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Practice Guidance

Safeguarding Children from Abroad

Contents

Appendix 1 - Legal Status
Appendix 2 - Sources of Information
Appendix 3 - Private Fostering
Appendix 4 - Guidance on questions to ask potential carers of children from abroad who do not clearly have parental responsibility

1.Introduction

1.1 Large numbers of children arrive into this country from overseas every day. Many of these children do so legally in the care of their parents and do not raise any concerns for statutory agencies. However, recent evidence indicates that many children are arriving into the UK who are:

In the care of adults who, whilst they may be their carers, have no parental responsibility for them
In the care of adults who have no documents to demonstrate a relationship with the child alone
In the care of agents

1.2 Evidence shows that unaccompanied children or those accompanied by someone who is not their parent are particularly vulnerable. The children and many of their carers will need assistance to ensure that the child receives adequate care and accesses health and education services.

1.3 A small number of these children may be exposed to the additional risk of commercial, sexual or domestic exploitation.

1.4 Immigration legislation impacts significantly on work under the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people from abroad. This guidance refers to the current legal framework but it is important to note that regulations and legislation in this area of work are complex and subject to constant change through legal challenge etc. The guidance intends only to reflect broadly the additional issues faced by families operating also within the context of immigration law. All practitioners need to be aware of this context to their contact with such families. Legal advice on individual cases will usually be required by children’s social care.

2. Purpose

2.1 The purpose of this guidance is to assist staff in all agencies to:

Understand the issues which can make children from abroad particularly vulnerable
Identify children from abroad who may be in need, including those who may be in need of protection
Know what action to take in accordance with their responsibilities

2.2 As with any guidance, it is not intended to provide the answer to all situations. No practitioner or agency holds all of the knowledge; the groups of children and families change and our knowledge of specific issues is developing.

3. Principles

3.1 There are some key principles underpinning practice within all agencies in relation to unaccompanied children from abroad or those accompanied by someone who does not hold parental responsibility. These are:

Never lose sight of the fact that children from abroad are children first – this can often be forgotten in the face of legal and cultural complexities
Children arriving from abroad who are unaccompanied or accompanied by someone who is not their parent should be assumed to be children in need unless assessment indicates that this is not the case. The assessment of need should include a separate discussion with the child in a setting where, as far as possible, they feel able to talk freely
Assessing the needs of these children is only possible if their legal status, background experiences and culture are understood, including the culture shock of arrival in this country
Be prepared to actively seek out information from other sources. Beware of “interrogating” the child

4. The status of children who arrive from abroad and legal duties towards them

4.1 Children who arrive in the UK alone or who are left at a port of entry by an agent invariably have no right of entry and are unlawfully present. They are likely to be in a position to claim asylum and this should be arranged as soon as possible if appropriate. They are the responsibility of children’s social care to support until they are 18 years of age, under Section 17 or Section 20 of the Children Act 1989. If their asylum claim is not resolved before they reach 18 years old, support after the age of 18 years is provided jointly by National Asylum Support Services (NASS) and adult social care.

4.2 Children who arrive in the UK with or to be with carers without parental responsibility may have leave to enter the country or visas or may be in the UK unlawfully. Children’s social care may have responsibilities towards them under the private fostering regulations. If the child is assessed to be in need, support can be provided by children’s social care for the child and for the family if this is not excluded by Section 54 of the National Immigration Act 2002. If the child is cared for by relatives, Private Fostering Regulations may not apply.

4.3 Some children who arrive in the UK with their parents belong to families of EEA nationals migrating into the UK. Such families cannot be supported by children’s social care except for the provision of return travel and associated accommodation. If such families decide to stay and seek further help, children’s social care still has responsibilities towards any child who is in need, including to provide accommodation for the child alone. DWP practice is to declare such families ordinarily resident after 3 months and to pay benefits. Housing Department practice is to consider housing after 6 months. Children’s social care remains in the position that services may only be provided direct to the child alone.

