Child Protection: Children's Rights in Theory and Practice

Learn to protect children..

Learn how to protect children from violence, exploitation, and neglect through law, policy, and practice in a human rights framework.

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What You'll Learn

Across the world, children are at riskfrom violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Conflict and natural disasters have forced millions to flee their homes and confront the dangers of migration and displacement. Commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, child labor, and child marriage are problems in many countries. At-risk children and adolescents need their rights enforcedif we are to protect them from harm and to ensure that they develop to their full potential.

Led by Jacqueline Bhabha, Research Director of the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, this course will teach you the causes and consequences of child protection failures. You will consider the strategies, international laws, standards, and resources required to protect all children. You will be able to link legal frameworks and child-rights approaches to the work of policymakers, lawyers, health workers, educators, law enforcement, and social workers. Learners will come to understand how they can ensure the protection of children and apply child protection strategies to their own work.

Join Harvard faculty, practitioners, and a global community of learners to master a child-centered systems approach to preventing and responding to violence, exploitation, and abuse against children.

The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will learn:

  • The origins of child protection in international human rights law
  • How to analyze global child protection issues and the diversity of actors involved in child protection
  • The impact of violence, exploitation, and abuse (VEA) on children’s emotional, social and physical development and strategies for preventing and responding to these harms
  • The standards of protection for children in conflict or in contact with the law
  • How to assess and strengthen a child protection system

Your Instructor

Jacqueline Bhabha is the Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is also the Director of Research at Harvard’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, the Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Lecturer at Harvard Law School, and an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. She received a first class honors degree and an MSc from Oxford University, and a JD from the College of Law in London. From 1997 to 2001 Bhabha founded and directed the Human Rights Program at the University of Chicago. Prior to 1997, she was a practicing human rights lawyer in London and at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. She serves on the board of the Scholars at Risk Network, the World Peace Foundation and the Journal of Refugee Studies.

  • The Legal Foundation of Child Protection
  • Defining and Measuring Child Protection
  • Causes and Consequences of Violence
  • Strategies for Preventing and Addressing Violence
  • Examples of Preventing and Addressing Violence
  • Children in Conflict with the Law
  • Children in Contact with the Law
  • Migrant Children and the Law
  • Components of a Child Protection System
  • Identifying Problems in Child Protection System
  • Global and Local Action to Strengthen Child Protection Systems

Ways to take this course

When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.

A Verified Certificate costs $149 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate. 

Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums.  Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

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Essay on Child Protection

Students are often asked to write an essay on Child Protection in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Child Protection

Understanding child protection.

Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from harm. It involves measures and structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation affecting children.

Importance of Child Protection

Children are the future of our society. Protecting them ensures a safer, healthier, and happier world. Child protection helps them grow and develop without fear, promoting their mental and physical well-being.

Role of Society

Everyone has a role in child protection. Teachers, parents, and even children themselves can contribute. By being vigilant and reporting any signs of harm, we can keep children safe.

Child protection is a crucial element of a thriving society. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of children.

Also check:

  • Speech on Child Protection

250 Words Essay on Child Protection

Introduction.

Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. It’s a critical aspect of ensuring the holistic development of a child, enabling them to grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.

The Importance of Child Protection

Child protection is a fundamental human right, enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It’s a vital prerequisite for the overall well-being of children and the future prosperity of societies. By protecting children, we not only ensure their physical and mental health but also contribute to the development of resilient, productive adults.

Challenges in Child Protection

Despite global efforts, child protection remains a significant challenge due to factors like poverty, social norms condoning harmful practices, and inadequate legal frameworks. Additionally, conflicts and crises exacerbate the vulnerability of children, making child protection even more critical.

The Role of Society in Child Protection

Society plays a crucial role in child protection. It’s the responsibility of every individual to report instances of child abuse and neglect. Schools and community organizations should implement child protection policies and provide safe environments for children.

In conclusion, child protection is a collective responsibility that requires concerted efforts from individuals, communities, and governments. It’s an investment in the future, ensuring that children grow into healthy, productive adults who can contribute positively to society.

500 Words Essay on Child Protection

Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. This is a global issue that requires the collective effort of individuals, communities, and governments. The importance of child protection cannot be overstated as it directly impacts the physical, emotional, and psychological development of children, shaping the adults they become.

The Scope of Child Protection

Child protection encompasses a wide range of issues. These include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, exploitation such as child labor and child trafficking, and violence in the form of bullying or domestic violence. It is not limited to the home environment, but extends to schools, community spaces, and online platforms. With the advent of digital technology, children are now vulnerable to cyberbullying and online predators, expanding the scope of child protection.

Legislation and Policy Frameworks

Numerous international, national, and regional laws and policies have been implemented to protect children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most universally accepted set of standards for children’s rights. It provides a comprehensive framework for governments to develop legislation and policies focused on child protection. However, the effectiveness of these laws and policies varies significantly across different regions due to factors such as cultural norms, enforcement mechanisms, and economic resources.

The Role of Education

Education plays a crucial role in child protection. Schools should not only provide a safe environment but also equip children with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves. This includes teaching them about their rights, how to identify and report abuse, and how to navigate the digital world safely. Furthermore, education can break the cycle of abuse and exploitation by providing children with opportunities for a better future.

Community Involvement

Child protection is not solely the responsibility of the government or the education sector. The community plays a significant role in creating a safe environment for children. Community members can contribute by being vigilant, reporting suspected abuse, and supporting families in crisis. Community-based organizations can also provide resources and services to vulnerable children and their families.

Child protection is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach. It is not enough to merely have laws and policies in place. Effective child protection requires the active involvement of schools, communities, and each individual. It also requires addressing the root causes of child abuse and exploitation, such as poverty and societal norms. As future leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that every child is protected and has the opportunity to thrive.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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  • Essay on Child Rights
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Child Protection Essay

essay about child protection law

The Mission Of The Child Protection Services Agency

to the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, the mission of the child protection services agency is to assess the safety of children, intervene to protect children from harm, strengthen the ability of families to protect their children, and to provide a reunification or an alternative safe family for child ("Home - Child Welfare Information Gateway," n.d.). The purpose of a case plan is an arrangement or ground plan that a child protection services professionals’ uses with a

Buckner Child Protection

In today’s society more and more children are experiencing the brokenness that comes alongside living in an abusive home. Child abuse has progressively become a widespread problem in the United States. Every day approximately five children die at the hands of an abuser, and every year more than three million reports of child abuse are made (Eads 2). The government has a system to assist those suffering from abuse, but with all the lacking factors, one wonders what beneficial help these children are

Child Protection

Every single child in the world regardless of race, culture, gender, age deserves to be loved, cared for and kept free from harm and abuse. Children have a right to enjoy their childhood free from violence, injury or abuse at the hands of adults. This right is preserved in law, from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child down to national laws and guidelines which cover all children not just those that are abused and neglected. In 1987 the Department of Health introduced the Child Abuse guidelines

Child Protection In The 1800s

In the United States, the history of child protective services are divided into three eras; before organized child protection, creation and growth of organized child protection, and government-sponsored child protection services. The first time that child protection was organized was in 1875 by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Myers, p. 449). Before 1875, children did not have the protection that is practiced today and the intervention to protect children was uncommon

Importance Of Child Protection In Safeguarding

Safeguarding is the action taken to ensure the safety and well-being of children as well as protecting them from harm, abuse and exploitation. Child protection is a part of safeguarding it ensures the protection and welfare of children. There are two elements that come under child protection these are the health and safety and child abuse. Children should be protected from any type of abuse, there are five types of abuse that children can become victims of these are physical abuse, neglect, sexual

Child Protection Plan (SNAICC)

The SNAICC currently provides services for child protection, social justice and human rights, early childhood support and family and community support. The Secretariat National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care association currently offers a child protection plan which is receptive to the needs of Aboriginal and Islander children and their families. By offering a child protection plan SNAICC provides services to promote the independence in child support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Child Protection Reform Paper

processes. Spratt ,( 2001) also identified two other significant ideologies that have influenced child protection reform and these are bureaucratic and technocratic ideology. This change in ideology provided different child protection work practices, solutions, case management systems that were more legalistic and bureaucratic and it involved more layers of accountability Howe (1992) One of the criticisms of technocratic ideology is that it tends to exclude other ways of improving the skills of

Introduction Child abuse has been a big issue in the world for a long time. There has not always been child protective services like there is now. Children would be abused and neglected and nothing was being done because it was not being reported. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was the world’s first organization in the late 1800s which was dedicated totally to child protection (Myers, 2008). Child Protection Before the year 1875, many children were not protected from

Child Protection Service

  • 7 Works Cited

domestic violence in approximately 41 to 43 percent of cases resulting in the critical injury or deal of a child” (Bragg 2003, 9). As one can see from reading the many effects domestic abuse has on children it is critical that something happens to help stop these children from experiencing domestic abuse and the symptoms that come with it. Now taking a look at possible reasons why child protective services could not be involved. The main concern is that CPS workers already have a great deal of

Child Protection Policy

THE CHILD PROTECTION POLICY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATISTICS          NCR CAR REGION REGION REGION REGION REGION REGION REGION I II III IV-A IV-B V VI - - 59 1 4 2 4 22 3 0 1        REGION REGION REGION REGION REGION REGION REGION VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII- 5 2 4 1 1 2 1 CHILD ABUSE AND RELATED COMPLAINTS REFERRED TO CENTRAL OFFICE AS OF AUGUST, 2010 TO PRESENT Physical, Verbal and Sexual Abuse and Violence inflicted by Teachers &

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Child protection, every child has the right to live free from violence, exploitation and abuse..

