Child protection guidance
Pre-birth CPPM’s will consider whether serious professional concerns exist about the likelihood of significant harm to an unborn or newly born baby. These meetings will be co-ordinated and chaired by social work services as detailed in Child Protection Investigation and Assessment.
Pre-birth planning meetings
Early intervention and IRD
All practitioners who work with expectant mothers must be aware of parental behaviour and circumstances that could cause significant harm to an unborn baby. A pre-birth assessment can begin whenever pregnancy is confirmed and the GIRFEC practice model should be used to identify need at an early stage in the mother’s pregnancy. When there is a risk of significant harm the assessment should begin as soon as possible. This provides the unborn child with the best possible opportunity to thrive and gives parents maximum opportunity to engage with practitioners and family supports to begin to work towards necessary changes to protect their unborn/child from future harm.
Practitioners must be aware of how to refer concerns about potential harm to social work services or police.
Pre-birth referrals should initially be discussed at the Early Years Multi-Agency Support (EYMAS) group. This group will work in partnership with families to formulate a multi-agency Parents’ plan under the GIRFEC model. Where there is reason to believe an unborn baby may be at risk of significant harm, as described in Section 2, then EYMAS partners will trigger an inter-agency referral discussion (IRD). Where a referral is made at a late stage of pregnancy without the option to be discussed at the EYMAS forum, then the referral may move directly to discussion at IRD. The IRD will be the decision-making forum where a child protection pre-birth risk assessment may be initiated. The potential impact of an interaction of risk factors such as the removal of previous children; the impact of drug use; and/or the impact of domestic abuse and mental ill health upon mother and unborn baby should tip professional judgement towards the need for an IRD.
Early engagement and planned support is essential. CPPMs should take place within 28 calendar days of child protection procedures being initiated and always within 28 weeks of gestation, taking in to account the mother’s needs and all the circumstances in each case. There may be exceptions to this where the pregnancy is in the very early stages and there are concerns that warrant early inter-agency assessment and planning.
In advance of the child’s birth, an inter-agency plan needs to be prepared by social work which will meet the needs of the baby and mother prior to and following birth which addresses identified needs and minimises risk of harm. Plans from discharge from hospital and handover to community-based supports must be clearly set out in the inter-agency plan.
The CPPM may place the unborn baby’s name on the child protection register before birth. If the unborn baby’s name is registered the child protection plan must stipulate who is responsible for notifying the birth of the child and what steps need to be taken at that point (e.g. referral to the Principal Reporter).
Legal measures such as referral to the Reporter and application for a CPO can only be made at birth.
Where a Child Protection Plan is in place prior to the child’s birth, it may be necessary to ensure that the baby is not discharged from hospital until a pre-discharge planning meeting has been held. Where the baby is born outwith a hospital setting, an urgent post-birth planning meeting can be held instead of the pre-discharge meeting. The decision to hold a pre-discharge or post-deliver planning meeting is a matter of professional judgement and should be outlined in minutes of the pre-birth core group meeting or pre-birth CPPMS, or, where this is not possible, undertaken in consultation between social work and health professionals.
The lead agency will decide whether a core group or a child protection planning meeting is most appropriate for the pre-discharge meeting. The meeting will be chaired by a social work manager and attended by core group members and the child’s relevant family members, as well as hospital based maternity ward staff.
The purpose of this meeting is to agree arrangements for the care of the child following discharge from hospital. This should include consideration of the role and level of involvement of community-based supports. Where the decision of this meeting is that the child would be at risk of significant harm by being discharged to the care of the parent(s), the child protection plan should be amended to reflect this and proportionate actions should be taken to keep the child safe.
A review may be held within three months of the previous CPPM but professional judgement should be applied to the timing of this meeting post-birth. This does not prevent an earlier review where changes to the child’s living situation are enough to remove or significantly reduce risk. Careful consideration is required about early decisions to remove a baby’s name from the register, for example by ensuring that necessary supports are in place.