5. Identification and initial reaction

5.1 Whenever any professional comes across a child who they believe has recently moved into this country the following basic information should be sought:

Confirmation of the child’s identity and immigration status
Confirmation of the carer’s relationship with the child and immigration status
Confirmation of the child’s health and education arrangements in this county

This should be done in a way which is as unthreatening to the child and carer as possible.

5.2 If this information indicates that the child has come from overseas and is being cared for by an unrelated adult or one whose relationship is uncertain, children’s social care should be notified in order that an assessment can be undertaken.

5.3 The immigration status of a child and his/her family has implications for the statutory responsibilities towards the family. It governs what help, if any, can be provided to the family and how help can be offered to the child. Appendix 1 ‘Legal Status’ provides information about the most relevant aspects of this legislation.

5.4 Where families are subject to Immigration legislation which precludes support to the family (see Appendix 1 Legal Status), many will disappear into the community and wait until benefits can be awarded to them. During this interim period the children may suffer particular hardship – e.g. live in overcrowded and unsuitable conditions and with no access to health or educational services. They are particularly vulnerable to exploitation because of their circumstances.

6. Establishing the child's identity and age

6.1 Age is central to the assessment and affects the child’s rights to services and the response by agencies. In addition it is important to establish age so that services are age appropriate and developmentally appropriate

6.2 Citizens of EU countries will have a passport or ID card and usually both. Unaccompanied children very rarely have possession of any documents to confirm their identity or even to substantiate that they are a child. Their physical appearance may not necessarily reflect their age.

6.3 The assessment of age is a complex task which often relies on professional judgement and discretion. Such assessment may be compounded by issues of disability. Moreover, many societies do not place a high level of importance upon age and it may also be calculated in different ways. Some young people may genuinely not know their age and this can be misread as lack of co-operation. Levels of competence in some areas or tasks may exceed or fall short of our expectations of a child of the same age in this country. The advice of a paediatrician with experience in considering age may be needed to assist in this.

7. Parental Responsibility

7.1 The Children Act 1989 is built around the concept of ‘parental responsibility’. This legal framework provides the starting point for considering who has established rights, responsibility and duties towards a child.

7.2 In some cultures child rearing is a shared responsibility between relatives and members of the community. Adults may bring children to this country whom they have cared for most of their lives but who may be unrelated or distantly related.

7.3 An adult whose own immigration status is unresolved cannot apply for a residence order to secure a child for whom he/she is caring.

7.4 Children whose parents’ whereabouts are not known have no access to their parents for consent when making important choices about their life. Whilst their parents still have parental responsibility they have no way of exercising it.

7.5 Children who do not have someone with parental responsibility caring for them can still attend school and schools should be pragmatic in allowing the carer to make most decisions normally made by the parent.

7.6 Such children are entitled to health care and have a right to be registered with a GP. If there are difficulties in accessing a GP, the local patient’s services should be contacted to assist.

7.7 Emergency life-saving treatment would be given if required. However, should the child need medical treatment such as surgery or invasive treatment in a non life-threatening situation, the need for consent would become an issue and legal advice would be required.

7.8 Children’s social care has statutory duties where the child is deemed privately fostered. See appendix 3.

7.9 Carers/parents are not eligible to claim benefits for their child unless they have both been granted some form of ‘leave to remain’ in this country by the Home Office.

8. How to seek information from abroad

8.1 Seeking information from abroad should be a routine part of assessing the situation of an unaccompanied child. Professionals from all key agencies – e.g. Health, Education, Children’s Social Care and the Police – should all be prepared to request information from their equivalent agencies in the country (or countries) in which a child has lived, in order to gain as full as possible a picture of the child’s preceding circumstances.

8.2 It is worth noting that agencies abroad tend to respond quicker to e-mail requests/ faxed requests than by letter. Similarly, the Internet may provide a quick source of information to locate appropriate services abroad.

8.3 Appendix 2 contains contact numbers which are possible sources of information and local networks which may be of use.

