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STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE CHILDREN ACT 1989

A child is in need of protection and should be dealt with as Section 47 Enquiry when:

• We are informed that a child who lives in their area, or is found in our area is the subject of an emergency protection order or police protection, or
• We have reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found in our area is suffering, or likely to suffer significant harm
• We have statutory obligation to make, or cause to be made, such enquiries as we consider necessary to enable us to decide whether we should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.

Children Act 1989 s47 (1)

A child is in need if:

• He/she is unlikely to achieve or maintain or have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him/her of  services by a local authority
• His/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired or further impaired without the provision of such services, or
• He/she is disabled

Children Act 1989 s17 (10);

CHILDREN IN NEED ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA These criteria relate to children ordinarily resident in Lewisham and unborn children where a Parent is ordinarily resident in Lewisham.  They are a means of ensuring equitable access to services while, at the same time, complying with statutory duties in respect of children. (see page 1 for definitions of statutory responsibilities under Children Act).  This table identifies general areas of need and the responses that would be expected of Children and Young Persons’ Services, Social Care and Health. The table below gives examples of each need category and is also used to define priority need for service provision following assessment.  This list is comprehensive but not exclusive.  These criteria relate to Children’s Services and it should be remembered that adults may be eligible for a Community Care Assessment in their own right by Adult’s Services.  Where a child is a “Young Carer” the assessment should always be carried out with Adult’s Services.

HIGH PRIORITY	MEDIUM PRIORITY	LOW PRIORITY
Child at risk of significant harm	Child for whom there is a specific or severe cause for concern or where there is a general concern about their potential vulnerability	Child whose needs might not be consistently met
Child beyond control and no one is able to exercise Parental responsibility	A reasonable standard of health and development is unlikely to be maintained without immediate support	Improvements may be desirable but there are no acute risks
The child is abandoned or neglected. This includes refugee/ asylum seeking children	The child may move into high priority category without the provision of services	Social services help is not essential for monitoring or support for the child
	The child’s and family’s situation is complex and will require in depth assessment to determine the child’s needs and how these needs might be met	The child and Carers are coping adequately
	There are identifiable factors which indicate that deterioration and re-referral is likely without support
OUTCOME	OUTCOME	OUTCOME
S47/Initial Assessment where applicable to start within 24 hours of referral and complete within 7 working days unless the matter is particularly complex e.g. allegations against a number of adults.	Initial assessment to start within 24 hours of referral and complete within 7 working days	Child not ‘in need’ as defined by the Children Act Carers will be given advice and re-directed to other community services or agencies If 3 referrals are received for children in this category within 3 months an initial assessment will be undertaken

Assessment Criteria

Click here to view Assessment Criteria Table

End