Law for Social Workers

This document discusses the case of Joseph White and Olivia Payne, who are unable to provide proper care to their children due to previous convictions. It explores the relevant legislation, policies, and actions that social workers can take to safeguard the children's welfare. The steps include evaluating the family's background, contacting other professionals, arranging home visits, and considering legal options such as Interim Care Orders. The document also suggests other strategies such as providing funds for a babysitter and implementing health reforms. The conclusion highlights the importance of the Common Assessment Framework in providing care and education to the children.

1Running head: LAW FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
Law for Social Workers

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Relevant Legislation, Policy, and Probable Actions the Local Authority Can Take.............3
Step 1......................................................................................................................................3
Step 2......................................................................................................................................3
Step 3......................................................................................................................................4
Step 4......................................................................................................................................5
Step 5......................................................................................................................................5
Step 6 (Other Options)...........................................................................................................5
4. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8
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1. Introduction
The case taken into consideration is related to Joseph White and Olivia Payne having three
children. One is 7-years-old and others are three and one-and-a-half years old respectively. In
this case, Mr. White and Mrs. Payne were convicted previously due to intoxication. However,
it has found that they are unable to provide proper care to their children. For that reason, I as
a social worker want to implement legal steps to secure their children for safeguarding their
welfare.
2. Relevant Legislation, Policy, and Probable Actions the Local Authority Can Take
Being a social worker, the following steps have been considered in this section of the study
wherein two sections have been identified under Children Act 1989 i.e. Sections 17 and 47
(Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2018) along with other acts.
Step 1
I the social worker will check the local authority database for evaluating the family’s
identification and background. Through this, the existence of the family will be identified. It
will help to provide the required support to the family for the purpose of safeguarding.
Step 2
After the above process, I the social worker will contact with other professionals such as
multi agency working associates to find parents as well as children’s education, school and
GP activities according to the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 document. It
will help to identify the cause behind the irresponsibility. In this context, under the Data
Protection Act 2018 “safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ as a processing
condition that allows practitioners to share information” (Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk,
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2019, p. 19). Hence, one must access the personal data of Joseph White and Olivia Payne as
well as the entire family in this step to provide adequate care, especially to the children.
Step 3
I, as a social worker, will then arrange a visit to go to the family home to speak to the parent
who has Parental Responsibility (PR). I will do this by asking whoever is present there and
then take it from there. PR is defined as the duty, which is possessed by a parent towards
his/her child (Family Rights Group, 2014). I will then seek consent with the mother if I can
speak to her 7 year old child. From a social workers’ perspective, according to Sections 17
under subsections 1, 2, and 3 of the Children Act 1989, every local authority of UK has
certain basic responsibility towards the society. Providing the required health care to the local
children is one of the major responsibilities of the authority. At the same time, the local
authority also has a responsibility towards the children’s family i.e. to suffice their basic
needs and requirements. Based on this rule, initially, health visitor must contact the local
authority and help the child as well as their parents. With respect to Sections 17 under the
sub-sections 4 to 12, a local authority must be sincere about the child’s feelings, while
providing the services. The local authority has the right to arrange a person to provide
childcare against a certain amount of fees. However, the authority must consult with the
parents regarding the provision of such services and related payments. In any circumstances,
if the parents are unable to pay for their children then the local authority may take the charge
and provide care. As the case presented that, Olivia Payne (Mother) has pr but she is has not
adhered her accountability towards her children. In this case, the custody of the child may be
taken, if the parents are unable to provide proper care (Congreso.es, 2018). On the other
hand, Section 47 of Children Act 1989 states that the local authority has legal rights to
investigate a situation with the help of the police authority if they found a child is suffering
from a bad situation. According to sections 1 to 5, a local authority can take police protection
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in an emergency. At the same time, they have the power to inquire about the entire situation
and implement the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 if required. Before taking any steps for
enquiry, the health visitor and the local authority must have adequate information regarding a
situation. However, a child’s feelings and wishes have to be considered before taking any
steps. At the same time, sections 6 to 12 states that any local officer can be involved within
the enquiry if the parents deny or refuse to take services from the authority. In this regard, a
