Most victims 'not on protection list'

Most children killed or seriously injured from abuse or neglect are
not on the child protection register.

Preliminary findings from a report covering 2005-07 show that "the
majority" of children subject to serious case review (SCR) had no
child protection plan, the Department for Children, Schools and
Families (DCSF) said.

According to The Guardian, 156 of the 189 children whose death or
serious injury during the period prompted a review were not on the
protection register.

The DCSF was unable to confirm this figure but a spokesman said: "The
Government has committed to analysing serious case reviews
periodically in order to optimise the learning from the deaths and
serious injury of these children.

"The next report, covering 2005-2007, has not been finalised yet,
however early findings show that the majority of children subject to
SCRs did not have a child protection plan.

"This could be because they were not known to children's services, or
there was no evidence at that time to suggest they were at continuing
risk of harm."

The Guardian said most cases between 2005/07 involved a baby under the
age of one, with most of those younger than six months.

Some post-mortem case reviews included in the research reveal that
midwives, families and social workers saw evidence of abuse while the
children were still alive but councils did not place them on the
protection register, the paper added.

The number of serious cases between 2005/07 also reportedly rose 17%
on the previous two years.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm...s.topheadlines

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Page last updated at 12:36 GMT, Saturday, 15 November 2008

Child abuse 'missed' by register

Baby P suffered 50 injuries before his death in August 2007

Over 80% of children killed or seriously hurt through neglect or abuse
were not on England's child protection registers, it has been
reported.

Only 33 of the 189 children whose death or injury in 2005 to 2007 led
to a review were on the registers, according to figures obtained by
the Guardian.

The figures follow the outcry over Baby P, who died in 2007 after
severe abuse.

A government spokeswoman said a report on children's safeguards had
been ordered in the wake of the Baby P case.

'Very dangerous'

The Guardian figures come from unpublished government-commissioned
research.

It said children who died from broken ribs, smashed skulls and forced
starvation were all missed off the register of children known to be
suffering harm.

Only 33 of the 189 children whose death or injury prompted a local
authority serious case review in the two years from 2005 to 2007 had
been on the register, it said.

It said medical staff and social workers had seen evidence of abuse,
but local authorities had not added the children to the list.

It's not easy to identify the families who are going to kill their
children
Sarah Harman

Marion Brandon, a University of East Anglia academic who is leading an
analysis of the serious case reviews, told the newspaper social
workers often struggled to respond appropriately.

"They make an early assessment and don't tend to change their minds",
she said.

"They keep looking for evidence that supports their view and that can
be very dangerous.

"They might stick to saying it is a case of neglect when it is
actually abuse."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) said she could not confirm the newspaper's figures as the
report had not yet been published.

But she added that early findings suggested that the majority of
children subject to serious case reviews had not been given a child
protection plan.

"This could be because they were not known to children's services, or
there was no evidence at that time to suggest they were at continuing
risk of harm," she said.

"However, all agencies working with children should be clear about
their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
children.

"Where there is evidence of continuing harm the child should be made
the subject of a child protection plan and action taken to safeguard
them."

She added that Ed Balls, Secretary of State at the DCSF, had
instructed Lord Laming to report on progress in implementing
safeguarding arrangements for children in England in light of the Baby
P case.

And Sarah Harman, a family lawyer with 30 years experience, told the
BBC's Today programme that over-criticising the system could result in
more children being unnecessarily being taken into care.

"If you're not careful, we'll create problems, we create backlashes -
which is that social workers become risk-averse," she added.

"Child protection is not easy. It's not easy to identify the families
who are going to kill their children."

Good practice

Baby P, from Haringey, north London, died at 17 months after suffering
50 injuries.

Two men and his mother have been convicted of involvement in his death
and have been told they face "substantial" terms in prison.

The director of Haringey's Children and Young People's Service has
come under increasing pressure this week to resign.

However, 68 Haringey head teachers have now written a letter in
support of Sarah Shoesmith, saying she has "worked relentlessly" to
ensure the best services for "all young people".

An internal inquiry by Haringey's Local Safeguarding Children Board
(LSCB) blamed legal advice taken a week before the baby's death for
the decision not to take him into care.

It found "numerous examples" of good practice in the case although
there had been "weaknesses" in information flow.

Meanwhile Baby P's natural father has paid tribute to the police for
their part in bringing the case to court.

He also thanked the social workers who had been involved since his
son's death. He described them as acting with "professionalism and
courtesy".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7730939.stm

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"Child protection is not easy. It's not easy to identify the families
who are going to kill their children."

WM
www.critest.com