monitor the progress of childrenās plans between review meetings'. Inspectors … Continue reading Ofsted finds independent reviewing officers need sufficient capacity …