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Overview  |  What we do  |  Reports  |  Data  |  News

Children experience insidious forms of violence, exploitation and abuse. It happens in every country, and in the places children should be most protected – their homes, schools and communities. Violence against children can be physical, emotional or sexual. And in many cases, children suffer at the hands of the people they trust.

Children in humanitarian settings are especially vulnerable. During armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies, children may be forced to flee their homes, some torn from their families and exposed to exploitation and abuse along the way. They risk injury and death. They may be recruited by armed groups. Especially for girls and women, the threat of gender-based violence soars.

Harmful cultural practices pose another grave risk in various parts of the world. Hundreds of millions of girls have been subjected to child marriage and female genital mutilation – even though both are internationally recognized human rights violations.

No matter the circumstance, every child has the right to be protected from violence. Child protection systems connect children to vital social services and fair justice systems – starting at birth. They provide care to the most vulnerable, including children uprooted by conflict or disaster; victims of child labour or trafficking; and those who live with disabilities or in alternative care. Protecting children means protecting their physical and psychosocial needs to safeguard their futures. 

UNICEF works in more than 150 countries to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse. We partner with governments, businesses, civil society organizations and communities to prevent all forms of violence against children and to support survivors. Our efforts strengthen child protection systems to help children access vital social services, from birth through adolescence.

During a humanitarian crisis, we provide leadership and coordination for all actors involved in the response. Our programming focuses on protecting children from explosive weapons and remnants of war; reunifying separated children with their families; releasing and reintegrating children associated with armed groups; preventing and addressing gender-based violence; and safeguarding children from sexual exploitation and abuse. We also work with United Nations partners to monitor and report grave violations of children’s rights in armed conflict.

Alongside communities, we accelerate the elimination of harmful practices, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.

We also support governments with policy, legislation and regulatory frameworks that give more children access to social services and justice.

Throughout all we do, we listen to young people to ensure their needs drive our work.

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Over 230 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation — UNICEF

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Child Protection and Safety in Practice

Introduction.

Children are society’s prospects and should be protected and nurtured accordingly, away from abuse and neglect. The Children Act (2004) legislation ensures that parents, families and communities receive fair, ethical and legal treatment of children to keep them free from abuse. According to (Dubowitz et al., 2011), a child s welfare can be affected by abuse and neglect in various ways, such as psychological difficulties that can cause educational problems, depression, and trouble maintaining relationships. Moreover, protecting children from maltreatment at an early year and educational setting can effectively safeguard the child’s health and development. Zeanah et al. (2018) state that safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare will result in taking action to ensure the best outcomes for all children. Thus, multi agencies join to share information and goals to intervene early in the children’s learning and achievements. Although multiagency has some benefits, it has its cons too, which inhibit collaborative working. Thus, individuals participating in multiagency work need skills and knowledge to be effective practitioners, such as good communicators (Munro,2019). This essay intends to expound on child protection, safety practices and how multiagency works.

Ways that child welfare can be affected by abuse and neglect

According to (Horwitz et al., 2011), child abuse and neglect are any actions that interfere with a child’s ability to learn, thrive, and grow in their environment. Child abuse relates to the physical, emotional or sexual exploitation by either parents, guardians or the community that is violent or threatening to the child. However, neglect is a form of child abuse that caregivers fail to provide basic needs such as proper shelter, health care, and emotional and safety needs. For example, emotional abuse such as yelling and humiliation will affect a child’s welfare as it will cause a lack of confidence, anger problems, conduct problems and underachievement. Moreover, neglect such as inadequate supervision can cause a child to use drugs, showing that the caregiver may not adequately care for the child. This will impact the child’s overall health and have psychological consequences that lead to high-risk behaviors.

ACE stands for the adverse childhood experiences that have potentially terrifying ordeals that occurred in their childhood. The experiences result in toxic stress due to frequent exposure to violence, abuse and neglect. According to (Jacobi et al.,2010), children that experience toxic stress in early life are at risk of adverse health effects such as mental illness, heart disease and unhealthy lifestyles. Moreover, toxic stress has more effects, such as weakening the developing brain, which later causes lifelong problems in learning behavior., It also leads to more physical illness and poor long-term health outcomes, such as alcoholism, cancer, obesity, and chronic obstructive pulmonary ddisease, amongothers. Gould et al. (2012) show that adults with low levels of parental warmth and affection and high levels of abuse have the highest health risk factors.

Contemporary society has also been the cause of abuse and neglect among children in the modern era. During the pandemic, there was an increase in child abuse as children were isolated in homes to contain the virus. It increased abuse as the signs were not noticeable to others due to stay-at-home orders. According to (Dubowitz et al., 2011), pandemics increased most parental stress and intrafamilial tension, leading to an increase in adverse childhood experiences such as domestic violence, abuse and neglect, causing aggression, depression and emotional problems in children. Moreover, an increase in the use of technology has led to cyberbullying and online threats that facilitate child abuse. For example, a child with access to online accounts who are abused online or given threats tends to be at risk of depression and thus have social interaction issues.

Safeguarding and child protection

The action, practices, and policies taken to protect children from abuse and maltreatment and promote their well-being are referred to as safeguarding. Child protection, on the other hand, is the action taken to protect children who are at risk of harm or are already experiencing significant harm. (Munro,2019) defines safeguarding as the prevention of harm, whereas child protection is the response to harm. It is important as it allows for intervention before the crisis and improves outcomes for those involved while considering the child’s best interests. Also, it allows child protection referrals to help those suffering from significant harm and prevent concerns from escalating. For example, NSPCC advocates against cruelty to children and that every child deserves to be protected. It sets out the policy, statutory guidance and legislation on how child protection works. In addition, local authorities play a lead role in safeguarding and protecting children, but everyone has a role when they come into contact with kids and families to protect them (Parton,2011). Moreover, voluntary organizations, faith groups and private sector providers are responsible for protecting and safeguarding children.

Some agencies, such as child protection services, are responsible for providing child protection and responding to reports of child abuse and neglect. (McFadden et al., 2015) state that the services link children to critical social services and just justice systems. For example, Birmingham’s local children safeguarding partnership objective is to support local agencies in a system where children are safeguarded and welfare promoted. Also, it provides safeguarding learning and development opportunities for professionals working with children and families. The right help and time framework ensures that the various needs are met such as universal, universal plus, additional and significant needs according to the situation involved.

The Children Act (2004) requires local governments to promote and protect the welfare of needy children by providing services that are appropriate to their needs. The child protection process takes place by sharing information, assessing if the child is likely to suffer serious harm, and determining the type of harm. Moreover, the child protection process is check on risk of harm, harm done due to the care they receive and then decide if the child needs a protection plan (Lambert et al., 2014). A child is in this specialist service to be served with emotional support and be helped to develop a family coping strategy while protecting children. As a result, children and young people who come into contact with the child safety system will be assisted by specialist services. It creates a legal obligation to protect children and young people in schools and colleges.

Multiagency working

Multiagency working is teamwork across organizations to deliver services to children with multiple needs. According to (Munro, 2019), It is an approach in which professionals from various agencies collaborate to find safeguarding solutions and provide support to those affected by abuse and neglect. It is important as it effectively addresses a wide range of risk factors while making a unique contribution to early intervention services (Zeanah et al.,2018). Although multiagency has its benefits, it faces some potential barriers, such as a lack of effective communication will lead to a lack of shared understanding making it easier to collaborate. Not promoting a multiagency approach will result in neglect, especially If an individual can make a poor decision, unlike in a shared working. For example, a stressed manager working with vulnerable kids will make a rush decision on where to send the child rather than researching it. It will make a practitioner more strained due to the overloaded work strain, which can be effectively handled in a multiagency environment.

An effective individual practitioner needs skills and ethical considerations in multiagency working. Effective practitioners should have good communication either between the parent and the child. Crittenden (2013) states that this will make it easy to work together and build trusting relationships as there is understanding while the procedure is keenly followed and is effective in direct work with families. Early help is support given to a family when a problem first appears in order to improve outcomes for children. It can help a child’s home and family life, as well as their academic performance and mental health. As a result, it is critical because it helps to reach the child’s full support while reducing the need for a referral to child protection services (Parton,2011). It is effectively accomplished by working together through monitoring programs to respond to the various levels of need that children and families may face.

A social worker can be involved in early help to undertake as the lead practitioner. They assist families and children by improving well-being and assisting in meeting all people’s basic and complex needs, with a focus on those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. (Jacobi et al., 2010). A social worker helps by recommending other professionals to provide services and assistance that best fits their situation. For example, a social worker can partner with different support agencies to ensure care is taken and provide coping strategies. The Children Act (2004) legislation safeguards vulnerable groups, and their policy is to avoid harm and risk of harm while protecting children from maltreatment.

 Keeping children safe within Early Years and Education Settings

The Early Help Agenda safeguards a child who has been identified as experiencing or at risk of experiencing significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect. It supports practitioners as they can spot safeguarding issues because of their close contact with the children and adolescents in their care (Lambert et al., 2014). Moreover, it supports practitioners in working effectively with children and families. It provides an understanding of the child’s day-to-day needs while stimulating their physical, educational and emotional development to ensure the child is protected and safeguarded. It is important as it helps them cope with their day-to-day pressures while working on a collaborative approach to protect them from abuse.

