Engaging with the courts and the Children's Hearings system
There can be tension between deciding whether to provide family support or to remove the child and place in foster care or residential setting at an early stage; such decisions are never easy. The long-term objective of fostering and residential care should be that each and every looked after child or young person goes on to live a happy, successful and fulfilling life, regardless of their initial experiences.
'Fundamentally I felt better in care, but it wasn’t a magical overnight thing. It took a couple of weeks to trust my foster carers.'
Cheryl
The majority of children and young people who become looked after are involved with at least one external decision-making body. For many there is an element of compulsion involved in becoming looked after, therefore there are associated legal processes through court or a children’s hearing. This is a very complex area and this section offers only a simple introduction. More detailed information is available from the Scottish Courts Service or the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration.
The Community Justice Authority will need to take account of the needs of looked after children and young people and care leavers, in terms of their potential to become offenders and as the children of adult offenders.
You will want to:
- make sure that planning for permanence is built in from as early a stage as possible, and that all necessary procedures are followed properly to minimise the disruption to children and young people and their families, to reduce drift and to prevent children from “yo-yo-ing” around the system.
- know that panel members are confident in challenging social work and education constructively.
Downloadable resources
Read the full version of this section of the Corporate Parenting Guidance on the Scottish Government website.
Personal stories
Gill McBride
The experience of helping families from the Children's Panel point of view.