local authority will check the parent’s identity and their records for verification and
implement necessary steps for the welfare of the children (Legislation.gov.uk, 2018). Based
on the case scenario, two of the children are unable to talk among three. Hence, I will talk
with the seven years aged child regarding the situation in order to take an appropriate
decision for the welfare of the children.
Step 4
After talking with the children, one must interact with their mother to provide the required
care. According to the Human Rights Act 1998, under section 20 and 8, rights can be
implemented by appealing in the court in case of any human rights breach
(Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). Hence, if Joseph White and Olivia Payne will not be convinced to
receive help from local authority then the social worker can legally take care of the children
with the implementation of this act.
Step 5
Moreover, Olivia Payne, who is the mother, may deny taking help from the local authority. In
such cases, the next step of the local authority can be to impalement order such as Interim
Care Order (ICO) and Interim Supervision Order (ISO) to safeguard the children into
concern.
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Step 6 (Other Options)
With the purpose to provide adequate care to the children of Joseph White and Olivia Payne,
the local authority must arrange funds (Cromarty, Bellis and Harker, 2018). Through this
process, the convicted parents will be able to receive service of a babysitter for taking care of
their children. On the other hand, the local authority can assess the health risks of Joseph
White and Olivia Payne as well as the children. The local authority should also provide an
opportunity for convicted parents to eliminate drugs or any intoxication habits. It will help
them to provide proper care to their children (Department of Health, 2009). Besides, the local
authority can provide other strategies to resolve the issue. Initially, they can conduct
community-based visits every week after providing a warning to Joseph White and Olivia
Payne. According to HM Government (2010a), a police officer can be appointed to take care
of the situation. He/she can monitor each activity of Joseph White and Olivia Payne to ensure
the wellbeing of the entire family. Through this, they can manage to provide adequate care to
their babies and the associated problems can be solved largely (HM Government, 2010a).
This strategy has the high potential to improve the conditions of the family taken into
consideration.
The local authority can also implement health reforms to provide adequate care to the child.
At the same time, bad and abusive behaviour of Joseph White and Olivia Payne can lead the
authority to conduct adoption for the betterment of the children. However, the related
authority must focus on the children’s emotion, feelings and wishes while conducting the
process of adoption (NHS, 2015). In addition, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is
another option, which can be implemented in this case. According to the House of Commons
Education Committee (2012), through this framework, frontline practitioners and doctors are
able to provide adequate care to the children. However, a proper enquiry of the situation can
be conducted with the help of this framework, wherein the health visitor and local authority
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can identify the needs of the parents and children. Simultaneously, the environment of the
living area also will be possible to observe and rectify adequately (House of Commons
Education Committee, 2012).
4. Conclusion
There might be a chance that the parents and children can get dissatisfies. A strict decision
can also introduce conflict among parents and the local authority and hence, CAF can be
considered as the best option which will provide required care and education to the children
in the given case. With respect to the intoxication, it will also diminish because frontline
practitioners will handle the case, wherein they will provide adequate care to the children and
local police will provide rehabilitation facilities for the parents.
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References
Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. (2018). [online] Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
attachment_data/file/274220/Children_Act_1989_fostering_services.pdf [Accessed 30 Dec.
2018].
Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. (2019). [online] Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
attachment_data/file/729914/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children-2018.pdf [Accessed
1 Jan. 2019].
Congreso.es. (2018). [online] Available at:
http://www.congreso.es/docu/docum/ddocum/dosieres/sleg/legislatura_10/spl_78/pdfs/46.pdf
[Accessed 30 Dec. 2018].
Cromarty, H., Bellis, A. and Harker, R. (2018). Children's social care in England’, House of
Commons Library, pp. 1-29.
Department of Health. (2009) Statutory guidance on promoting the health and well-being of
looked after children. Department for Children, Schools and Families. pp. 1-90.
Family Rights Group. (2014). [online] Available at:
http://www.frg.org.uk/images/Advice_Sheets/2-parental-responsibility.pdf [Accessed 30 Dec.
2018].
HM Government. (2010a) The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2: Care
Planning, Placement and Case Review. Crown. 2, pp. 1-129.
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HM Government. (2010b) Working together to safeguard children. A Guide to Inter-Agency
Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children. pp. 1-371.
House of Commons Education Committee. (2012) Children first: The child protection system
in England. Fourth Report of Session 2012–13. 1, pp. 1-88.
Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Children Act 1989. [online] Available at:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/section/17 [Accessed 30 Dec. 2018].
Legislation.gov.uk. (2019). Human Rights Act 1998. [online] Available at:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/pdfs/ukpga_19980042_en.pdf [Accessed 1
Jan. 2019].
NHS. (2015) Safeguarding children policy, principles and procedures. South London and
Maudsley. 5, pp. 1-68.
Wessexlmcs.com. (2018). Wessex LMCs: Safeguarding: Key Points of Child Safeguarding
Legislation. [online] Available at:
https://www.wessexlmcs.com/safeguardingkeypointsofchildsafeguardinglegislatio [Accessed
30 Dec. 2018].
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