Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide South East Europe Consultation Reform of the Child Care System: Taking Stock and Accelerating Action Working Group 1 Organisation of Statutory Services at the Sub-national level Professor Carolyn Hamilton Childrens Legal Centre, University of Essex,UK

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide Statutory services and law reform Do we need law reform for effective statutory child protection services? How do we go about law reform? Reform without analysis: the just do it law reform: Moldova and Kyrgyzstan Is something better than nothing? Piecemeal law reform – Georgia Reform without political buy in or the model project law reform Moldova and Albania Practice reform or legal reform? Eg Tajikistan The consultative process – Palestine and Tajikistan Bottom up or top down? Local or national? Partial reform or total reform?

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide Where to start on the process of reform? No substitute for a good analysis Is there any policy? What does the law provide? What actually happens in practice? What is the political viewpoint? Recognition that reform is necessary? Are the practitioners supporting reform? How strong are Unicef/other donors? Make allowances for cultural norms? Measure against human rights standards: child centred? Rights recognised by society? Eg Georgia

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide Challenges to law reform Getting political backing from high level of government Getting buy-in from ministries and organisations Effective consultations – eg Kyrgyzstan Setting strategy for change and implementing it – eg Albania, Krygyzstan and Kosovo Obtaining co-operation between central and local governments and different ministries Sufficient funding/aid to allow for a period of implementation Attitudes and values! If you cannot shift these is reform going to be effective?

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide Major challenges Clear policy understood by central and local government including: What is meant by a statutory child protection system? Who is to be the target group? How it is to organised systemically and administratively? Who will provide services and how: commissioning and delivery? Central, local government buy in, and that of professionals and practitioners

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide What is meant by child protection Article 19 UNCRC? All forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse – and specifies the concrete steps that states should take to ensure such protection – all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures… to provide necessary support for the child… as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment.

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide Violence Have we confused violence with child abuse? Are they one and the same thing? Is the correct definition – when state intervention is necessary to safeguard the child from serious or significant harm? What does that mean? Children Act 1989 (UK) – when it impacts on the childs health and development Net widening and targeting

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide How should a statutory child protection system be incorporated into law Centralised or de-centralised In primary legislation or secondary legislation? Ethical v practical How much detail in primary legislation? Eg Kyrgyzstan Guaranteed minimum level of services from the state? Role for the private sector? Eg Romania, Albania

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide Temporary Isolation Centre

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide What to do? Where to start? Ministerial agreement to change In house training for staff plus training programme Financial assistance Drafted new regulations – problematic Strategic breakthrough!

Promoting childrens rights in the UK and worldwide XENA