The guidance says to promote children’s well-being working together per the Children Act (2004) in early years and in an educational setting to safeguard and protect the child. This guidance shows that the services offered, such as social services, are free to ensure children are safe in their early years and in school. The role is to identify any abuse on a child, analyze and listen carefully to the abuse, involve a practitioner early to ensure that the child is safeguarded and protected and ensure that their early years and educational setting are safe.

DSL, the designated safeguarding lead, is present in every organization dealing with children’s needs. Their role is to ensure that child protection files are kept up to date and are confidential and stored securely. Also, the person is responsible for child protection and safeguarding across early-year school settings by gathering evidence for any referral. According to (McFadden et al., 2015), a DSL’s role is to assist staff members in carrying out their safeguarding responsibilities and to maintain close contact with social services for children and other services. Moreover, DSL ought to be familiar with the local authority’s safeguarding procedures to ensure safeguarding policy and child protection are met.

Providing curriculum links to educate children about keeping themselves safe is essential to keep children safe in their early years and educational setting. According to (Jacobi et al., 2010), simple support programs for children and parents can be the best way to prevent abuse. Having after-school activities for education helps children to know their rights and thus makes them less likely to think abuse is their fault and more likely to report the offender. Moreover, knowing child abuse and its signs can effectively help keep children safe as it will be easier to recognize and provide early help to the children and improve their lives.

Case study review

The predisposing factors for abuse and neglect may include family crisis, family isolation and inadequate parenting skills. In the case study, moving caused the imprisonment of John, having limited contact with members and Casey has inadequate parenting skills according to how she responds to issues regarding the kids. These factors affect how the kids respond and react to others. The level of need depends on the right time; the right help framework is an additional need. In the case study, the children and the family need substantial support, but it can be managed without social intervention. This family needs food parcel support as Claire struggles to pay the bills. Furthermore, difficulty in controlling behavior where Noah’s behavior is outrageous; this can be supported by the child on specific learning programs to determine and help the child from abuse or neglect.

The professional practitioner can help by partnering with other agencies to ensure the necessary support is met for the children. Working together as a family with the help of a professional can allow identification of the problem and provide a solution at an early stage (Munro,2019). Thus, the role of the practitioner is to be present and offer comfort to the children. For example, in Noah’s case, a practitioner can offer emotional and loving support when acting out rather than distracting them. The strategy can be behavioral therapy for a parent to improve coping skills and strengthen the parent-child relationship while using a positive discipline strategy to avoid abuse and ensure no neglect of the kids. Moreover, having a DSL, according to the children act (2004), will endure that the necessary steps are taken to protect and support children while providing a point of contact between child protection policies where necessary (Parton,2011).

Social workers, child psychologists and academic staff are some of the professionals that could be involved. A social worker will ensure that the family is kept together and doing the best for the family. In contrast, academic staff will ensure a clear understanding of stages of development and recognize signs of abuse or neglect (Crittenden,2013). The professionals are majorly involved as they ensure the child’s welfare and protection in the home setting while preventing and reporting cases of abuse. The psychologist will help deal with the children’s emotional, social and intellectual development. These professionals contribute to the concrete support of the need and emotional competencies of the children.

A family hub can be involved to support the family and children in an early setting to get help in the appropriate manner and at the right time. In the case study, family circumstances have changed, causing challenges. As children develop, the family may require additional and joined-up support services to help with the change in environment for both eth family and children. It will help the practitioners to improve the quality of a child’s home and perform better while supporting their mental health.

 Conclusion

in conclusion, a child’s welfare is critical in the early years, and thus abuse and neglect can lead to factors such as depression and emotional and social instability. There are various ways that a child can be affected by abuse and neglect, such as toxic stress. Current stances, such as the pandemic or the influence of the modern era, may accelerate this factor. With this, safeguarding and child protection is essential as it is necessary to ensure every child is safe and the right level of need is offered to provide for the child. Also, specialist services may be offered to support children facing significant harm or those affected. A multiagency working can facilitate it to ensure collaboration, covering, and setting a high ground to prevent abuse. Also, keeping children safe at an early year and providing early help is essential.

Crittenden, P., 2013.  Raising parents: Attachment, parenting and child safety . Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203069776/raising-parents-patricia-crittenden

Dubowitz, H., Kim, J., Black, M.M., Weisbart, C., Semiatin, J. and Magder, L.S., 2011. Identifying children at high risk for a child maltreatment report.  Child abuse & neglect ,  35 (2), pp.96-104. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213411000135

Gould, F., Clarke, J., Heim, C., Harvey, P.D., Majer, M. and Nemeroff, C.B., 2012. The effects of child abuse and neglect on cognitive functioning in adulthood.  Journal of psychiatric research ,  46 (4), pp.500-506. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022395612000064

Horwitz, S.M., Hurlburt, M.S., Cohen, S.D., Zhang, J. and Landsverk, J., 2011. Predictors of placement for children who initially remained in their homes after an investigation for abuse or neglect.  Child Abuse & Neglect ,  35 (3), pp.188-198. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213411000536

Jacobi, G., Dettmeyer, R., Banaschak, S., Brosig, B. and Herrmann, B., 2010. Child abuse and neglect: diagnosis and management.  Deutsches Arzteblatt International ,  107 (13), p.231. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855177/

Lambert, R., Abbott-Shim, M. and Sibley, A., 2014. Evaluating the quality of early childhood educational settings. In  Handbook of research on the education of young children  (pp. 475-494). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315045511-37/evaluating-quality-early-childhood-educational-settings-richard-lambert-martha-abbott-shim-annette Sibley

McFadden, P., Campbell, A. and Taylor, B., 2015. Resilience and burnout in child protection social work: Individual and organizational themes from a systematic literature review. The British Journal of Social Work ,  45 (5), pp.1546-1563. https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article-abstract/45/5/1546/1622707

Munro, E., 2019.  Effective child protection . Sage. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Z8m1DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=child+safety+and+multi+agency+working&ots=8Dgs43IgoE&sig=0WeyTO4emPqo5ssJ-ozmLQtAdDU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=child%20safety%20and%20multi%20agency%20working&f=false

Parton, N., 2011. Child protection and safeguarding in England: Changing and competing conceptions of risk and their implications for social work.  British Journal of Social Work ,  41 (5), pp.854-875. https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article-abstract/41/5/854/1635158

Zeanah, C.H. and Humphreys, K.L., 2018. Child abuse and neglect.  Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ,  57 (9), pp.637-644. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890856718303332

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Child Protection Law Essay

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Child Protection Law Essay

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Child Protection in the UK Essay

Child protection basically refers to the welfare and safety of a child by protecting them from bodily, emotional, neglect and sexual abuse. According to UNICEF, 2006, child protection refers to prevention and response to violence, abuse, as well as exploitation against children. These include child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, child labour, in addition to other destructive traditional practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) and marriage of children.

Children are subjected to violation of their rights all over the world, but despite of the extent, very few incidences are reported and under-recognized impediments to child development and survival besides being violations to basic human rights.

The convention on the rights of the child (1989), candidly elaborates children’s fundamental rights as encompassing “the right to be protected from economic exploitation and harmful work, from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse, and from physical or mental violence. The law also ensuring that children will not be separated from their family against their will” (UNICEF, 2006, P.1).

The development of the child protection system in the United Kingdom has been distorted by two factors namely; the impact of media reporting and the way in which celebrated child abuse tragedies have been handled. This essay is geared towards discussing both sides of the coin concerning the two factors mentioned earlier and possible solutions to save the situation.

There are various agencies charged with the responsibility of child protection, for instance in Wales and England, the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) gives statutory guidance to local authorities. In Northern Ireland, it is the department of health, social services, and public safety (DHSSPS) while in Scotland it is the Scottish government, which guides the local authorities.

These agencies have put in measures to ensure cooperation between the agencies through the safeguarding boards. For instance, in England and Wales, the local safeguarding children’s boards (LCSBs) guarantee that the main agencies charged with protecting children work efficiently and jointly in supporting and safeguarding children’s welfare locally (NSPCC, 2010, p.2). LSBCs are more effective as they replaced the non-statutory and core membership is outlined in the Children Act, 2004.

This body incorporates police, local authorities, and health bodies among others. In Northern Ireland, a multiagency ACPCs, (Area Child Protection Committees) is the central point for ensuring local cooperation to protect children who are specifically considered as facing a major harm. Currently reforms are underway to instill change in protection services that include establishing a statutory regional Safeguarding Board (SBNI).

In Scotland there are 30 local child protection committees (CPCs) charged with child protection systems in their relevant fields (NSPCC, 2010, p.4). They comprise representatives from diverse backgrounds like the police, local authorities, children services, voluntary sector, and health bodies. However, in Scotland no Safeguarding Boards have been introduced yet.

Looking at child protection in the UK at the local level, children’s services by local authority are in charge of planning and protection services for the children. In England, all children services’ authorities must have a children and a young people’s plan as per the Children Act 2004 in order to offer premeditated bearing to the entire services to children. They should also establish a trust for children that will oversee planning, commissioning, and adequate delivery of children’s services.

On 1 April 2010, a children’s trust board was established following a statutory direction. The director in charge of children’s services is proficiently answerable for services delivered by the children’s trust for example, social services, and education. In addition, an elected councilor is chosen as “lead member” for the services. The lea member, the director and LSCB are in charge of creating and putting into operation the child protection systems as well as policies for professionals who work with children (NSPCC, 2010, p.6).

