 What is the Children’s Hearings system?  What does it do?  What are the key stages of the process?

What is the Children’s Hearings system? It helps children and young people who are vulnerable because they are, for example:  being abused  out of control of their parents and carers  offending  not going to school  taking drugs or alcohol  not being looked after properly by their parents

What are the key stages in the Children’s Hearings process? There are four key stages:  the referral  the investigation  the hearing  the outcomes

Step 1 – The Referral Something has to happen to start the process. For example:  the child/young person - may be a victim of crime or have offended - may not have been going to school  someone may be worried that a child is not being looked after properly

Step 1 – The Referral The child/young person is referred to the Children’s Reporter by:  the police  a social worker  a teacher  anyone who is worried about the child The child can refer him/herself

Step 2 – The Investigation The Children’s Reporter investigates the child/young person’s case by asking for information from different people, for example:  social worker  police  teacher  health worker

Step 2 – The Investigation The Children’s Reporter has three decisions to choose from:  not to arrange a Children’s Hearings  to refer the child/young person and his/her family for voluntary support from the local authority  to arrange a Children’s Hearing

Grounds for referral (Ground for referral = reason for referral) The child/young person  is out of control of their parents or carers  is not being cared for well enough by their parents  has been abused  is not going to school regularly  is misusing alcohol, drugs or solvents  has committed one or more offences

Step 3 – The Hearing Who is involved?  the child/young person and his/her family  the Children’s Reporter  the three panel members  relevant professionals

The Panel What/who are panel members?  they are volunteers from the local community  they are appointed by Scottish Ministers  they are carefully selected and trained before they can sit on a Children’s Hearing

What happens at a Hearing?  the style and setting of Hearings is not too formal  usually everyone sits around the same table  everyone is encouraged to take part in the discussion  they are held in private  they take between 45 minutes and an hour

What happens at a Hearing?  the child/young person and their family have the right to agree or disagree with the grounds for referral  if they disagree, the Sheriff Court decides whether the grounds are correct

Role of panel members in Hearings The panel members will:  ask the child/young person and their family about the situation and the issues  ask the professionals who have written the reports what they think  make their decision in front of everyone and give reasons why they reached that decision

Step 4 – The Outcome The Hearing has several decisions to choose from. The main ones are:  to discharge the referral  to impose a Supervision Requirement on a child/young person  to refer the case to the Sheriff Court if the child/young person is unable to understand the grounds for referral because of their age or ability  to hold the Hearing at a later date

Step 4 – The Outcome The most common outcome of a Hearing is a Supervision Requirement. What’s that?  a plan of work, support and services to help the child/young person  it may have conditions attached, for example: - where the child/young person is to live - who they may have contact with - attendance at programmes to help improve their behaviour

Step 4 – The Outcome  most children or young people on Supervision Requirements stay at home  the Supervision Requirement lasts as long as it is needed  it must be reviewed within a year at another Children’s Hearing

Summary  the Children’s Hearings system is a child-centred system where the child/young person’s views must be considered  it is a welfare-based system where the needs of the child are most important  it is based on the panel members and professionals working together in the best interests of the child/young person