According to NCH, the system of hearings created 33 years ago was too often used as a route to services for children in need. Maggie Mellon, NCH head of public policy said, 'When it was set up it was clearly intended to deal with children involved in offending and anti-social behaviour.
'People have got confused and think it is for children's welfare, but it is not. It is a welfare-led approach to children who are in trouble.'
The hearings system has been dominated increasingly by care and protection cases - 60 per cent in 2002-2003 compared with 16 per cent in 1976 - and not those involving anti-social behaviour. In NCH's own report into the hearings system led by former the Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway, it said that 'serious gaps in prevention and protection services that the hearings have had to fill, need to be addressed elsewhere'.
The consultation pack unveiled last week by Peter Peacock, minister for education and young people, emphasised that 'unacceptable behaviour and offending is addressed first and foremost through the hearings system and children should only be dealt with through the criminal justice system in exceptional circumstances'. It includes a number of case studies to illustrate the type of case a hearing might consider. Some involve very young children who are victims of neglect, while the anti-social behaviour of older children is often set in the context of abuse or neglect by parents.
One case concerns 'Kirstie', an unborn child whose parents are both heroin addicts. The health visitor referred the unborn child to the reporter because of concerns about the state of the parents' flat, the lack of hygiene and the absence of preparations for the baby. Previously, two children were taken into care.
In 2002-2003 there were 17,782 referrals on grounds of lack of parental care.
Among issues for discussion during the process of consultation is whether there should be 'family hearings', and whether panels should include specialists.