Various laws that govern the child protection in the UK and this legislation paves way for prosecution of people accused of child harm or abuse. This legislation has been in existence since the 1880s; however, following a sequence of sophisticated deaths because of child abuse culminated into ensuing inquiries that have birthed the recent systems of child protection. A case in study is the first formal inquiry into a death of a child by the Curtis Committee in England, named Dennis O’Neill in 1945(Laming, 2003).

His foster father killed Dennis at the age of 12. However, Maria Colwell who died at the age of seven in 1973 is the wheel behind the founding of current child protection organization. There were further changes instigated by deaths of other children especially Jasmine Beckford who died at the age of four, in 1984(Laming, 2003).

Today, the legislative structure for child protection system in England and Wales is established in The Children Act 1989. In Northern Ireland the framework is instituted in the Children Order 1995, while in Scotland it is the Children Act (Scotland) 1995 (NSPCC, 2010, p.6). There have been several amendments to the Children Act 1989 following a legislation, which was fueled by the Lord Laming’s inquiry.

This was an inquiry into the death of an eight year old by the name of Victoria climbie back in 2000, which piloted the publishing of Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) by the government (NSPCC, 2010, p.9). Later, the Children Act 2004 was established to provide a legal outline for the program. Although, it did not replace the Children Act 1989, it brought about radical changes to the system through which children’ services were planned in Wales and England: it became fully operational amid 2006 and 2008 (Munro, 2011).

The media in every society plays a great role in shaping the social aspect of that society. The media is a socialization agent whose importance cannot be overlooked. It changes the behavior of the people as well as their attitudes towards certain issues in the society.

Through the media, the aspects of the society that are inappropriate are easily demonstrated and therefore mechanisms of dealing with them come to place. When an issue becomes a highlight in the media it becomes a central focus for the whole society. This is the same impact that the media has on the child protection system in the U.K. The media reporting on child protection system have had both positive and negative effects. This has been evidenced in a number of child abuse cases reported before (Munro, 2011).

On a positive note, the media has been instrumental in enhancing awareness of the child protection issues, legal structures present in case of harm. They also expose cases where children have been exploited or abused. In addition, they advertise the toll free numbers in case of abuse as well as keeping all stakeholders like social workers and the government on their toes regarding children protection system.

It has informed on the need to report cases of child abuse and thus making it easier for the local authorities and the government to provide children protection services. To some extend it has steered public confidence in the UK protection system especially coverage on a successful delivery to an abused, exploited or neglected child. Through research and its extensive search for information, the media helps expose facts that are not available to the social workers or the local authorities (Galilee, 2007).

This can also be seen in the light of increased number of articles and journals tackling child abuse allowing increased coverage on the issues that concern child abuse. This information is valuable for the success of the child protection policy. The media also passes on very educational and helpful messages using adult fiction, children’s fiction as well as different features or editorials from the print and broadcast media (Ayre, 2001, p.880).

The media differentiates between normal and deviant behavior making it easy to understand child abuse. When some behaviors are exhibited, children may not be able to understand that it is wrong in the first place and that their rights are being violated. Through the media they can therefore differentiate what is abuse and what is not. On the same note, the media acts as a watchdog for the people to ensure that the provisions, for instance, of the Children Act are well adhered to.

It also reflects on the government and society’s failure in handling child abuse. The media will audaciously expose government’s failure in uncovering the death of an abused child. In addition, another child’s death resulting from abuse leads to revisiting of previous tragedies. This is good for holding everyone responsible (Goddard &Saunders, 2001).

However, various researchers have shown that media coverage on child protection in most instances does more harm than good. One of the key concerns is the portrayal of social workers and social work. Views from different individuals and researchers over the last thirty years have indicated that the media misrepresents social work and especially the press reporting by giving undue negative and biased reporting of social workers and social work.

Furthermore, a high percentage of reporting by the media on social work is on child welfare and abuse (Vallianatos, 2001). This has to some extend created hostility and mistrust towards the social workers as he service users feel that they are dealing with incompetent service providers. This further leads to a representative conclusion that the profession is unskilled in speaking to the outside world, moreover is equally apprehensive of journalists (Galilee, 2007).

An interesting feature is evidenced in relating the relationship between social work and newsworthiness. Most of the social work stories especially on child abuse are slow and generally do not meet the requirements of the news value. However, social work stories occupy headlines when there is a case of immense failure. For example in the Beckford inquiry as mush as the news qualified as news values, the image of social workers was put at stake (Elsley, 2010).

They were described as “naïve, susceptible, negligent, incompetent, and untrained besides being powerful, heartless bureaucrats” (Galilee, 2007). In the Cleveland sex abuse case the perspective on social workers were similarly described as incompetent and powerful bureaucrats. Additionally, they were depicted as indecisive when put together to handle a problem. The daily mirror on July, 6, 1988 described social workers for children as having “laid back attitude, lack of accountability, and being too easily susceptible to ‘trendy’ theories” (Galilee, 2007).

The case was also depicted as a dispute between the state’s dedication to look after children and parents’ responsibility to implement a corresponding paternalism. This has led to creation of mistrust in the system and deprofessionalization of social work.

During the three decades, other issues regarding the role of the media and child protection have also surfaced. It also emerged that melodramatic reporting of a string of fêted child exploitation and abuse scandals specifically in England and Wales led to continual denigration in the media of the child welfare organizations considered blameworthy for those children’s’ deaths. The media has contributed to the conception of a climate of distrust, blame and fear which is seemingly rife in the area of child protection.

This is indicative of destructive alterations introduced into the child protection system following the self-protective reactions of pertinent authorities both locally and nationally to the mass media ambush (Ayre, 2001, p.881).

Despite the efforts to use more resources to enhance the intricacy, scope, and legislation of the child protection law, the public confidence has remained obstinately and frighteningly low. This is because of media coverage and handling of the previous tragedies. Those celebrated scandals called for a lot of public attention and increased response in both the broadcast and print media. Whereas this awareness created by the coverage had the potential to have a positive effect on child protection system; it did exactly the opposite.

This is because there emerged antagonistic public pillorying in the media over the child agencies involved (Ayre & Preston, 2010). There was also the publication of the in-depth recommendations following the involvement of the public inquiries into the cases made to the welfare agencies. A climate of blame has also prevailed to this effect. Either this is clearly evidenced in media reporting where it is the government or the child abuse professionals are to blame who turn the blame to the family. This has created more tension working against the protection system.

The urge for the journalists to sell news has driven them into constructing news with immediacy and tailoring drama in order to sell. This has led to a climate of fear, for example there is more coverage on sex abuse scandals. The media portrays sex abuse as coming from unknown assailants and not someone familiar to the child (Goddard &Saunders, 2001).

Moral panic therefore results from overdramatizing these activities to extreme events of sex rings, murder, and abduction of children into care by the social workers and thus over-sensitizing the underlying risks. This fear also extends to not only the public, but also the professional groups and policy makers (Ayre, 2001, p. 885).

Media coverage on child abuse or protection create a mistrust between the public, policy makers and politicians on one side and professionals dealing with child protection on the other. Substantial anxiety is brought forth in relationships through the adversarial nature of child protection system. Severally, child protection professionals have been described as “child stealers who steal sleeping children at night” in the media (Vallianatos, 2001).

They are seen as trusting individual with very liberal working ethics. This has worsened public confidence in the protection system. It is common knowledge that in the media “good news is no news” therefore there is no much regard is granted to the everyday successes of the agencies and the protecting system after a successful detection of abuse, and prevention of fatal injuries or even death.

The focus is to dwell on the failures in order to “produce” news. Although its not only the media will want to display a better image of child protection, those in the child welfare profession want a better image too.

Media reporting and the way previous cases on child abuse and resulting deaths has great an impact on the success of the child protection system in the United Kingdom. This has proven to be a tough fight for the government to win given the public perception, attitudes, and lack of confidence in the system.

The government has tried to deal with the previous cases with a considerable gravity (Boateng, 2003), for instance in Victoria Climbie’s case several changes were introduced in the legislation system better protection for the children.

This was also evidenced in the handling cases of Maria Colwel and Jasmine Beckford; which saw major changes on the Children Act 1989. Despite these measures the blame and lack of confidence still lurks. There is a need to understand that this is not entirely and exclusively the responsibility of the government and social workers (Parton, et.al 1997).

A more feasible solution to these perceptions is the need to emphasize that the family has the greatest role to play in child protection. The family comes in by primarily preventing the abuse and exploitation of children right under their noses, in their homes. Previous research and past cases indicate that close family members and neighbors perpetrate child abuse. As the primary socializing agent, the family has the responsibility of instilling the right morals on its members and teaching them what to do if abused even when the parents are not around.

They should also teach children to check out for early signs of any abuse. The family can also support the protection system by supporting the social workers when required to give any information regarding child welfare. They should also change the underlying perceptions as mapped by the media (Tunstill & Hughes 2006).

Social workers should change the way they handle the media concerning child abuse. There has been a “somewhat” a cold war between the two parties. As much as the media might misrepresent their work, they are not able to face the public (Colton, et.al, 2001). The media on the other hand should respect ethics governing their work and keep away from tailoring news to sell more and in the process creating fear, blame and mistrust among the public.

The media should also give information, which is not exaggerated and unnecessary emphasis on the failure of various stakeholders in this regard. It should stop overemphasizing on strangers or outsiders as the main perpetrators of violence, abuse against the children, and let them understand that people around them even among family members and friends can violate their rights (Ayre & Preston, 2010).

The government on the other hand should ensure that it enhances the image of the protection system. Its legislations should be geared towards enhancing the welfare of the children and not otherwise. For example, the NHS bill passed recently is set to jeopardise the child protection especially if misinterpreted.

