Child Protection and Disabled Children - Rights at Risk

1. Child Protection and Disabled Children - Rights at Risk Prof Kirsten Stalker, Dr Pam Green Lister, Jennifer Lerpiniere, Katherine McArthur University of Strathclyde

2. Study Aims • to scope current knowledge about child protection and disabled children • to review current social policy and practice in the field in the UK • to pilot ways to seek disabled children's views about child protection services

3. Methods • literature review • policy analysis – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland • 10 ‘key informant’ interviews at national level • interviews with four disabled children using child protection services

4. Headlines from Literature Review • incidence of abuse 3.4 times greater for disabled children • those with communication impairments, behavioural ‘disorders’, learning disabilities and sensory impairments most at risk

5. Literature Review contd • evidence of under-reporting in UK and other countries • increased vulnerability factors for disabled children • unhelpful myths & stereotypes • indications that disabled children get lesser treatment in UK safeguarding systems

6. Child Protection Policy: England • mainstreaming approach • generic guidance highlights implications for disabled children • separate guidance re disabled children 2006; updated 2009 • social exclusion/ social model of disability focus • wide-ranging + substantial policies cross-referenced between disability and safeguarding arenas

7. Child Protection Policies: Wales • Wales: tends to follow English lead although no dedicated guidance • has addressed CP/ disabled children systematically, often in detail • social exclusion/ social model of disability focus

8. Child Protections Policies:Northern Ireland • no dedicated guidance • balance between including disabled children in generic guidance and highlighting their vulnerability/ support needs • new legislation has potential to put them at the forefront of CP practice.

9. Child Protection Policy: Scotland • 2002 CP Reform Programme – very littler attention to disabled children • ‘mainstreamed’ to near invisibility in a series of documents • new draft guidance has 3 pages on risks for disabled children and some references in generic sections

10. Key Informant Views • under reporting of abuse • communicating with disabled children • differential treatment in CP system • joint working

11. Implications for Policy and Practice • governments should publish nos. of disabled children on CP registers • closer joint working between children’s teams in social work, and across social work, health, education, police and vol orgs • joint training at all levels with involvement of disabled people

12. Implications for Policy and Practice contd. • a child protection system more accessible to disabled children and sensitive to needs • safety training, sex education and rights awareness for disabled children • need more preventive and therapeutic work • inspection processes to pay particular attention to disabled children