9. Assessment

9.1 Any unaccompanied child or child accompanied by someone who does not have parental responsibility should receive an initial assessment in order to determine whether they are a child in need of services, including the need for protection. See also Appendix 3 regarding ‘private fostering’ duties of Local Authorities.

9.2 Such children should be assessed as a matter of urgency as they may be very geographically mobile and their vulnerabilities may be greater. All agencies should enable the child to be quickly linked into universal services, which can begin to address educational and health needs.

9.3 The assessment of children from abroad can be challenging. It is helpful to use the DOH Assessment Framework, provided that it is recognised that the assessment has to address not only the barriers which arise from cultural, linguistic and religious differences but also the particular sensitivities which come from the experiences of many such children and families.

9.4 The needs of the child have to be considered based on an account given by the child or family about a situation which the professional has neither witnessed nor experienced. Additionally, the information is often presented about a culture, way of life and in a language unfamiliar to the professional.

9.5 It is vital that the services of an interpreter are employed in the child’s first language and that care is taken to ensure that the interpreter knows the correct dialect. If that interpreter shares more than a common language, and is professionally trained, he/she can sometimes be a rich source of information about traditions, politics and history of the area from which the child has arrived. He/she may be able to advise on issues like the interpretation of body language and emotional expression.

9.6 The first contact with the child and carers is crucial to the engagement with the family and the promotion of trust which underpins the future support, advice and services. Particular sensitivities which may be present include:

Concerns around immigration status
Fear of repatriation
Anxiety raised by yet another professional asking similar questions to ones previously asked
Lack of understanding of the separate role of children’s social care, i.e. that it is not an extension of the police
Lack of understanding of why an assessment needs to be carried out
Previous experience of being asked questions under threat or torture, or seeing that happen to someone else
Past trauma
Past regime/ experiences can impact upon the child’s mental and physical health. This experience can make concerns from the authorities about minor injury or poor living conditions seem trivial and this mismatch may add to the fear and uncertainty
The journey itself as well as the previous living situation may have been the source of trauma
The shock of arrival
The alien culture, system and language can cause shock and uncertainty, and can affect the mood, behaviour and presentation

9.7 In such circumstances reluctance to divulge information, fear, confusion or memory loss can easily be mistaken for lack of co-operation or deliberate withholding of information, or untruthfulness.

9.8 The first task of the initial contact is therefore engagement. Open questions are most helpful, with a clear emphasis on reassurance and simple explanations of the role and reasons for assessment. If the engagement with the family is good there are more likely to be opportunities to expand on the initial contact as trust is established.

9.9 Within the first contact with the child and carer(s) it is also vital not to presume that the child’s views are the same as their carer, or that the views and needs of each child are the same. Seeing each child alone is crucial, particularly to check out the stated relationships with the person accompanying them e.g. someone allegedly from the same place of origin should have a similar knowledge of the place. Clearly the professional is going to be seen as in power and as such a child may believe that they must get it right when they may not wholly understand the system or even the question.

9.10 If the engagement is good then there will be opportunities to expand on the initial contact. The ethnicity, culture, customs and identity of the child must be a focus whilst keeping him/her central to the assessment. The pace of the interviewing of a child should aim to be at the pace appropriate to the child, although the need to ensure that the child is safe may become paramount in some circumstances. Some core questions to be addressed are included in Appendix 4.

9.11 Child’s developmental needs. Things to bear in mind include:

Health, behaviour and social presentation can be affected by trauma and loss. Famine and poverty can have an impact upon development
Wider health needs may need to be considered, including HIV, Hepatitis B and C and TB. This also applies to the parent/carer
Education - what has school meant to this child?
Self care skills. It is importance not to judge competence by comparing with a child of the same age in this country. This child may have had to be very competent in looking after themselves on the journey but unable to do other basic tasks. In some countries some children will have been working or have been involved in armed conflict. Loss of a parent can enhance a child’s skills or deprive a child of certain skills. Having had to overcome extreme adversity can result in a child who is either deeply troubled or both resourceful and resilient
Identity - who is this child? what it their sense of themselves, their family, community, tribe, race, history?
Physical appearance - life experience and trauma can affect this. Lack of nourishment may make the child present as younger or older
Perceptions of what constitutes disability are relative and attitudes towards disabled children may be very different
The impact of racism on the child’s self image and the particular issues currently faced by asylum seeking children and their families