Finally, the media, child abuse professionals, and the government should all avoid using child protection as means of enhancing their image at the expense of the children (Hetal, 2010). In addition, child protection should not be driven by the urge to get funding.

Reference List

Ayre, P. 2001, “Child protection and the media: lessons from the last three decades”, British journal of social work, vol. 31 no.1, pp. 887-901.

Ayre, P. & Preston-Shoot, M. 2010, Children’s Services at the Crossroads: A Critical Evaluation of Contemporary Policy for Practice , Russell House, Lyme Regis.

Boateng, P. 2003, Every Child Matters . Web.

Colton, M., Sanders, R. and Williams, M. 2001, An Introduction to Working with Children , Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Elsley, S. 2010, Media Coverage of Child Deaths in the UK: The impact of Baby P: A Case for Influence? Briefing No 8, Centre for UK-wide Learning in Child Protection , University of Edinburgh, London.

Galilee, J. 2007, 21 st century social work: Literature Review on Media Representations of Social Work and Social Workers . Web.

Goddard, C., Saunders, B 2001, Child abuse and the media : child abuse prevention . Web.

Hetal, P. 2010, A Guide to Social Workers, Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Laming, H. 2003, The Victoria Climbie Inquiry . Web.

Munro, E. 2011, The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report – A Child Centered System . Web.

NSPCC 2010, Child protection fact sheet . Web.

Parton, N., Thorpe, D. & Wattam, C. 1997, Child protection, Risk and the Moral Order , Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Tunstill, J., Aldgate, J., & Hughes, M. 2006, Improving Children’s Services Networks: Lessons from Family Centers , Jessica Kingsley, London.

UNICEF 2006, Child Protection Information Sheet: what is child protection? pg. 1-2. Web.

Vallianatos, C 2001, She puts social work in the news . Web.

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Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)

Alert: On Feb. 14, 2023, USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update when an immigrant visa “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age for noncitizens seeking lawful permanent resident status in a preference category. This guidance is effective immediately and applies to adjustment of status applications we adjudicate on or after Feb. 14, 2023.

If we previously denied your adjustment of status application, but you believe your CSPA age calculation is under 21 under this policy guidance, you may file a motion to reopen your application using a Notice of Appeal or Motion ( Form I-290B ). Noncitizens must generally file motions to reopen within 30 days of the decision. For a motion filed more than 30 days after the denial, if the noncitizen demonstrates that the delay was reasonable and was beyond their control, we may, in our discretion, excuse the untimely filing of the motion.

For more information, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2, of the USCIS Policy Manual .

Note:  Certain forms, including Form I-290B, have a filing fee. You must submit the correct filing fee for each form unless you are exempt or eligible for a fee waiver. Please see the  Filing Fees  page for more information.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old. If someone applies for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status as a child but turns 21 before being approved for LPR status (also known as getting a Green Card), that person can no longer be considered a child for immigration purposes. This situation is commonly referred to as “aging out” and often means that these applicants would have to file a new petition or application, wait even longer to get a Green Card, or may no longer be eligible for a Green Card.

Congress recognized that many children were aging out due to large USCIS processing backlogs, so it enacted the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) to protect certain children from aging out. The CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002.

CSPA does not change the definition of a child. Instead, CSPA provides a method for calculating a person’s age to see if they meet the definition of a child for immigration purposes. The calculated age is the child’s “CSPA age.” This allows some people to remain classified as children beyond their 21 st birthday. However, CSPA does not change the requirement that you must be unmarried in order to remain eligible for classification as a child.

CSPA applies only to the following people:

  • Immediate relatives (including derivatives of widow(er)s);
  • Family-sponsored preference principal applicants and derivative applicants;
  • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners and derivative applicants;
  • Employment-based preference derivative applicants;
  • Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) derivative applicants;
  • Derivative refugees; and
  • Derivative asylees.

If you are applying for a Green Card based on one of the categories above, you are eligible for CSPA consideration if either your qualifying Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status , or one of the following underlying forms was filed or pending on or after Aug. 6, 2002:

  • Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative ;
  • Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant ;
  • Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker ;
  • Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur;
  • Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal ;
  • Form I-590, Registration for Classification as a Refugee; or
  • Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition .

If you are a derivative refugee, your CSPA age is your age on the date your principal refugee parent or Form I-730 petitioner filed his or her I-590, which is the date of his or her interview with a USCIS officer. If you were under the age of 21 at the time of your parent’s interview, your age is frozen as of that date and you will not age out. While you must be unmarried to qualify for admission into the U.S. as a derivative refugee, you do not need to remain unmarried in order to qualify for a Green Card under INA section 209.

If you are a derivative asylee, your CSPA age is your age on the date your principal asylee parent or Form I-730 petitioner filed his or her Form I-589 . If you were under the age of 21 at the time your parent filed Form I-589, your age is frozen as of that date and you will not age out. Unlike derivative refugees, you must be unmarried in order to qualify for a grant of derivative asylum and to qualify for a Green Card under INA section 209.

If you are an immediate relative, a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, or a derivative child of a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, your age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed. If you were under the age of 21 at the time the petition was filed, you are eligible for CSPA and will not age out. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify.

If the petitioner of a pending or approved immediate relative spousal petition dies, their spouse’s Form I-130 automatically converts to a widow(er)’s Form I-360. The widow(er)’s children, if any, who are under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time of the petitioner’s death can be classified as derivatives on the automatically converted Form I-360 and therefore qualify for the CSPA.

If you are a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or diversity visa (DV) applicant, calculate your CSPA age by subtracting the number of days your petition was pending (pending time) from your age on the date an immigrant visa becomes available to you (age at time of visa availability). However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify.

The formula for calculating CSPA is:

Age at Time of Visa Availability - Pending Time = CSPA Age

You are 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available to you. Your petition was pending for 6 months. Calculate your CSPA age as follows:

21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months

Age at Time of Visa Availability

The date the visa is considered available is the later of these 2 dates:

  • The date the petition was approved; or
  • The first day of the month of when USCIS considers a visa available for filing an adjustment of status application based on your immigrant preference category, country of chargeability, and priority date. You must check the USCIS website to determine which of the 2 charts (Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates) from the Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin you may use to file an adjustment of status application.

For DVs, the date a visa is considered available for CSPA purposes is the first day on which the DOS can allocate a visa number based on the principal applicant’s rank number.

Pending Time

The length of time a petition was pending (pending time) is the number of days between the date that it is properly filed (filing date) and the approval date. The formula determining the length of time the petition was pending is as follows:

Approval Date - Filing Date = Pending Time

Your mother filed a petition for you on Feb. 1, 2016. We approved the petition on Aug. 1, 2016.

Aug. 1, 2016 - Feb. 1, 2016 = 6 months

For DV derivative applicants, the number of days the petition was pending is the period of time between the start of the DV Program registration period and the date of the DV selection letter.

The DV Program registration period began on Oct. 1, 2012, and the DV selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013.

May 1, 2013 - Oct. 1, 2012 = 7 months

Note: If an applicant has multiple approved petitions, calculate the applicant’s CSPA age using the petition that forms the underlying basis for the adjustment of status application. If we approve a request to transfer the underlying basis of the pending adjustment of status application, calculate the CSPA age using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment application. If we transfer your underlying basis, calculate your CSPA age using your age at the time your immigrant visa becomes available, minus the time the petition that forms the new basis of your adjustment of status application was pending.

For more information on CSPA age calculation, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual .

Sought to Acquire Requirement

In order to benefit from CSPA as a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or DV applicant, you must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when a visa becoming available to you for filing an adjustment of status application. This is referred to as the “sought to acquire” requirement.

You may satisfy this requirement by:

  • Properly filing a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status ;
  • Submitting a completed Part 1 of Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application ;
  • Paying the immigrant visa fee to the DOS;
  • Paying the  Form I-864, Affidavit of Support , review fee to the DOS (provided the applicant is listed on the Affidavit of Support);
  • Having a Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition , properly filed on your behalf.

A written request to transfer the underlying basis of the adjustment of status application also will meet the “sought to acquire” requirement, if we receive the request within 1 year of an immigrant visa becoming available in the new preference category. If you have a pending adjustment application as a derivative child, and we grant the principal applicant’s request to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment application to a different immigrant category based on another approved petition, then the date we receive the transfer request is the date we use to determine whether you meet the sought to acquire requirement.

If you do not meet the sought to acquire requirement, we may use our discretion to excuse you from this requirement, if you can establish that your failure to meet this requirement was the result of extraordinary circumstances.

When a lawful permanent resident (LPR) files a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative for his or her child or unmarried son or daughter, the petition is classified as a family second preference case. If the petitioner naturalizes (becomes a U.S. citizen) before the child or unmarried son or daughter gets a Green Card, the petition is converted to either an immediate relative or family first preference case.

Child of LPR (F2A) Becomes Child of a U.S. Citizen (Immediate Relative)

If your LPR parent filed a Form I-130 for you as his or her child and then your parent became a U.S. citizen before you turned 21, your age “freezes” on the date your parent became a citizen. You become an immediate relative and will not age out.

Unmarried Son or Daughter of LPR (F2B) Becomes Unmarried Son or Daughter of U.S. Citizen (F1)

If your LPR parent filed a Form I-130 for you as an unmarried son or daughter (second preference classification) and then your parent became a U.S. citizen, you normally would automatically convert to a first preference classification as the unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizen (F1). However, you may choose to opt out of the automatic conversion and stay in second preference classification (F2B) if the waiting time for the second preference visa is shorter than the waiting time for the first preference visa. You may check the Visa Bulletin  to see if opting out of automatic conversion may result in a shorter waiting time for you.

