Transcript Slide 1

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/Adass
Camden - Glasgow - Harrow Hillingdon - Hounslow Islington - Kent - Liverpool Manchester - Slough - Solihull
– Southwark - Westminster Metropolitan Police Service
and Regional Police Services
Child Trafficking
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
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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
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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
Thank you
Lauren Watts
[email protected]
The Matrix
AFUA 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).
Toolkit highlights
Guidance
Definitions and principles
Who, what, where, why, how of child trafficking
Role of specific agencies and services
Identification and referral processes
Age assessments
Multi Agency Training
Particularly vulnerable groups of children – inter-country adoption,
private fostering, trafficked children who are looked after, missing
children
Role of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards
National 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)
The Toolkit is available for
download at
http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/files/resources/trafficking/london_s
afeguarding_trafficked_children_toolkit_july_2009.pdf
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
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',
Sarah Wood
Detective Constable Paladin Team
Metropolitan Police
Child Abuse Investigation Command
Jennifer Money
Team 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,
Philip Ishola
Service Manager
Harrow Children Service
& Coordinator
London-SCB Child Trafficking National
Toolkit Pilot