9.12 Parenting Capacity. Things to bear in mind include:

War, famine and persecution can make a family mobile. The family may have moved frequently in order to keep safe. The stability of the family unit might be more important to the child than stability of place. Judgements that mobility may equate with inability to provide secure parenting may be entirely wrong. In some countries regular migration to deal with exhaustion of the land is part of the culture
The fact that a child seems to have been given up by a parent may not imply rejection as the motive may have been to keep the child safe or seek better life chances for him/her
Talking about parents/ family can be stressful and painful – as can not being given the chance to do so regularly
Importance of the extended family/community rather than an Eurocentric view of family
Not to presume that you cannot contact a parent who is living abroad unless you have established that this is the case by actively seeking to do so
Lack of toys for a child may indicate poverty or different cultural norms rather than poor parenting capacity to provide stimulation
The corrosive impact on parenting capacity of racism against asylum seekers
The additional issues of parenting a child conceived through rape – either dealing with the negative response of the partner or with the stress of keeping it secret from him/her

Family and environmental Factors.

9.13 The importance of economic and social hardship is apparent. In addition there may be issues such as:

Family history and functioning may include the loss of previous high status as well as periods of destitution
Different concepts of who are/have been important family members and what responsibility is normally assumed by the whole community e.g. who a child should reasonably be left with

Appendix 4 contains some questions which it may be helpful to cover within initial assessment of the situation of a child in these circumstances.

10. Children in need of protection

10.1 Where assessment indicates that a child may be in need of protection and child protection procedures apply, additional factors need to be taken into account. These dilemmas include such things as:

Perceptions of authority, the role of the Police in particular, and the level of fear which may be generated
The additional implications for a family where deportation is a real threat of deciding to prosecute
Balancing the impact of separation on a child with the likely history of separation/disruption
Judgements about child care practices in the context of such different cultural backgrounds and experiences

11. The Trafficking of Children

11.1 Trafficking is defined as: The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of children by means of threat, force or coercion for the purpose of sexual or commercial exploitation or domestic servitude. (AFRUCA/NSPCC) It is a rapidly growing global problem which is more than a law and order concern. It is a violation of human rights affecting all communities. Child protection procedures will always apply where there is suspicion that a child may be being trafficked. A trafficked child or young person is a victim of a serious crime.

11.2 A number of factors identified by the initial assessment may indicate that a child has been trafficked:

The child may present as unaccompanied or semi accompanied
The child may go missing
The multi use of the same address may indicate that it is an unsafe house or that the house is being used as a sorting house
Contracts, consent and financial inducement with parents may become apparent
The child may hint at threats to family in their home country for non co-operation or disclosure
There may be talk of financial bonds and the withholding of documents.
Befriending of the vulnerable child
False hopes of improvement in their lives such as escaping war, famine, poverty or discrimination

11.3 If it is identified that a child may be being trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, the procedures in Chapter 11 should be followed. As soon as suspicions are raised that a child is being trafficked immediate action to safeguard the child is required. This includes urgent liaison with the police. Planning of the investigations should be within a strategy meeting, in order to ensure that both the safety of an individual child and the investigation of organised criminal activity are addressed.

11.4 Children are also trafficked for the purpose of domestic labour. These children may be less obvious, and their use to the family may be more likely to be picked up during a private fostering assessment or because someone notices that they are living at a house but are not in school. Children who enter the country apparently as part of re-unification arrangements can be particularly vulnerable to domestic exploitation.

Appendix 1 - Legal Status

The legal status of a child/family may be apparent from the documentation which the family carries.

