How to make a safeguarding referral and report a concern about a child or young person at risk of harm, abuse or neglect. Our aim is to keep families together and we often succeed in doing this. Child abuse includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect. There is no national guidance on what constitutes a risk of harm to an unborn child. If adult or children’s social services are involved in your family and you are unsure what to expect, these guidelines will offer some useful advice. The social worker may ask your permission to contact people who know the family. Your midwife, health visitor, GP or the mental health professionals working with you may suggest a referral to Early Help services. Needs local authority services to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development. Further information about Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership can be found on either the children's website or adult's website. The council has a legal duty to look into a child’s circumstances when somebody suspects abuse or neglect is occurring. All organisations who work with chidren or families can make a referral to social services. The referral process and link to the Children and Young People's Portal is accessed through the. It might seem the easiest option is to do nothing. If they consider the child has probably been abused or neglected or is likely to be unless changes are made, then a child protection case conference will be arranged. You and your partner may worry that if you seek help for a mental illness, people may think that you can’t care for your baby or other children – or even that your baby could be taken away from you. Before the Conference all the invited professionals will be asked to write a report on their contact with your family, their concerns and your family’s strengths. Needs local authority services to prevent significant or further harm to health or development. It has been replaced by the recording of plans in order to emphasise that the process is about providing services to protect the child.) Who are Social Services and what do they do? Children who aren’t given enough food, or who are smelly and dirty because they or their clothes aren’t washed. The Children Act 19892 defines a “Child in Need” as any child under 18 who: If, after assessment, it is decided that your child is a “Child in Need”, you (and your partner or other family members), will be invited to meet with a social worker and the other professionals involved. The professionals at the meeting have also got to take into account race, religion and language barriers and take steps to ensure the parent is able to be involved whether it be access to an interpreter or other support. It will also outline the support offered. A ‘child at risk’ is a child who: • is experiencing or is at risk of abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm; and ... Child at Risk taken from the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (2014) All Wales Basic Safeguarding Hand-outs Awareness Training Version 3. Social Services have a statutory obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable children and can offer a wide range of care services to children and their parents. Working Together to Safeguard People: Volume 5 – Handling Individual Cases to Protect Children at Risk 4 1.