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Abstract
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brings new worries about the welfare of children, particularly those of families living in poverty and impacted other risk factors. These children will struggle more during the pandemic because of financial pressures and stress placed on parents, as well as their limited access to services and systems of support. In this commentary, we explain how current circumstances reinforce the need for systemic change within statutory child welfare systems and the benefits that would accrue by implementing a continuum of services that combine universal…
In this short editorial, the organization New Beginnings shares the stories of three of the families they work with who have wanted to explain what lockdown has meant for them during this peculiar time. One of the stories comes from a parent whose children were removed from her care two weeks into lockdown. Another comes from a parent whose daughter has since been reunited with her from foster care.
In this commentary piece, Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, explores the use of children's care homes in England and the need for improved supports to prevent placement in children's home and to provide for the needs of children and young people who are placed in these homes. Longfield applauds "the ambition of the [Lancet Group Commission on…
This blog post was written by Taliah Drayak, parent with lived experience of child protection, parent advocate and founder of Scots Mums Guide to Safeguarding and Child Protection and Andy Bilson retired professor of social work. It describes the benefits of parent advocacy for parents involved in the child protection system and includes a letter of thanks written by Taliah Drayak to her advocate.
"The pandemic has had an adverse impact on all children. That has been more severe for those with special needs but an almost forgotten group of especially vulnerable children are those who experience abuse and neglect," says this Irish Times in this editorial. "The latest volume of reports from the Child Care Law Reporting Project contains a number of reports detailing the impact of the pandemic on them."
This analysis focuses on the case of Pedersen et al. v. Norway, where the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, Court) addressed the issues of adoption and post-adoption contact. In this case, the ECtHR concluded that Norway violated the right to respect for family life (Article 8) when implementing child protection measures. According to the blog post, "The central criticism of the Court focused on the fact that the authorities were responsible for the family breakdown, as they failed in their obligations to take measures to facilitate family reunification (para 68…
In this article for the Guardian, Hannah Walker, a social worker and life story book worker, writes about the use of life story books for children who have been adopted. Life story books "are crucial for helping adopted children make sense of their past and who they are," writes Walker. "Life story books are a way to help adopted children understand their past and where they come from. The books should include information about birth family, when the child was born, previous foster carers and why they were adopted, as well as information about the here and now to help the child start and…
"What kind of a country are we, in which the most vulnerable children cannot rely on ministers and councils to treat them well?" asks this editorial piece from the Guardian. The Guardian notes "the use of unregulated placements, the disruption caused by frequent moves and the damage done to those forced to relocate many miles from their homes, schools and families," all of which have been "featured in court judgments and parliamentary and National Audit Office reports as well as in journalism by the Guardian and others."
According to the editorial, children’s…
In this article for the Guardian, Krish Kandiah argues that "any young person ready to make the step to leave home needs the safety net of a family they belong to" and calls for greater supports for young people aging out of care, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions put in place.
This letter, published in the Irish Times, calls for "a high-level national working group to address the cross-departmental responsibilities of the State to children in care, with a specific focus on meeting their holistic educational needs in a coordinated way, across all age levels."