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INTRODUCTION
Child care and protection practice across the UK has entered a time of unprecedented change. In Scotland the change has been driven by a three-year Child Protection Reform Programme ( CPRP). The CPRP was established following the publication in 2002 of 'It's Everyone's Job to Make Sure I'm Alright', the report of an audit and review of child protection services. The goal of the reform programme was:
- Improving protection of children at risk of neglect and abuse; and reducing the number of children who need protection.
In March 2003 the First Minister initiated the reform programme at a child protection summit for a high level audience (including Chief Executives of local authorities, Health Boards and Chief Constables, as well as the voluntary sector). A programme manager was appointed to develop the remit, recruit the team and agree the work programme with a Steering Group and Ministers. In June 2003 a team of 'Professional Advisors' ( PAs) was seconded into the Executive for a period of three years. The PAs were from external professional groups including the police, nursing and medicine, social work and education. The Child Protection Steering Group ( CPSG), made up of senior people from across a range of disciplines, was established. The CPRP comprised a number of sub-projects:
- Children's Charter
- The Framework for Standards
- Child Protection Committee model guidance
- Child Protection summits
- Public awareness
- 24 hr national helpline 1
- Letters of assurance
- Significant case review
- Child Protection Strategic Training Group.
The aim of this process review was to investigate:
- how the CPRP was planned and implemented;
- the aims in planning the programme in this particular way; and
- whether or not the process was successful.
A set of contextual studies were carried out and used to inform the principal data that was gathered from two strands of enquiry. In strand A we examined the processes used to set up and manage the CPRP, and considered how effective they were in engaging with stakeholders and delivering the required outputs. In Strand B we gathered evidence to explore whether or not the CPRP influenced local and national policy, and whether it changed practice amongst relevant professionals.
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