1. Fit for the Future and for Purpose
Netta Maciver
Principal Reporter/Chief Executive
Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
Date: 25 September 2008

2. Children’s Hearings System
Care and justice system for children in Scotland.
Deals with care and protection of children as well as offending.
Key principles:
Child’s welfare should be paramount in all decisions.
Child’s views should be taken into account in decisions about them.

3. Historical Context
Rapid rise of non-offence referrals to the Reporter (graph shows number of children)

4. Historical Context (cont’d)
Recognition that not all of these referrals were necessary
Feeling that the CHS was becoming a gateway to service provision
Need to allow the Reporter to concentrate on those children requiring compulsory measures of supervision

5. The Children’s Hearings System Review
Scottish Government Review in 2004
Found broad support for the principles and ethos of the CHS
Identified some challenges and scope for change and development of the system

6. Getting it Right for Every Child
Getting it Right for Every Child established some key principles
Every child gets the help they need, when they need it
Integrated, co-ordinated approach across agencies
Child at the centre of the system

7. GIRFEC & the Children’s Hearings System
GIRFEC’s fundamental principles are aligned with those of the CHS
CHS is the means of providing compulsory intervention where necessary
Children should receive help on a voluntary basis wherever possible, without the need for referral to the Reporter
Child is always at the centre

8. Workstreams
Ministerial Task Group on non-offence referrals
Pre-referral screening initiatives
Pathfinder projects
SCRA initiatives
Single agency for the CHS

9. What’s the impact locally?
Local Authority
2006/07
2007/08
Change
Dundee
711
502
▼ 29%
Edinburgh
4,346
3,401
▼ 22%
Falkirk
1,893
1,495
▼ 21%
Highland
1,633
1,393
▼ 15%
Perth and Kinross
213
161
▼ 24%

10. What changes are we seeing?
Reduction in the rate of non-offence referrals
40,204 children in 2007/08
However numbers of Hearings and Supervision Requirements are both up in 2007/08
Hearings
Supervision Requirements
42,302
13,219
Up 1%
Up 4.5%

11. What changes are we seeing?
Child Protection Orders slightly down from 624 to 518 in 2007/08
SCRA research into CPOs in Edinburgh
30% newborn babies
Half on child protection register
52% had open referral or subject to SR
87% of grounds were lack of parental care

12. So where are we?
Reporters dealing with increasingly complex cases, but more of the right children
Change in the source of referral
Better working practices

13. Focus on outcomes-the so what question?
Looking forward
Focus on outcomes-the so what question?
For children who do not require compulsory measures
And for those who do
More multi-agency planning and delivery
Clarity around interventions
A single body-an administrative change or one that is more aspirational that can answer the so what question?