Summary
1. An Initial Child Protection Conference should be held approximately three months prior to the estimated date of delivery 2. A Conference must be arranged if any of the specified criteria apply. 3. Core assessment must be completed with input from all involved agencies and particularly address the specified areas. 4. The Conference must address the specified areas in addition to normal agenda items. 5. If the conference decides a Child Protection Plan is needed in respect of the unborn child, a core group will be established to develop the Child Protection Plan. 6. All the requirements for a core group and review conferences apply as for a child who has been born. 7. The unborn baby’s name (‘Baby’ Mother’s surname) and the due date of delivery will be recorded on the electronic social care record. 8. A review conference must take place within 4 weeks of the birth of the child. 9. If the conference decides a Child Protection Plan is not needed in respect of the unborn child a Child in Need/Family Support Plan/CAF Action Plan must be identified |
A pre-birth conference must be held under these procedures where there is concern that an unborn child will not receive adequate care after birth. A referral should be made to Children’s Social Care as soon as concerns in relation to an unborn child are identified in order to initiate an assessment and strategy discussion. Such a referral may arise from work completed at an early stage in the pregnancy using the Common Assessment Framework.
Wherever possible, the conference should be held approximately three months prior to the estimated date of delivery to give sufficient time for an appropriate assessment and plan to be made. If this is not possible, it should be held as soon as the need for a conference becomes apparent.
A core assessment should be completed by the allocated social worker addressing all the domains and dimensions of the Assessment Framework, particular areas of concern in relation to care of the unborn child and any family history relevant to care of the unborn child. It is essential to address:
- the family history of both parents;
- the relationship between the parents;
- family functioning – strengths and any difficulties;
- the engagement of the parents in preparation for the birth and the assessment process;
- any problems the parents have that will affect their parenting abilities;
- the parent’s understanding of the needs of the unborn child;
- the parent’s motivation to parent and their capacity to make any changes needed;
- the parent’s ability to care for the new baby safely;
- the impact of the new baby and professional supervision on the parents and any children in the household.
A pre-birth conference should be held if any of the following situations apply:
either parent:
- has suffered or is suffering from a serious mental illness and a multi-agency assessment has concluded that parenting capacity is consequently impaired;
- has severe learning difficulties;
- has demonstrated a serious lack of ability to care for themselves – particularly the expectant mother.
- alcohol or substance abuse is thought to be affecting the health of an unborn baby, or where alcohol or substance abuse may significantly impair parenting skills;
- there is a history of abuse in the family, including neglect;
- there is a history of domestic violence in the family;
- previous children in the family have been removed because they have suffered harm;
- there are concerns regarding either parent’s ability to protect or parent and it is believed that any child of the family might suffer significant harm;
- there is a previous history of post natal psychosis;
- the expectant parent is very young and a dual assessment of her/his needs as well as her/his ability to meet the baby’s needs, is required;
- the expectant parent is persistently ambivalent towards the unborn child where there are significant other stresses;
- the expectant mother has a partner, or is in contact with someone, who has abused a child or has committed an offence against a child.
A conference convened in these circumstances will be an initial child protection conference and should consider, before the birth of the child, the need to develop a Child Protection Plan.
The people to be invited to the conference include:
- all relevant participants of any previous child protection conference;
- legal representative (if required);
- medical personnel including the appropriate gynaecologist, obstetrician and paediatrician;
- midwifery and health visiting services and any other relevant nursing staff. The involvement of midwifery services is particularly vital in these cases;
- any relevant adult specialists e.g. mental health/drug and alcohol services.
The conference should consider, in addition to the normal agenda items:
- actions to be taken at birth;
- the possible provision of sufficient monitoring and support to allow the child to remain in parental care;
- the possible removal of the baby to a ‘safe place’ following delivery;
- the initiation of legal proceedings;
- arrangements for parental contact with the baby whilst in hospital;
- arrangements for feeding and care of the baby by the parents;
- participation by professionals in the core assessment while the baby is in hospital;
- the communication of care plans to agencies and units within and outside of the city to ensure appropriate responses are made.
If the conference decides a Child Protection Plan is needed in respect of the unborn child, a core group will be established to develop the Child Protection Plan. The core group should ensure the Child Protection Plan includes communication of the plan to:
- Hospital midwifery staff;
- out of Hours/Emergency Social Work Service;
- Police;
- Legal Services
- any relevant Health Authorities outside the authority.
The unborn baby’s name (‘Baby’ Mother’s surname) and the due date of delivery will be recorded on the electronic social care record. The baby’s name will be linked with the mother’s name. When the baby is born, the midwife must inform the lead social worker who will then inform the Safeguarding Unit for the electronic social care record to be updated.
If the conference decides a Child Protection Plan is not needed in respect of the unborn child a Child in Need/Family Support Plan/CAF Action Plan must be identified.
The core group should meet within no more than 10 working days of the conference and a written agreement should be drawn up.
A child protection review conference must be held within 3 months of the initial child protection conference in line with regulatory requirements or within 28 days of the birth of the child, whichever is the sooner.
