Child Protection Guidance 2021

Part 4: Specific support needs and concerns 182 National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 Version 1.0 September 2021 Preventing the repeated removal of children 4.296 “If children are removed from the care of their parents, Scotland must not abandon those families. Families must continue to be provided with therapeutic support, advocacy and engagement in line with principles of intensive family support” (Independent Care Review, 2020). 4.297 Young women who have been unable to safely parent one child are most at risk of repeating the process. For vulnerable women, the interval between a child being removed and subsequent pregnancies are frequently short. However, co‑ordinated planning and support for parents who have a child removed often ceases after removal, unless another child is at risk in the home. 4.298 When parents have complex and challenging needs, support to break the cycle, take control of their lives and develop new skills is essential. Such work is likely to require a holistic approach, in which key workers show persistence, proactivity, understanding, flexibility and work in relationship. Prevention and protection are inseparable concerns in this challenging area of practice. Resources and References – Preventing repeat removal Children and young people who are missing 4.299 The Scottish Government N ational Missing Persons Framework for Scotland describes a missing person as anyone whose whereabouts are unknown and: • where the circumstances are out of character • the context suggests the person may be subject to crime • the person is at risk of harm to themselves or another 4.300 The Framework defines the roles and responsibilities of key partners in relation to prevention, response, support and protection of children and other vulnerable persons whose whereabouts may be unknown and may be regarded as missing. 4.301 In a child protection context ‘missing’ may cover a wide range of circumstances including: • children and their families with whom statutory services such as health, education or social work have lost contact, and either the family location is not known, or for whatever reasons there has been no response to attempts to see the child • children who are not known by or have been hidden from universal services • children under 16 who have gone ‘missing’ from home, or under 18 from care, those who have run away, or been abducted either within or across borders • ‘missing’ may include those who have been forced to leave their home base, or whose whereabouts are unknown. This may be for a wide range of reasons including injury, abuse outside the home including sexual exploitation, escape from abuse, including honour-based abuse and forced marriage, experience of crime, mental health problems, emotional distress, a lack of understanding or confusion, a wish to be somewhere else doing something else, pressure from others within or beyond the home base, bullying, the need to see another person, or some other compelling reason