Working with Children in Need and in Need of Protection

Abstract

Children first come to the attention of social services departments for a number of reasons. Some children may be living with parents who are not able to care for them adequately. These shortcomings in parental care may be temporary or of long standing. They are likely to stem from a multitude of factors and may, in some circumstances, amount to neglect or maltreatment of the child. Many children from these families and others have problems in their own right. Some children are disabled; others have emotional and behavioural problems and, as such, may become beyond the control of parents at home and teachers at school. It is often at times of distress or crisis that help is needed for children within their families. That help can come in the form of voluntary support and services or statutory enquiries to check on the child’s safety and well-being and provide protection. At this stage, work is primarily with children within their own families, although young people adrift from their own families can be offered services in their own right.