If you want to opt out of the automatic conversion, you must submit a written request to the USCIS office that approved your Form I-130. You (not your parent) should send a signed letter stating that you wish to opt out of the conversion from F2B to F1. This letter should also include your and your parent’s names and dates of birth and the receipt number for your Form I-130. You can find the receipt number on the receipt and approval notices. The approval notice will also show you which office approved your Form I-130.

If you do not know which USCIS office approved your Form I-130, you may call our USCIS Contact Center .

While K nonimmigrants are not covered under CSPA, K-2 and K-4 nonimmigrants may benefit from CSPA under certain limited circumstances.

Limited CSPA Coverage for K-2 Nonimmigrants

As a K-2 nonimmigrant (child of a K-1 nonimmigrant who is the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen), you typically get a Green Card based on your admission into the U.S. with a K-2 visa and your K-1 parent’s marriage to the U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days of being admitted to the U.S. As long as you were under 21 when you were admitted to the United States as a K-2 nonimmigrant, you will not age out of eligibility for a Green Card. In these circumstances, you are not eligible for and do not need CSPA in order to get a Green Card.

You are only eligible for CSPA if you are the beneficiary of a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative . In most cases, you do not need a Form I-130 to get a Green Card if you are a K-2 nonimmigrant. However, if your stepparent and your K-1 nonimmigrant parent did not marry within 90 days (a requirement for getting a Green Card based on K-1 and K-2 nonimmigrant status), your stepparent might choose to file a Form I-130 for you. When your stepparent files a Form I-130  for you, you become an immediate relative who can use the CSPA when applying for a Green Card.

In order to qualify as a stepchild, the marriage between your U.S. citizen stepparent and your K‑1 nonimmigrant parent must have occurred before your 18th birthday. Since your age “freezes” on the date your stepparent files the Form I-130, you may benefit from the CSPA as long as your stepparent files the Form I-130 before your 21st birthday.

For more information about K-1 and K-2 nonimmigrant visas, see the Fiancé(e) Visas page. For more information about applying for a Green Card as a K-1 or K-2 nonimmigrant, see the Green Card for Fiancé(e) of U.S. Citizen page .

Limited CSPA Coverage for K-4 Nonimmigrants

If you are a K-4 nonimmigrant, you are eligible for CSPA because you will apply for a Green Card as an immediate relative based on a Form I-130 filed by your U.S. citizen stepparent.

In order to qualify as a stepchild, the marriage between your U.S. citizen stepparent and your K‑3 nonimmigrant parent must have occurred before your 18th birthday. Since your age “freezes” on the date the Form I-130 is filed, you benefit from the CSPA as long as your stepparent files the Form I-130 before your 21st birthday.

For more information on K-4 visas, see the K-3/K-4 Nonimmigrant Visas page .

For more information about CSPA, see the following:

  • For refugees, see INA 207(c)(2)(B)
  • For asylees, see INA 208(b)(3)(B)
  • For refugee and asylee adjustment of status (Green Card), see INA 209
  • For immediate relatives, see INA 201(f)
  • For family and employment preference and Diversity Visa immigrants, see INA 203(h)
  • For general CSPA information, see  USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part A, Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures, Chapter 7, Child Status Protection Act

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My Work Rights

Young workers in nj: rights and protections for workers under 18.

A female air conditioning technician with her supervisor

New Jersey’s  Child Labor Law protects you by limiting the number of hours you can work and the type of work you can do. Among other requirements, the law states:

  • All minors working in NJ must have an employment certificate, also known as "working papers," or a special permit (see below) for each job they work
  • All minors must be given a 30-minute meal break after 6 continuous hours of work. Breaks less than 30 minutes do not count as an interruption of continuous work.
  • Minors may not work more than 6 consecutive days in a week.
  • Workers under 16 may not work more than 40 hours a week and 8 hours a day, with certain exceptions for agricultural work.
  • During the school year, minors under 16 may only work outside of scheduled school hours.
  • Workers 16 and up may work up to 50 hours in one week and up to 10 hours a day only between the last day of school and Labor Day.
  • Wages and payments
  • Hours of work
  • Injured on the job and need help?
  • Safety and health
  • Minimum wage and overtime

Workers under 18 are entitled to minimum wage in the following jobs:

  • Food service (restaurant)
  • Hotel/motel
  • Beauty culture
  • Laundry/cleaning/dyeing
  • Light manufacturing apparel
  • First processing of farm products

Certain types of employers are not required to pay minors minimum wage. For more information, read the law here . Please refer to New Jersey's Minimum Wage Chart for scheduled increases. Note : this chart shows planned increases. Actual increases may differ based on inflation, or if the federal government increases the federal minimum wage beyond the state’s minimum wage, or both. 

Click here to view detailed information all obligations you have toward employees regarding wage and hour law compliance.

Minors under 16 are not allowed to work more than 40 hours per week.

Workers ages 16 and 17 may work up to 50 hours per week during the period between the last day of the school year until Labor Day.

Workers ages 16 and 17 are only eligible for overtime in the following jobs:

  • Hotel and motel
  • Restaurants

In any other job, workers ages 16 and 17 can work up to 50 hours per week, but are exempt from overtime rate.

Overtime pay is set at 1½ times a worker’s regular hourly wage for hours worked over 40 hours per week.

If you are under the age of 16, you may not work more than 40 hours per week, except in agriculture (see the section on agricultural work to learn more).

If you are 16 or older, you may work up to 50 hours per week during the period between the last day of the school year and Labor Day.

If you are 16 or 17, you are only eligible for overtime rate in the following jobs:

  • Hotel and motels

In any other job, employers can require workers ages 16 and 17 to work up to 50 hours per week, but are not required to pay overtime.

Your employer could be required to pay overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Information on rights under the FLSA can be found here .

Tipped work

Tipped workers are entitled to minimum wage! To make sure you're getting the money you've earned, you'll have to crunch some numbers , including your tips.

Agricultural work

If you are under 12, you may not work in agriculture.

If you are over the age of 12, you may work 10 hours per day and 6 days per week during the hours you are not required to be in school. If you are 16 and up, you may work 10 hours per day and 6 days per week during school hours.

If you are under 16, you may use standard domestic type machines, office machines, standard types of poultry feeders, egg graders, egg washers, egg coolers, and milking machines. If you are 16 and up, you may also drive tractors and operate all machinery except power-driven woodworking machinery, grinding, abrasive, polishing or buffing machines, guillotine action cutting machines, operation or repair of elevators or other hoisting apparatus, corn pickers, power-driven hay balers or power field choppers, compactors, circular saws, band saws and guillotine shears.

Click here to learn more about agricultural jobs for young workers.

Paid sick time

Since October 29, 2018, the  New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law allows employees to collect 1 hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours each year. The law lets employers create policies that provide additional leave time.

Permitted jobs for minors

Below are lists of permitted occupations jobs for minors. This list is not comprehensive. Note: these jobs are subject to non-performance of dangerous activities and illegal jobs.

At 12 years old, you may engage in the following work:

  • Newspaper delivery over residential routes. (may start at 11 years of age)
  • Farming in all of its branches
  • Nursery work
  • Raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals or poultry
  • Theatrical productions (no minimum age limit)

At 14 years old, you may engage in the following work:

  • Clerical and office jobs in industrial wholesale, retail, service, and professional establishments
  • Sales persons
  • Distributors
  • Demonstrators
  • Delivery jobs other than with a motor vehicle
  • Newspaper and magazine delivery over non-residential routes
  • Restaurant jobs
  • Soda fountain jobs
  • Mercantile store jobs
  • Supermarket and food store jobs
  • Amusement industry jobs
  • Standard office type machine operators
  • Standard domestic type machine operators
  • Hospital and health agency jobs
  • Library attendants
  • Professional assistants
  • Counselors at camps, beach attendants, lifeguards, caddies, pinsetters
  • Domestic helpers, maids, cooks, cleaners, baby-sitters, janitors
  • Singers, models, entertainers, dancers, and theatrical work
  • All jobs listed for 12-year-olds (as mentioned in the above section), and many other jobs

At 16 years old, you may engage in the following work:

  • Factory machine operators *
  • Power lawn mower operators
  • Power tool operators *
  • Tractor operators
  • Machinery operators *
  • Mechanic jobs
  • All jobs listed for 12- and 14-year-olds, and most other jobs

* Except those specifically prohibited

Illegal jobs for minors

The lists below are not comprehensive.

Note : the work accident rate incidence is twice the average for workers under 18. If you have a question about a specific occupation, call the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at (609) 292-2305.

