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SASW Community of Practice - Children & Families - May 2022

Wednesday 25th May 2022 - 1.00pm - 2.30pm

Children’s Care & Justice Bill Consultation

Join us in growing our own Community of Practice and allowing Children & Families Social Workers to reflect together – in a safe environment – to improve their practice, promote the values of social work and maintain the integrity of the profession.

The Community of Practice is for children and families’ social workers who are SASW members. Non-members can attend one session before becoming a member of SASW.

The Scottish Government are consulting on the Children’s Care and Justice Bill, until 22nd June 2022. At this event we will joined by a representative from the Scottish Government’s Bill Team, who will provide the background to the consultation and the opportunity to explore specific proposals.

The key policy aims that the proposed legislation seeks to support are summarised below, taken from the consultation webpage:

  • To ensure children receive the right help and support they require, at the right time, as far as possible and appropriate without statutory intervention.
  • Where any child requires the support and intervention of formal systems, to ensure this is available through the age-appropriate children’s hearings system by raising the maximum age of referral to the Principal Reporter.
  • To ensure children are treated in a way that is trauma-informed and accounts for their age and stage of development. 
  • To maximise the use of measures to support children in the community, and with their family wherever possible. Where a child requires to be deprived of their liberty, to ensure that this only happens in age-appropriate care facilities where possible and appropriate. 
  • That cross-border placements should only occur in exceptional circumstances where the placement is in the best interests of an individual child.
  • To enhance the rights to appropriate protection, support and information for people who have been harmed irrespective of the age of the person who has caused the harm or the system dealing with their case.
  • To make other technical and procedural alterations to existing legislation in such areas where deemed necessary and appropriate.

Many of the proposed reforms are relevant to social work practice, and it is important that your views are heard in the consultation. Use this opportunity to find out more and have your say.

The CoPs are a forum to explore areas of practice chosen by our members. If you would like to suggest a topic for a future session please contact sarah.mcmillan@basw.co.uk.

The session will be held virtually via MS Teams and the link will be shared prior to the event date.