Child Protection Guidance 2021

Part 2A: Roles and responsibilities for child protection 68 National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 Version 1.0 September 2021 2.187 While community justice services are mainly focused on adults, there is an impact on children too, particularly where the recipient of a community justice service is a parent or sibling. The Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, implemented from 1 April 2017, established a new local partnership model for required community justice planning and delivery of services. 2.188 Services to protect children should take account of national policies to promote the wellbeing of all children, including disabled children and those most at risk, such as children affected by problematic parental alcohol and/or drug use, children affected by domestic abuse (such as Equally Safe – see below), and children at risk of being trafficked. 2.189 Within this complex wider planning landscape, there is a need to co‑ordinate purpose, monitoring, data gathering, analysis, format and timing of reporting and review. The Child Protection National Minimum Dataset 2020 will assist in this process. 2.190 Children’s services should be ‘integrated’ not just in organisation, but also from the perspective of children, young people, parents, carers, families and communities. In general terms there is a national policy emphasis on provision of early help to prevent escalating need and risk. Public protection 2.191 The aim of public protection is to reduce risk of harm to both children and adults. 2.192 These issues overlap. For example when a child has a Child Protection Plan, where relevant, this should clearly define how the child will be protected from the risks posed by known perpetrators, together with contingency plans as appropriate in each case. 2.193 Public protection involves collaborative inter-agency work at strategic and operational levels. In some areas this work is overseen by a dedicated public protection forum. In others, individual fora have a specific responsibility and focus. 2.194 Whatever the local arrangements, steps need to be taken locally to ensure an integrated and consistent approach to planning and service delivery. Child Protection and Adult Protection Committees (sometimes combined) have a key role in this respect. 2.195 Public protection involves a focus on work with both victims and perpetrators. With perpetrators, the aim must be to reduce future risk. At a minimum this may involve ensuring that the right monitoring arrangements are in place to track an individual’s behaviour, but it may also mean working with that individual to help them understand their behaviour and how it impacts on others. 2.196 Public protection encompasses the needs of former victims, and of immediate family members at risk of harm. Interface between child and adult protection 2.197 Adult and child protection may overlap and interact. The Child Protection Guidance applies to children and young people up to the age of 18. There is a potential overlap of powers and duties in relation to the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 and Code of Practice (which is being refreshed in 2021).