Prohibited products:

  • Paints, colors, white and red lead (manufacture and packing only)
  • Dangerous or poisonous acids and dyes
  • Injurious quantities of toxic or noxious dust, gases, vapors, or fumes
  • Benzol or any benzol compound which is volatile, or which can penetrate the skin
  • Explosives (manufacture, transportation or use only)
  • Toxic and hazardous substances
  • Radioactive substances and ionizing radiation
  • Carcinogenic substances
  • Corrosive materials
  • Highly inflammable substances

Prohibited machinery:

  • Power-driven woodworking machinery (supervised bona-fide apprentices may do this work)
  • Grinding, abrasive, polishing, or buffing machines
  • Punch presses and stamping machines with over 1/4-inch clearance
  • Guillotine action cutting machines
  • Corrugating, crimping, or embossing machines
  • Paper lace machines
  • Dough brakes or mixing machines in bakeries or cracker machinery
  • Calendar rolls or mixing rolls in rubber manufacturing
  • Centrifugal extractors or mangles in laundries or dry-cleaning establishments
  • Operation or repair of elevators or other hoisting apparatus (they may operate the push button type)
  • Corn pickers, power-driven hay balers, or power field choppers
  • Circular saws, band saws, guillotine shears
  • Minors under 16 may use standard domestic type machines or appliances, standard office machines, standard types of poultry feeders, egg graders, egg washers, egg coolers, and milking machines but may not use other power-driven machinery such as power tools, power lawn mowers, power woodworking and metal worker tools and power-driven meat slicing and meat grinding machines or conveyors

Prohibited establishments:

  • Ore reduction works, smelters, hot rolling mills, furnaces, foundries, forging shops or any other place in which the heating, melting, or heat treatment of metals is carried on
  • Mines and quarries
  • Establishments where alcoholic liquors are distilled, rectified, compounded, brewed, manufactured, bottled, or sold for consumption on the premises *
  • Pool and billiard rooms
  • Junk and scrap metal yards
  • Disorderly houses

* See  Child Labor Law  for exceptions

Prohibited activities:

  • Oiling, wiping, or cleaning machinery in motion or assisting therein
  • Steam boilers carrying a pressure above 15 pounds
  • Construction work
  • Fabrication or assembly of ships
  • Transportation of payrolls off the employer's premises
  • Demolition of buildings, ships, or heavy machinery
  • Indecent or immoral exposure
  • Most occupations in slaughtering, meat packing, processing, or rendering

Misclassified as an independent contractor (1099) or paid cash off the books

Misclassification is the practice of illegally categorizing employees as independent contractors.

Misclassification is illegal regardless of whether it was intentional or due to a mistaken belief that workers are independent contractors. Misclassification can also happen when an employer requires an employee to form an LLC or franchise before getting a job.

When you are paid cash off the books, that also means that your employer is not giving you access to employment-based protections like access to social security insurance, unemployment insurance, temporary disability insurance and family leave insurance.

Whether misclassified as independent contractor or paid cash off the books, you’re not at fault, but you could be deprived of work rights and other benefits. Misclassified employees may be entitled to financial award as part of employer penalties.

Learn more here .

Working Papers for minors

If you are under 18 and work in New Jersey, you must have working papers. Click here to learn more and start an application.

  • You cannot work more than 6 consecutive days
  • You must be given a 30-minute meal break after 6 continuous hours of work. Breaks of less than 30 minutes do not count as an interruption of a continuous work period.
  • You must have valid working papers including written parental permission (subject to change effective 6/1/2023).

During school weeks

If you are 16 or 17:

  • No more than 40 hours per week
  • No more than 8 hours per day
  • No more than 6 consecutive days in a work week
  • Not before 6am or after 11pm
  • Not before 6am or after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays or days not followed by a school day

If you are 14 or 15:

  • No more than 18 hours per week
  • No more than 3 hours per day on school days
  • No more than 8 hours per day on Saturday or Sunday
  • Not before 7am or after 7pm with limited exceptions

If you are 12 or 13:

  • Not before 7am or after 7pm

During non-school weeks

During the period beginning on the last day of the minor’s school year and ending on Labor Day, a minor between 16 and 18 years of age may work up to 50 hours in one week and up to 10 hours in one day.

  • No more than 50 hours per week
  • No more than 10 hours per day
  • Not before 6am or after 3am in restaurant and seasonal amusements
  • Not before 7am or after 9pm from the last day of school to Labor Day
  • No more than 40 hours a week
  • No more than 6 consecutive days in a work pay week

School-sponsored cooperative learning experiences

Training site experiences may not exceed 5 hours on any day that school is in session, nor may the combination of school and work exceed 8 hours on any day that school is in session.

Know your rights

All employees in New Jersey injured on the job are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. An employee’s age does not disqualify them from receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

In NJ, minors injured on the job can receive workers’ compensation benefits regardless of legal employment status. Workers under 18 injured on the job are eligible to receive:

  • Medical Benefits
  • Temporary Disability Benefits
  • Permanent Partial Benefits
  • Permanent Total Benefits
  • Death Benefits (paid to a minor’s dependents, parents, or legal guardians if they die because of their work-related injury or illness)

If you are employed illegally, you may be entitled to extra benefits depending on the circumstances.  These are extra benefits that are not available to adult employees.

If an employer forces you to work in an unsafe and illegal environment, you will be entitled to twice the amount of worker's compensation benefits. The employer, and not their insurance provider, will pay this penalty.

If you were employed in violation of child labor laws, you can also bring a civil suit in Superior Court against your employer. A civil suit may recover compensation beyond that which is available under a workers’ compensation claim. Some examples are compensation for pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Learn more about what to do if you’re injured at work here .

Public sector employees

The Office of Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (OPEOSH) conducts general and targeted inspections and investigations to ensure workplace safety. The OPEOSH has the authority to order the correction of any safety or health hazards identified during an inspection. These services are delivered by a staff of safety professionals.

If you are a public sector employee, click here to learn more about this program and other services, including filing a health and safety complaint.

Private sector employees

The Occupational Safety Training Program provides occupational safety training for private sector employers and employees. The training is delivered by experienced consultants who will customize courses for employers when needed. The safety training staff receive training through an OSHA Training Institute Education Center to keep abreast of changes in OSHA Standards.

If you are a private sector employee, click here to learn more about these training resources.

As a private sector employee, you can file a workplace health and safety complaint with federal OSHA .

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File a wage claim | Presentar un reclamo de salario

If you believe that your employer has not properly paid you, or you have a complaint against an employer for violating a NJ Labor Law enforced by the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, file a wage complaint:

  • Online through our secure system
  • By mail or fax

Your identity and other personally identifiable information are protected from disclosure to your employer and others, with limited exceptions.  For more information,  click here .

If you choose to file anonymously, you must do so by mail. Learn more here .

If you are not sure whether the Division of Wage & Hour Compliance will be able to help you with your complaint,  email us  for help.

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Child Protection Law

Charlene Egan- 30159346 cyp3. 3 safeguarding 01/01/13 1. 1 The current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within our UK nation affecting the safeguarding of children and young people are: The children’s act 2004- this law was brought out as it was clear that in 2003 children were still not being properly protected from harm, abuse and vulnerability. This was highlighted by the case of Victoria Climbie who suffered abuse and a tragic death at the hands of her carers, it was reported that there were many signs missed by society that could have saved her life.

There for the children’s act was brought out in 2004 to try and further protect children, this act mainly consists of: Reference for the information in bullet points below- children and young people’s workforce early learning and childcare text book, page 110 level 3 diplomas Heinemann learning work based, author- Penny Tassoni. • Interrogation of children’s services and the introduction of children’s directors with responsibility for local authority education and children’s social services. • Lead councillors for children’s services with political responsibility for local child welfare. The establishment of local safeguarding children ’s boards with statuary powers to ensure that social service, the NHS, education services, the police and other services work together to protect vulnerable children. • A new common assessment framework to assist agencies in identifying welfare needs. • Revised arrangements for sharing information. The children’s act 2006- this legislation makes it clear to all those that work with children of their duties and responsibilities to care for children. It outlines how to work together in the event of allegations and suspicion of child abuse and how to deal with such situations.

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This emphasises the responsibilities of professionals towards the children who may be or are at risk of harm. It states that professionals must work together with other agencies to help protect children. It is in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. Every child matters- this pieces of legislation consists of five outcomes, these out comes are: • To be healthy- enjoy good physical and mental health and live a healthy lifestyle. • Staying safe- be protected from harm and neglect and grow up to be able to look after themselves. Enjoying and achieving- getting the most out of life and develop broad skills for adult life. • Making a positive contribution- to the community and to society. Not to engage in anti-social behaviour and offensive behaviour. • Economic well being- to not be prevented by economic disadvantages from achieving their full potential out of life. Vetting and barring scheme- this piece of legislation is there to prevent unsuitable people from being able to work with children and vulnerable adults. Everyone who wishes to work with children must now have a CRB check done before being employed to work with children.

The CRB gives employers the details of any criminal records an employee may have, this helps the employer choose suitable and safe people to work within their setting and help to keep children safe. The children’s act 1989- the aim of this law was to simplify the laws that protected children and young people. It made it clear to all those that work with children of children’s rights and how they need to be protected. It made clear the duties of practitioners and how they need to work together to protect children in the event of signs of abuse.

United Nations convention for the rights of the child 1989- has five outcomes these are: • Being healthy- enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy life style. • Staying safe- being protected from harm and neglect and growing up able to look after themselves. • Enjoying and achieving- getting the most out of life and developing the broad skills for adulthood. • Making a positive contribution- to the community and to society and not engaging in antisocial or offending behaviour. Economic wellbeing- not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life. All of these outcomes should be achievable if a child is protected, if people who work with children do their best to safeguard children in every manner from abuse or neglect then children are more likely to have these five positive outcomes and achieve to the best of their potential. Policies and procedures that are in place in setting to help safeguard children are set out by the legislation above, some of these polices and procedures you may find are listed below with brief explanations.

Equality of opportunities- this aims to provide a secure environment in which all children and in which all contributions are valid. We have a commitment to working with families and other agencies to enhance our understanding of equality and diversity. We encourage positive role models with the use of non-stereotypical images, resources and activities. We ensure to make inclusion run through all our activities within the nursery. Health and safety policy- the main objective of this policy is to ensure that reasonable practical steps are taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all persons using the premises.

