News

We asked: Do you think there should be a national agency for child protection services? The government is said to be considering an agency in response to the Victoria Climbie case.

These are the responses we received:

"A national agency dealing with investigations of child abuse would be better understood by other agencies and families and therefore has many advantages, particularly in London. The creation of such an agency would enable social workers in local authority children's teams to focus on the provision of support services and create a genuine needs-led service.

Splitting the two social work functions ('policing' and 'supporting') would provide a new opportunity to clarify roles, develop staff expertise, and provide training which is more focused on staff need.

I suggest the national agency should carry out section 47 investigations and act as the lead agency in decision-making with regard to investigations, conferences and legal proceedings. This would ensure:

- clarity of roles and responsibilities

- consistency in approach e.g. in setting thresholds where a child is deemed to be at risk

- an understanding of the system that is shared by practitioners and managers

- a formalised system for separating urgent and non-urgent cases

- good support for staff so that no-one should feel isolated or vulnerable

- training for staff through working alongside colleagues with more experience

Some cases where continuing child maltreatment was suspected would still be dealt with by the district team if it already knew the family, and it was felt the assessment should be carried out over a longer period of time. The new national agency would only make an initial assessment after consultation with the district team. It would then determine the action required from other services.

The notion of splitting functions is not new as many authorities already have a centralised investigation team. One advantage is that it gives social workers a real choice about the style of working they prefer and allows them to opt out of 'policing' work if they feel they are not suited to this. Also, it is more honest and upfront about the investigative role.

At present, many students completing social work courses do not have the skills required for child abuse investigations. If child abuse investigations were recognised as 'policing' work the task might actually be much simpler."

Hilary Searing