Proposed Multi Disciplinary Conference, 1st June 2015.

Please see this post from the Transparency Project. 

Policing Parents, Protecting Children and Promoting Adoption: Do we get the child protection system we deserve?

The Transparency Project is pleased to announce a proposal for a multi-discliplinary conference, provisionally arranged for 1st June 2015, which will invite views and perspectives from experts, lawyers, social workers, parents and care leavers in an attempt to re-position the current unhealthily polarised debate around the child protection system.
We hope to be joined by Dr Lauren Devine of UWE who is currently undertaking research into the evidence base for our current system and by Brigid Featherstone, co-author of ‘Re Imagining Child Protection’.
The venue and full list of speakers will be confirmed over the coming months.
If you are interested and would like to be kept informed about developments, or if you have any suggestions for topics or speakers please contact [email protected]

EDIT – Topics for afternoon discussion

Suggestions are coming in for the issues most likely require debate/discussion. Please feel free to contact us to add more.

• Section 20 agreements – the drift and delay problems. Are there adequate mechanisms in place for review of these? What’s the IRO doing?
• The anti-authoritarian parent – does disagreeing with or failing to co-operate with a social worker equate to being a ‘bad parent’? What can be done to improve relationships between parents and social workers? These issues are highlighted in the recent Hertfordshire case and discussions over at suesspcious minds.
• Perception of experts as independent – what should happen if experts in a case are on a ‘paid retainer’ with a LA? also an issue raised in the Hertfordshire case above.
• Problems with ‘working together’ – example of recent disjunction between family and housing law discussed by Nearly Legal. How do we make sure family courts have the best information about issues they may not be familiar with nor fully understand?
• Opening up the family courts – the impact on children. Is it likely to be a serious as some fear? What lessons can we learn from other jurisdictions?