To achieve this healthy and safe environment will be maintained, safe working procedures amongst practitioners and children will be maintained, arrangements will be made for to ensure safety and the absence of risks to health in connection with the use of handling, storage and transport of articles and substances. To maintain a healthy and safe place for work, formulate effective procedures for use in case of fire and other emergencies for evacuating the nursery premises. To follow regulations of the health and safety at work act 1974 and other relevant legislation.

Mobile phone policy- staff should not have their mobile phones in the rooms with them and staffs are not permitted to use recording equipment on their mobile phone for taking pictures of children or recording. Nappy changing policy – no students are allowed to change nappies unless they are qualified to level 2 and have had their CRB check approved by the manager. All staff must also have a CRB check before changing nappies. Premises and security policy- the premises both indoors and outdoors must be safe and secure at all times.

Children are only allowed to be collected by the named persons on their child record forms. If the child needs to be collected by someone that is not on the form then parents/careers must let the nursery know and a password should be given. Ratios- they must be kept in ratio at all times and this change when on outings to ensure children’s safety. Missing child policy- in the event of a child going missing practitioners should thoroughly search the premises inside and out, while ensuring all other children are adequately supervised. Then phone the police, inform parents, inform manager and write up a full report.

Reporting and recording incidents policy (child protection)- when recording incident the practitioners should follow the format provided for them to use as there template it should be recorded in conjunction with the child protection action plan. Safeguarding policy- the nursery and all practitioners who work within it has a duty to be aware that abuse does occur in our society. Our safeguarding policy lays out the procedures that should be taken if we should believe any of the children are subject to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or neglect.

Anything found or disclosed will be recorded. Safety policy (risk assessment) - the nursery will be a safe place for all children and practitioners at all times. Risk assessments will be carried out regularly to identify possible hazards by all members of staff. Security policy- the nursery staffs are to ensure that the premises and outside play area are secure and children are not able to leave unsupervised. All visitors to the premises must sign in and out of the visitor’s book and if necessary identification will need to be provided.

Staff shortage policy- if the nursery is short of staff then numbers should be checked. If we find we are understaffed then we need to call in agency staff. If necessary children should be turned away and explain to parents that it is for their Childs safety. Worst case scenario would be to close the nursery. Student placement policy- when accepting a student they will need to have a full formal interview and full induction training before beginning their placement and a CRB check will also need to be done.

Suitable persons policy- all staff must be CRB checked before beginning their job if they are to start before this is processed then they will not be allowed to change nappies until it has been received. As many staff as possible should hold a valid paediatric first aid certificate. Whistle blowers policy- under certain circumstances, employees have legal protection if they make disclosures about organisations for which they work, these employees are commonly known as Whistle Blowers.

Whistle blowers should report any concerns to the manager or straight to the appropriate organisation or body. 1. 2 Child protection within the wider concept of safeguarding children and young people. Protecting children from abuse is a very big part of safeguarding but it is not all that it’s about; it has a wider role than simply protecting children from neglect and abuse. To keep children safe it is also important to ensure that we are keeping children safe from accidents, from bullying and stereotyping.

We need to ensure our premises are safe and secure so children can’t go missing, we need to ensure children and young people aren’t forced to do anything they do not wish to by making sure children’s voices are heard to. It is our job to safeguard children and actively promote their welfare in a healthy and safe environment. It is our duty to teach children the necessary steps to learn to take care of themselves by using simple things like stranger danger, explain right and wrong and set those boundaries to follow by. 1. How national and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding affect our day to day work with children and young people. When working with children it is our duty of care to protect children we need to be able to recognise when a child is at risk of harm, abuse or vulnerability, it is our job to be able to recognise signs of this and how to protect children and safeguard them this is important because the earlier it is recognised that a child may be at risk the better the outcome for the child involved.

It is our job to safeguard the children within our setting part of this job is to follow the policies and procedures set out by the setting to help safeguard and protect children, one of these policies will be to record and report any findings we may come across and be able to work with other agencies to support the child’s best interests.

There are many other polices and procedures to help safeguard children for example first aid policies to ensure enough staff are trained, risk assessment policies to ensure the premises and equipment used within them are safe for the children to use and also activities are planned well with risk assessment, many of these are set out by the health and safety legislation, child protection legislation, working together to safeguard children 2006, early years foundation stage, the UNCRC 1989,the vetting and barring scheme.

So many policies and procedures are set by the legislation to help safeguard children. Settings will have a policy for staff to have a CRB check to ensure they are safe to be with children and this will also usually include regular visitors to the nursery or long term workers like plumbers that may need to be on the premises for a length of time.

There will be policies for outings, visitors to the setting, nappy changing, whistle blowing, working together to safeguard and working with other agencies, correct ratios at all times, student placement, security, health and safety, staff shortage, reporting and recording. All of these policies and procedures are there to help us safeguard and protect children on a day to day basis in many different ways and we must use this in our day to day practice. 1. 4 When and why inquiries and serious case reviews are required and how the sharing of findings informs practice.

Inquiries or serious case reviews will occur when a child dies, suffers serious injuries, abuse or avoidable serious accidents. This may happen if a child has suffered a serious accident happens within a setting or even dies because of an avoidable accident, the setting will likely be temporarily closed to review how and why this may have happen and things like policies and procedures and practice will be reviewed to find the cause of why this may have happened.

Also cases of child abuse or neglect may be looked into thoroughly to find out if signs may have been seen and recorded by a setting but communication and information sharing may have stopped this from being recognised earlier. Ways to help setting ensure this does not happen is to review practice regularly ensuring information sharing, communication, keeping accurate recordings of incidents, clear roles and planning, risk assessment, good assessment of a Childs situation, early recognition and partnership working are all being done to a high standard to safeguard children.

An example of when a serious case review and inquiries may have happened is: Heinemann learning work-based level 3 diploma text book, children and young people’s workforce by Penny Tassoni. - (reference) page 114 The Bichard inquiry- this inquiry resulted from the murders of two young girls in Suffolk by a school caretaker, who was known as a danger to children by the police authority. The information had not been indentified when he had a CRB check in Suffolk.

It led, among other things, to the formation of the independent safeguarding authority. Another example is the laming inquiry- lord laming produced a landmark report in 2003 following a public inquiry into the death of Victoria climbie. She died in February 2000 of malnutrition and hypothermia, having suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her great-aunt and the aunt’s boyfriend. Lord Laming’s public inquiry found a series of missed chances for the authorities to save her life.

A lack of communication between social workers, nurses, doctors and police officers allowed her aunt and her lover to torture the little girl to death. Many professionals involved in the case admitted their workloads were too big while pay and morale were low, and that they did not communicate with one another. The inquiry made a number of key recommendations for improvements to services that led to the Children act 2004.

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Complaint filed to Human Rights Commission against WA child protection department

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A law firm has lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) against Western Australia's Department of Communities over the allegedly discriminatory removal of First Nations children from their families.

It is the second of four  complaints filed against state government child protection departments  and Shine Lawyers is claiming that widespread racial discrimination has led to the unlawful and unjust removal of Indigenous children into state care.

Shine Lawyers also says government departments have failed to reunify these children with their families.

First Nations woman Lisa* was removed from her family when she was six and lived in at least 10 different foster homes.

"I felt like [the Department of Child Protection] destroyed everything that I could have had with my family," she said.

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Lisa said she lost connection with her mum and cried for her every day when she was sent to live 600 kilometres away.

"I still cry for them," she said.

"I still miss them and I still don't get it back — I never get the love back."

Now 20, Lisa said she relived her childhood trauma when her six-week-old daughter was taken from her and placed into care.

"Since I lost my connection with my mother, I don't want to lose it with my daughter," she said.

Lisa does not want her baby growing up thinking that she is not loved.

"I never got a chance to love her before they decided to take her away from me," she said.

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'We're seeing a real failure'

First Nations children in WA are 19.1 times more likely than non-Aboriginal children to be removed from their families, according to the 2023 Family Matters report card.

Shine Lawyers special counsel Caitlin Wilson said despite legislative intervention, inquiries, policies and reports, and the fact that these statistics have been reported for years, the over-representation of Indigenous children in the child protection system had not decreased.

"Sadly, Western Australia has the highest over-representation rate in the country," Ms Wilson said. 

"We're seeing a real failure when someone is identified early on during their pregnancy, a failure of the department to wrap support around that person and help them with housing issues or domestic violence, substance disorders, whatever it might be.

"Instead they're removing the child at birth and it's too late for anyone to do anything at that stage."

The complaint in WA follows one in New South Wales in January and class actions are set to be launched against government departments in four states, including South Australia and Victoria.

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Support available, minister says

WA Minister for Child Protection Sabine Winton said she could not comment specifically on the case in the AHRC, but she was proud of her department's work.

"Aboriginal children are over-represented in the out-of-home care system, there's absolutely no doubt of that," she said.

"We are working hand-in-glove with the federal government to meet our national commitments to closing the gap."

Ms Winton said recent changes in the out-of-home care system showed the direction the department was moving in.

"We now have 16 organisations who support young children in care … of those, six are now Aboriginal-controlled organisations," she said.

"This time last year there was only one Aboriginal-controlled organisation.

"I think therein lies the key — working more and more closely with Aboriginal people, listening to their solutions and backing them in."

A Department of Communities spokesperson said it was inappropriate to comment on any matter before the AHRC, but said the agency did not tolerate racism in any form.

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