Part of the Citizens Advice Bureau AdviceGuide website. It contains information on the rights of children and young people in Scotland. in particular on discrimination, proof of age, punishment, religion and voting.
The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) promotes, supports and defends the principles and practice of independent advocacy across Scotland. This newsletter provides an update on the progress of the SIAA. Points of interest include information on the Human Rights Act 2000, Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003; details of organisations who offer support to those affected by stress, domestic abuse, mental health problems and elder abuse.
This episode of Radio 4's Woman's Hour series looks at mentoring and if young people who are likely to fall foul to the law could be identified before they actually offend. The Community Service Volunteers has set up a scheme which has already proved successful. The Mentors and Peers (MAP) project matches young people with volunteer mentors who meet regularly for a period of six months. One such young person is 11 year old Bobby who is anxious to avoid the fate of elder brothers who have served prison sentences.
This episode of Radio 4's Thinking Allowed series includes a segment on children and sexuality in the light of the recent Pitcairn case where disclosures of widespread child abuse were pitted against a defence of traditional cultural practices. Laurie Taylor asks if there is such thing as a universal sexual morality particularly concerning children and discusses the construction of childhood and children's sexuality.
This study aimed to investigate the differences between ethnic groups in their contact with child welfare services in England. Analyses were conducted on three national datasets (the Children in Need Census, children on the child protection register and children looked after), and looked after children’s care histories were examined to see if over- or under-representation could be explained by factors such as differing rates of entering or leaving care. These analyses were supplemented by a review of relevant research literature.
This Act of Scottish Parliament introduces a number of measures and changes to tackle antisocial behaviour. It contains a range of provisions in the areas of justice, the environment, housing and child welfare, all of which are linked to tackling antisocial behaviour. The Act is in 13 parts.
Aberdeen Council presents information about children's rights, as well as a list of useful contacts.
Draft guidance is presented. Local authorities’ duties to homeless people are set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 as amended by both the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003. Section 32(8) of the 1987 Act sets out that a local authority, in exercising its functions under section 31 or 32 in respect of an applicant having a priority need for housing by virtue of a dependent child residing with them, must have regard to the best interests of the dependent children.
The government launched its Aiming High for Disabled Children's programme for May 2007 to bring about a transformation of services across health and social care. Funding was provided to local authorities and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). However, local authorities are reporting difficulties in getting PCTs to commit to developing services. In addition, funding for the programme has not been ring fenced and it is often not possible to identify what has been spent on disabled children.
Christopher Gillberg is Professor of Child Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Visiting Professor in the Division of Community Based Sciences, University of Glasgow. One of the world's leading academic child psychiatrists, he has published hundreds of papers on autism, ADHD and related conditions.