LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review on the Issues Surrounding Looked After Children in UK

Literature Review on the Issues Surrounding Looked After Children in UK

Introduction

Looked after refers to children and young people looked after by the government and there Local Authority (local council). Looked after children and young people is also used to describe "accommodated" children and young people who are children in out-of-home care as cannot live with their parents. The Local Authority provides a service to a child or young person by “looking after” them in; foster care, residential care, secure unit care, kinship care, at home but under supervision, adopted or in a therapeutic mental health unit. All children and young people who have been in care are entitled to a Through Care After Care package once they are no longer under Local Authority care, this can be up to the age of 21. A child or young person becomes looked after due to the loss or death of one or both parents, rejection by the parent, the child's behavior, substance misuse by the parent or child, family crisis e.g. health or imprisonment, physical, sexual, mental abuse by family or other, neglect, self-harm, sexual exploitation, criminal activity by child, failure to attend school. (Robert Gordon University 2006).

History of care of children and young people

Over the centuries' British society was changing and attitudes towards children changed. The Children's Act 1908 established juvenile courts and introduced the registration of foster parents. The Children Act 1948 established a children's committee and a children's officer in each local authority. The Children Act 1989 gave every child the right to protection from abuse and exploitation and the right to inquiries to safeguard their welfare. (www.guardian.co.uk)

In Scotland, in 1961 Lord Kilbrandon made recommendations to create a hearing system in order to look at children's welfare, especially children in need. With this The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 was formed. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 followed on from this act to incorporated the three key principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scottish law: protection from discrimination, ensuring that child welfare is a primary concern and listening to children's views.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 centres on the needs of children and their families and defines both parental responsibilities and rights in relation to children. It sets out the duties and powers available to public authorities to support children and their families and to intervene when the child's welfare requires it. Under pressure over serious child protection cases, the 2001Scottish executive published a children's charter, setting out how carers and professionals should protect and respect rights of children. The Protection of Children Act 1999 was passed in England, aiming to prevent paedophiles from working with children; a similar act was passed in Scotland in 2003.(Scottish Executive Publications)

Government Policies and Looked After Children

Looked After Children fall into two main categories:

Looked After and Accommodated: children and young people placed by the local authority and/or the Children's Hearings system with foster ...