Child welfare

Child welfare Child welfare is a continuum of services designed to ensure that children are safe and that families have the necessary support to care for their children successfully.

Child welfare agencies Child welfare agencies typically: Support or coordinate services to prevent child abuse and neglect Provide services to families that need help protecting and caring for their children Receive and investigate reports of possible child abuse and neglect; assess child and family needs, strengths, and resources Arrange for children to live with kin (i.e. relatives) or with foster families when safety cannot be ensured at home Support the well-being of children living with relatives or foster families, including ensuring that their educational needs are addressed Work with the children, youth, and families to achieve family reunification, adoption, or other permanent family connections for children and youth leaving foster care

Child welfare in the UK The UK’s 4 nations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – have their own child protection system and laws to help protect children from abuse and neglect. Each nation has a framework of legislation, guidance and practice to identify children who are at risk of harm, and take action to protect those children and prevent further abuse occurring.

The duty of the state The prime responsibility for the upbringing of children rests with parents and the vast majority of children do grow up in caring families. But where children are not receiving adequate care, the State has a duty to intervene to safeguard the welfare of those children.

Child abuse Neglect (including the failure to take adequate measures to protect a child from harm) Emotional abuse Sexual abuse Physical abuse

The Children Act 1989 The Children Act 1989, which came into force in October 1991 in England and Wales, provides a single coherent framework for the care, protection and upbringing of children. It addresses a wide range of situations, from what happens to children following divorce to protecting children from physical and sexual abuse, to the support of families with children in need.

From the Children Act 1989 Welfare of the child.E+W (1)When a court determines any question with respect to— (a)the upbringing of a child; or (b)the administration of a child’s property or the application of any income arising from it, the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration. (2)In any proceedings in which any question with respect to the upbringing of a child arises, the court shall have regard to the general principle that any delay in determining the question is likely to prejudice the welfare of the child.

Children in need The definition of children in need from the Children Act 1989: Children with disabilities and those whose needs relate to social and economic deprivation

The Convention on the Rights of the Child The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a universally agreed set of standards and obligations which place children centre-stage in the quest for a just, respectful and peaceful society.

Introduction to the Convention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tesGUxy d-lw

Ratification The Convention was agreed to on 20 November 1989 by the United Nations General Assembly and since then 194 States have ratified it. It is the most widely adopted international human rights treaty in history.

The definition of a child The Convention defines a child as a boy or girl under the age of 18 and considers a child as both an individual, as well as a member of a family and a community. A child is a human being with the full range of rights. Article 1 For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.

Principles The Convention rests on four foundation principles: non-discrimination (Article 2) best interests of the child (Article 3) the child’s right to life, survival and development (Article 6) respect for the views of the child (Article 12)

Basic rights for all children The right to survival To develop to the fullest To protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation To participate fully in family, cultural and social life

Some results for children In the years since the Convention was adopted, the world has seen concrete results for children. Between the early 1990s and 2000, the average under-five mortality rate declined by 11 per cent, underweight prevalence among children under five fell from 32 per cent to 28 per cent in developing countries, and global access to safe drinking water rose from 77 per cent to 82 per cent. Child deaths from diarrhoea, the foremost killer of children at the beginning of the 1990s, declined by half, saving an estimated 1 million lives.

Articles Fill in the blanks with a, an, the or -- :   ___ Convention is ___ first international human rights treaty to bring together ___ universal set of standards concerning children in ___ unique instrument, and ___ first to present child rights as ___ legally binding imperative. ___ Convention defined childhood as ___ separate space from adulthood and recognised that what is appropriate for __ adult may not be suitable for ___ child. It also called on governments to provide ___ material assistance and support to families and to prevent children from being separated from their parents. Children are ___ holders of their own rights and are therefore not passive recipients of ___ charity, but empowered actors in their own development.

Fill in the blanks with a, an, the or -- :   THE Convention is THE first international human rights treaty to bring together THE universal set of standards concerning children in A unique instrument, and THE first to present child rights as A legally binding imperative. THE Convention defined childhood as A separate space from adulthood and recognised that what is appropriate for AN adult may not be suitable for A child. It also called on governments to provide / material assistance and support to families and to prevent children from being separated from their parents. Children are THE holders of their own rights and are therefore not passive recipients of / charity, but empowered actors in their own development.

Celebrating 25 years of the UNCRC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwxaIMj G04w

Thank you for your attention!