Placing a child into care, are we punishing the child for the failings of our society.
Saturday, 2 Apr 2016, 13:18
Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Steve Taylor, Saturday, 4 Mar 2017, 17:03
Children . . .‘All Actions concerning you will take full account of your best
interests. The state will provide you with adequate care, when parents or
others charged with that responsibility fail to do so’ (UNCRC. Article 3 )
The figures below identify a startling set of
facts.
Looked after children have a
conception rate of 5.8% in the 14 – 17 age group,
Looked after children and care
leavers were significantly more likely to become pregnant and continue the
pregnancy.
20% and 50% of looked after
children and care leavers aged 16 – 19 become parents, compared with 5% of
non-looked after children .
33% of all children in
Prison (England and Wales) were looked after children
Transpose these figures onto any family, living anywhere in the UK, underage pregnancies, children committing crime, I think there's an expectancy for the Local Authority to step in, provide support or as a final step removing the
children - due to 'poor parenting'. But, what do we do when the parent is the
local authority?
Placing children into care, appears to be a solution adopted by the UK Government, However it does not give a right to prevent these children reaching
their optimum.
How good are we, at keeping a children safe, even when those children are in the care of the State, these figures suggest that we are not good at all .
Alternatives other than taking a child into care
is it then, we continue to allow children to
become the wards of guardians who, based on these figures are not fit for
purpose.
Better education within
schools. with parenting/childcare classes
Access to advice and helplines
for parents who are ‘struggling’
Research based parenting A,B,C
programmes on TV - funded by the Government or advertisers
Promotion of parenting
thorough funded workshops
Qualified and experienced
workers who can intervene and provide support to families rather than remove
the child
A drive toward therapeutic
interventions for children and parents (Pedagogues)
Ethos – ‘The State will not
remove your children; so long as you allow us to help you no matter how long
this might take’.
Courses/ Higher education for
Pedagogues within the UK
It is time to rethink what 'care' and secure estate system actually means; beginning with a long overdue
overhaul of privatised homes for ‘looked after children’, which are driven by one thing – profit.
As a parent you are driven by love, commitment and a desire that your children
are safe and kept from harm. This is why the current system will never work,
only by treating these children as you would you own, can we provide the best
childhoods for them, allowing each child a fair opportunity to reach adulthood
with good life skills to benefit society.
Curran, D., Kilpatrick, R., Young, V. and
Wilson, D. (1995) ‘Longitudinal aspects of reconviction: secure and open
intervention with juvenile offenders in Northern Ireland’, The Howard
Journal of Criminal Justice, 34(2) pp. 97–123. Cited in The Howard League
for Penal reform, Commission on Sex in Prison (Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual
development of children in Prison (2015)
Lader, D., Singleton, N. and Meltzer, H. (2000) Psychiatric
Morbidity among Young Offenders in England and Wales. London: Office for
National Statistics. Cited in The Howard League for Penal reform, Commission on
Sex in Prison (Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual development of children in
Prison (2015)
Mezey, G., Robinson, F.,
Gillard, S., Mantovani, N., Meyer, D., White, S., Bonnell, C. (2015) ‘Tackling
the problem of teenage pregnancy in looked-after children: a peer mentoring
approach’, Child & Family Social Work
[Online]. Available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/doi/10.1111/cfs.12225/epdf
(Accessed 14 March 2016).
Youth Justice Board and Ministry of Justice
(2014) Youth Justice Statistics 2012/13 England and Wales Statistics Bulletin.
Cited in The Howard League for Penal reform, Commission on Sex in Prison
(Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual development of children in Prison (2015)
Placing a child into care, are we punishing the child for the failings of our society.
Children . . .‘All Actions concerning you will take full account of your best interests. The state will provide you with adequate care, when parents or others charged with that responsibility fail to do so’ (UNCRC. Article 3 )
The figures below identify a startling set of facts.
Looked after children have a conception rate of 5.8% in the 14 – 17 age group,
Looked after children and care leavers were significantly more likely to become pregnant and continue the pregnancy.
20% and 50% of looked after children and care leavers aged 16 – 19 become parents, compared with 5% of non-looked after children .
33% of all children in Prison (England and Wales) were looked after children
Transpose these figures onto any family, living anywhere in the UK, underage pregnancies, children committing crime, I think there's an expectancy for the Local Authority to step in, provide support or as a final step removing the children - due to 'poor parenting'. But, what do we do when the parent is the local authority?
Placing children into care, appears to be a solution adopted by the UK Government, However it does not give a right to prevent these children reaching their optimum.
How good are we, at keeping a children safe, even when those children are in the care of the State, these figures suggest that we are not good at all .
Alternatives other than taking a child into care
is it then, we continue to allow children to become the wards of guardians who, based on these figures are not fit for purpose.
Better education within schools. with parenting/childcare classes
Access to advice and helplines for parents who are ‘struggling’
Research based parenting A,B,C programmes on TV - funded by the Government or advertisers
Promotion of parenting thorough funded workshops
Qualified and experienced workers who can intervene and provide support to families rather than remove the child
A drive toward therapeutic interventions for children and parents (Pedagogues)
Ethos – ‘The State will not remove your children; so long as you allow us to help you no matter how long this might take’.
Courses/ Higher education for Pedagogues within the UK
It is time to rethink what 'care' and secure estate system actually means; beginning with a long overdue overhaul of privatised homes for ‘looked after children’, which are driven by one thing – profit. As a parent you are driven by love, commitment and a desire that your children are safe and kept from harm. This is why the current system will never work, only by treating these children as you would you own, can we provide the best childhoods for them, allowing each child a fair opportunity to reach adulthood with good life skills to benefit society.
References:
Clifton, J. (2013) Principal Policy Advisor to The Children’s Commissioner for England. Open letter to Placement Team - Department of Education Level 1 Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street, London 2013 https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/children_looked_after_following_remand.pdf (accessed on line March 2016)
Curran, D., Kilpatrick, R., Young, V. and Wilson, D. (1995) ‘Longitudinal aspects of reconviction: secure and open intervention with juvenile offenders in Northern Ireland’, The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 34(2) pp. 97–123. Cited in The Howard League for Penal reform, Commission on Sex in Prison (Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual development of children in Prison (2015)
Lader, D., Singleton, N. and Meltzer, H. (2000) Psychiatric Morbidity among Young Offenders in England and Wales. London: Office for National Statistics. Cited in The Howard League for Penal reform, Commission on Sex in Prison (Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual development of children in Prison (2015)
Mezey, G., Robinson, F., Gillard, S., Mantovani, N., Meyer, D., White, S., Bonnell, C. (2015) ‘Tackling the problem of teenage pregnancy in looked-after children: a peer mentoring approach’, Child & Family Social Work [Online]. Available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/doi/10.1111/cfs.12225/epdf (Accessed 14 March 2016).
The Howard League for Penal reform, Commission on Sex in Prison (Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual development of children in Prison (2015) https://d19ylpo4aovc7m.cloudfront.net/fileadmin/howard_league/user/online_publications/healthy_sexual_development_web1.pdf (accessed on March 2016)
Youth Justice Board and Ministry of Justice (2014) Youth Justice Statistics 2012/13 England and Wales Statistics Bulletin. Cited in The Howard League for Penal reform, Commission on Sex in Prison (Briefing paper 4) Healthy sexual development of children in Prison (2015)
https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/children_looked_after_following_remand.pdf (accessed on line March 2016)