Children left in danger amid lack of safe homes
Published Date:
20 March 2007
WARRANTS to take children at risk out of their family homes are being regularly ignored in the Lothians because of a shortage of children's home beds.
Around half the "place of safety" warrants issued by the Children's Panel are understood to be useless because nowhere safe can be found for the child concerned.
The orders are usually made to take the children of alcoholic or drug-abusing parents into care.
But in some instances the child is being left in apparent danger.
Members of the Children's Panel told the Evening News that around four children every week were left in their homes against their orders.
One panel member said: "I have issued place of safety warrants for one child three or four times and nothing has happened.
"It's an emergency measure only used in the most serious circumstances. These children are in the most at risk and vulnerable situations and they are being left there. Their most basic physical and emotional needs are not being met. Lots of panel members have left because of this problem."
One former colleague, who recently resigned in frustration at the failings of the system, said: "There was one case that haunts me. A two-year-old child who was badly hurt at home after a safety warrant was not executed. Cases like that happen all the time.
"There are many cases when parents are incapable of looking after children because of alcohol and drug abuse, but they are not removed, although I've not heard of children not being removed when there's a risk of physical or sexual abuse."
The former panel member added: "The city council should be held accountable. They can be taken to court and made to take responsibility but they have not been, and that should happen."
The Children's Hearing panels act on the recommendations of social workers.
As well as fears for the children's safety, there are worries that some delinquent youngsters are being allowed to move on to more serious crime because they are being left with dysfunctional families. The children who pose the most serious threat to the public are sent to secure accommodation at Howdenhall.
But the most frequent problem is due to a shortage of places with foster families and at children's homes, or young people centres, for those children who need to be protected rather than locked up.
The chairwoman of the Children's Hearing Panel in Edinburgh Lynn Dunsmore declined to comment. However, John Stevenson, Unison branch chairman, who represents social workers, said more beds needed to be provided in residential units.
He said: "I am aware of situations where children have deemed to be at risk and have not been accommodated.
"From our point of view there is a need for more foster carers and more beds in residential units, so we can deal with problems earlier before they get more serious."
There are around 280 foster carers in Edinburgh and a total of 53 beds in young people centres and Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's children and families leader, said: "We make every effort to find children an appropriate place of safety when a place of safety warrant is issued.
"The child's extended family or friends of the family are normally investigated first before other options such as foster care and residential care placements are made. I am absolutely confident that all cases are regularly monitored and reviewed and every possible effort is made to ensure that a child is never left in a place where they could be harmed.
"Since Christmas we have taken on 14 new foster carers and I am keen to continue our campaign to increase this number."
The full article contains 618 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
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Last Updated:
20 March 2007 2:33 PM
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Source:
Edinburgh Evening News
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Location:
Edinburgh
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Related Topics:
Social Work
