london safeguarding board working together to respond to the needs of trafficking children
TRANSCRIPT
London Safeguarding Board Working Together to
Respond to the Needs of Trafficking
Children
Can You and Your Team Identify When They Are Dealing With a Child Who Might be Trafficked
The London Safeguarding Children Board Safeguarding Trafficked Children Pilot
Toolkit is available to assist you
Trafficking Routes
[I] London Trafficked Children Toolkit 2009 available online: http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/files/resources/trafficking/london_safeguarding_trafficked_children_toolkit_january_19th_2009.pdf
Involved Agencies Trafficking Toolkit
Pilot Boroughs [13 local authorities]
Supported by the ADCS/AdassCamden - Glasgow - Harrow -
Hillingdon - Hounslow - Islington - Kent - Liverpool - Manchester - Slough - Solihull – Southwark - Westminster -
Metropolitan Police Service and Regional Police Services
Lauren Watts, Slough Borough Council
Impact of trafficking on health & welfare of children
• Identifying the victims – Everyone's responsibility!
• At the time they are found, trafficked children may not show any obvious signs of distress or obvious harm.
• Children are often deprived of their rights to health care, freedom from exploitation and abuse & access to education
Case study Maria - a 13yr old victim
• Police operation• 13 yr old victim recovered • Romanian Roma community• Roma village Romania• Family arranged for flights to UK• Placed with a family in suburban environment• Domestic servitude• Driven daily to locations to beg and sell the Big
Issue charity magazine
Roma village – Romania
Criminal investigation and care planning, a twin track process
• Child protection procedures – trafficking toolkit• S47, S20/ ICO Care proceedings• Police – Child protection & prosecution NOT just
prosecution• Partnership• Sharing of info critical• Conscious of conflict of interests (Court
proceedings)• Police prepared to intervene / LA advise Police
to intervene or become a party
Maria’s Care Plan
Care proceedings / Triple Track Planning
• Return to family in Romania
• Return to care of Romanian authorities
• Remain in long term foster care in UK
Assessments
• Romanian Social Services
• Slough Borough Council Children's Services
Maria’s support package
• Foster placement out of area• Romanian speaking social worker – 2 home
visits per week, phone contact every other day.• Child Mental Health Worker – Weekly home
visits• Education – Tutoring at home / school• Supervised phone contact with Mum• Independent Reviewing Officer• Allocated Social Worker• Romanian Films / Roma music
EU legislation that may impact on the jurisdiction of the LA to care for a child
• Issue of habitual residence
• Human Rights Act – Right to life
• Hague Convention - Rights of custody
• Trafficking Convention
• Council Regulation (EC) Brussels IIR
• EU Council Directive 2003/9/EC – Minimum standards for reception of asylum seekers
Considerations when repatriating a child to their country of origin
“A court can not refuse to return a child on the basis of Article 13(b) of the 1980
Hague Convention if it is established that adequate arrangements have been made to secure the protection of the child after
his or her return.”
Article 11 - Brussels IIR
Advantages of working with Embassies and Consulates
• Confirming identity and country of origin of victim.
• 1st Point of Contact for Police & LA in home country
• Protocols & assistance re visiting country of origin for assessments
• EU Council Directive 2003/9/EC – Minimum standards for reception of asylum seekers
Maria – The Outcomes
• Father cloned his daughter’s identity and trafficked another child victim in Spain
• 4 adults convicted – Trafficking into UK, Internal trafficking and child neglect
• Total sentences – 24 years imprisonment• 1st convictions for trafficking child into UK• 2nd convictions for internal trafficking• High Court hearings – HRA, Hague Convention,
Brussels II• High Court decision – Maria returned to Romania
The MatrixAFUA CASE STUDY
19 Suspected Indicators On investigation19 Confirmed
What can we do to better safeguarding against child
trafficking?
Working In Partnership
•TRAINING
•CAPTURE YOUR CONCERNS & REFER ( use the child trafficking indicator matrix
•ASSESS & IDENTIFY
•SAFEGAURD AND PROTECT•MINIMISE THE RISK OF CHLDREN GOING MISSING FROM CARE
HOW•INVESTIGATE apply a ‘trafficking lens’ using the Indicator Matrix
•ASSESS; Children Social Care use the Child Trafficking Assessment Tool to Identify a victim and the child’s needs and continuing risks they may face (MINIMISE THE RISK of a child GOING MISSING
•Refer all cases to competent authority (UKBA where children are subject to immigration control, in all other case refer to UKHTC).
GuidanceDefinitions and principles Who, what, where, why, how of child traffickingRole of specific agencies and services Identification and referral processesAge assessmentsMulti Agency Training Particularly vulnerable groups of children – inter-country adoption, private fostering, trafficked children who are looked after, missing childrenRole of Local Safeguarding Children’s BoardsNational referral mechanism – ‘reasonable grounds/conclusive decision’
Risk assessment indicator matrix (Appendix 9)
Trafficking assessment tool and NRM Referral form (Appendix 16)Referral mechanism to forward assessment to competent authority for decision
Quick referral tables and flowcharts (Appendices 10, 11, 12 etc)
Multi-agency training matrix (Appendix 4)
Toolkit highlights
Ongoing Developments … Safeguarding Trafficked Children Pilot toolkit good practice documents
developed by the pilot local authorities available at http://www.londonscb.gov.uk
Information sharing and Safeguarding referral protocol: “Working Together”
• Local Authorities -------LSCBs--------UKBA------ ADCS
ACPO and ACPOS October 2009 Update to the 2007 UK Action Plan on tackling Human
Trafficking. This is reflected in 9 new actions in this year's action plan update. http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/humantrafficking004b.pdf
The Toolkit is available for download at
http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/files/resources/trafficking/london_safeguarding_trafficked_children_toolkit_july_2009.pdf
Philip Ishola Service Manager
Harrow Children Service & Coordinator
London-SCB Child Trafficking National Toolkit Pilot
Sarah Wood Detective Constable Paladin Team
Metropolitan Police
Child Abuse Investigation Command
Lauren Watts
Lauren Watts is a Team Manager for Slough Children Services
& Slough Borough Councils, Children services management lead on Child Trafficking
A Professional Advisor to Metropolitan Police 'Operation Golf',
Jennifer MoneyTeam Manager (UKBA) London Area’s Children
Asylum Team. UKBA Operational lead for implementing the Trafficking Convention in the London Area.
Jennifer was a Competent Authority in Pentameter 2,