The Childrens Act 1989 and subsequent amendments and official documents are intended to safeguard our children from harm and protect their rights. In practice though, some children fall through the net and are failed by the local authority, leading to continuing neglect and abuse of these children,. in some high profile cases recently, the end result has been death, such as in the Victoria Climbie and Lauren Wright cases.

This document will explore the reasons behind this. Its possible the Childrens Act 1989 is simply inadequate, implemented incorrectly or poorly. On the other hand it could be the fault of badly trained and motivated Social Workers, underfunded local authorities or badly managed social services departments. Before analysing why this phenomenon occurs, it is important to understand what is meant by the terms neglect and abuse. According to "Working Together To Safeguard Children" a document published by the department of health in 1999, somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. However under

s.31(10) of the Childrens Act 1989, it d

Abuse and neglect are rife throughout the care system. The child is also more likely to come into contact with young people/children or members of their families with drug/alcohol problems, emotional and behavioral problems, criminal records/habits, or links with prostitution, etc.

"Few professionals have a poorer image than social work incentives for social care staff and a new approach to public relations are needed social workers should be congratulated not villified for their work" said Mary Marsh, director and chief executive of the NSPCC.

The management themselves have to operate within a tight budget, specific geographical boundaries and other external pressures such as inspections. "The social workers are too busyl. I have one member of staff on long term sick. I'm carrying two staff vacancies and two remaining staff are tied up in care proceedings which really should be done by the long-term teams, but they can't take them on. Another social worker is doing her PQ childcare award and needs time of. Also we are coping with agency staff, who can't use the computer systems. We just can't recruit child care social workers any more.", said the team manager of a busy London borough social services duty team on the subject.

This is why the procedure for assessment and intervention, and the legislation connected to it is so complex, as shown in "Individual cases flowchart" included in the appendix.

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Approximate Word count = 1806
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)