Transcript Analytic supervision skills

CHILDREN’S CENTRES;WORKING WITH UNDER
FIVES AND THEIR FAMILIES AFFECTED BY
IMPRISONMENT
Owen Gill
Nicki Smith
2nd April 2012
Barnardo’s Registered Charity Nos 216250 and SC037605
BACKGROUND
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Children of prisoners originally identified as key
target group for CCs. Now there is generic statement
of the ‘most disadvantaged’.
High number of under fives affected by
imprisonment. CCs offer wide range of support
addressing different elements of the child’s ecology.
Child---family---wider family---community---formal
orgs---wider society
Early intervention
Focus on the child’s world
Security
Loss
Responsibility
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Why, why, why, why?
“He’s quite a happy little child in his own
way, when he’s not having a paddy… he
has got a lot more clingy. His behavioural
difficulties have deteriorated since his father
has been in prison.’’
mum ref 2.5 year old
I have no choice…
Harry, age 8
"I asked him what was wrong and he started
crying and said that the little boys were
laughing at him, saying his dad was in prison
and on Crimestoppers and stuff……. Then
he said they were calling him burglar and
stuff like that. ‘Mummy, it upsetted me.’“
mother
IMPACT OF PARENTAL
IMPRISONMENT ON UNDER FIVES
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Stress on remaining parent can impact on parenting
Child’s confusion/anxiety
Break down of key relationships as result of stigma,
transience etc.
Stress around visiting
Mothers imprisoned;
Break down of care arrangements
Issues when mother returns to parenting.
‘Catch 22’(Corston) re no accommodation –children not
returned
Particular challenges re distances involved in visiting
CC’s AND FAMILIES; REACH AND
PRACTICE
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Techniques of ‘reach’ into communities. Links.
Making families affected by imprisonment realise
CC is for them.
The culture of the CC
Practice. Addressing different aspects of the child
and family’s life. Finances, practicalities (how to
visit, maintain contact etc) community
relationships
WORKING WITH OTHER
AGENCIES
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Making links between offender management
services and child care services.
Links into prisons and providing info re CCs
Referrals, partnership agreements, SLA’s etc
Breaking down professional culture differences.
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Many of the children and families of offenders
are the same families with multiple problems that
DfE is trying to address through Family
Intervention Projects (FIP)
Rather than waiting for the first signs of risk
to emerge in children, we could do more to
predict future risk by picking up signals from
the family as well as a child
Children’s Rights
Children have rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC)
 Article 5 – benefit from the guidance of a parent
 Article 7&8 – to know and be cared for by parents
 Article 9 – to only be separated from their parent when it is in the
child’s best interests
 Article 9 acknowledge that separation might be caused by
intervention of the state, but where that happens the child should be
given information and has the right to maintain relations and direct
contact on a regular basis, if this is in their best interests
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UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Sept 2011 – Incarcerated
Parents – two primary themes
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Babies and children living with or visiting a parent in prison
Children left outside when their parent is incarcerated
So……
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Who are they?
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Where are they?
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Who is looking after them?
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Who is aware of their needs?
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What systematic support is
available?
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How do you identify them in
your centre?
"If the estimation is right, I
could have up to 2,000
children of prisoners in
my area and I didn't even
know about them" - Local
Authority, Children’s
Services
"What support are
these children
getting? It is a really
good question - and
one I feel I should
have given more
attention to in the
past" - Headteacher