How will Children's Services investigate?

Both the law and Government procedures state that when there are concerns that a child has been hurt or is in danger of being hurt then Children's Services have to investigate.

When we receive information that a child has been hurt or is likely to get hurt we gather as much information as we can from all the other agencies who are involved with that child and family. We do this so that we can assess the level of risk for the child and plan the investigation process accordingly. Sometimes the information we receive from another Agency is enough to tell us that the child is not at risk and therefore we do not need to do an investigation eg a bruise seen on a child may have happened while they were at school and been noted in the school accident book.

If we do need to investigate then we will do this jointly with the Police. This is because the Police have to decide on whether a criminal offence has been committed and Children's Services have to decide whether the child has suffered or is likely to suffer harm and then whether it is safe for them to stay at home or not.

Together with the Police, we plan how we are going to undertake the investigation. These are the bits of work we have to do:

• See the child or children in a safe place and talk to them.
• See the parents and involve them in the investigation process (if they are not the person who has harmed the child).
• Interview the child jointly with the Police. There are very strict guidelines on how to do this and this is only undertaken by specially trained Police Officers and Social Workers.
• Ensure that the child is medically examined if appropriate by a paediatrician.

We will then put together a plan that will make sure that the child is safe from any further harm. This may involve the following:

• Police interviewing the person or persons who hurt the child. This may or may not result in charges against them.
• Leaving the child at home but calling a case conference to put the child's name on the child protection register.
• Removing the child to a place of safety. Whenever it is safe to do so, they would be placed with other members of the family.
• Going to court to ask the court for an interim care order.

Most people think that all we do is take children away from their families and put them in care. In reality, this only happens to a few children when it is not safe for them to stay with their family or when their family can no longer look after them. Mostly, our Children's Social Care service works to help families to look after their children and keep them safe at home. By all of the Agencies working closely together, we can make sure that we know about all of the child's needs and can work together with the family to help them do as well as they can.

After the investigation

When we have completed the investigation we will carry on working with the children and their family to help them sort out the problems that led to the child being harmed or being put at risk. Most children who have been subject of an investigation either remain at home or are placed back home when it is safe to do so. Only a very small number of children stay in the care of Children's Services.

There is a handbook containing child protection procedures for all professionals involved with children. This was written jointly by Plymouth, Devon and Torbay and is available on request.