An unaccompanied child (under 18) with an asylum claim has no access to public funds. However, the provisions of the Children Act 1989 will still apply. At least three weeks prior to reaching 18 the young person should be referred to and assisted to contact the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) for ongoing support if the asylum claim is still outstanding.

The level of support given by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to a young person who has turned 18 may vary if they continue to live with relatives, e.g. no contribution will be made towards rent.

This is often complicated by duties that exist towards their parent/carers. The Local Authority has no powers under the Children Act 1989 to support parents or carer. Support, including financial, can only directly benefit the child.

Some children may arrive in the UK to be rejoined with their parents. If their parents have an outstanding asylum claim, the children can be recognised as dependants and granted the same status as the principle applicant. Dependants are those who:

Are related (as claimed on the asylum application)
or
Were dependent on the principal applicant prior to arrival in the UK even though unrelated
or
Had formed part of the pre-existing family unit abroad again even though they may be unrelated

If indefinite or exceptional leave to remain (ILR/ELR) or Humanitarian Protection has already been granted to the parent, the child’s application is considered as one for ‘family reunion’ and not as a ‘dependent’. In these circumstances the child must have formed part of the pre-existing family unit abroad.

Children who are dependent on asylum seeking parents may also claim asylum in their own right and their applications are then considered individually irrespective of the outcome of their parents’ claim. The claims must be registered with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND).

Relevant pieces of legislation

Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (NIA)
Section 54 is intended to discourage the concept of ‘benefit shopping’ within Europe. It is retrospective and applies to anyone who comes within the categories set out below. This is not dependent on the length of time they have been in the UK.

The Act has the effect of preventing local authorities from providing support under certain provisions, including section 21 of the National assistance Act and section 17 of the Children Act, to:

Nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) States (other than UK)
Those with refugee status in another EEA state
Persons unlawfully present in the UK who are not asylum seekers including those who have overstayed visa entry limit and those without confirmation of ELR/ILR leave to remain
Failed asylum seekers who refuse to cooperate with removal directions

Section 55 applies to those who have made or are intending to make an asylum claim in the UK. It prevents NASS from providing asylum support unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the person applied for asylum as soon as reasonably practicable after arrival in the UK. Families with dependent children will, however, receive asylum support even if they did not apply as soon as reasonably practicable.

Section 55 does not apply to unaccompanied minors.

Those who have not yet officially lodged an asylum claim can be offered assistance with accommodation (usually overnight) and travel to Immigration and Nationality Directorate Public Caller Unit (IND) by children’s social care in order to register the claim with the Home Office. The family can then access NASS support via Refugee Action once IND has accepted the claim and provided written confirmation of this.

Appendix 2 - Sources of Information

1. Documentation held by the child/family
The child/family may have documentation from their previous country such as benefit letters, ID cards, GP or hospital letters, letters from other children’s social care departments.

2. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020-7008 1500

3. The appropriate Embassy or Consulate
The London Diplomatic List, ISBN 0 11 591772 1 can be obtained from the Stationery Office on 0870 – 600 –5522 or from FCO website www.fco.gov.uk. It contains information about all the embassies based in London.

4. International directory enquires dial 155.

Ask for main Town Hall number as they will have details of local offices. This can be useful where an address in a town abroad is known.

5. International Social Service of the UK
Cranmer House, (3rd Floor), 39 Brixton Road, London SW9 6DD
Tel No 020-7735 8941/4. Fax 020-7582 0696

Appendix 3 - Private Fostering

Under section 67 of the Children Act 1989 a local authority is under a duty to satisfy itself that the welfare of children who are privately fostered within their area is being satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted and to secure that such advice is given to those caring for them as appears to the authority to be needed.

‘A privately fostered child’ means a child who is under the age of sixteen (eighteen if disabled) and who is cared for, and provided with accommodation in their own home by, someone other than:

A parent of his
A person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him
A relative of his.

A child is not a privately fostered child if the person caring for and accommodating him

Has done so for a period of less than 28 days; and
Does not intend to do so for any longer period.

A child is not a privately fostered child while he/she is

Being looked after by a local authority
In the care of any person in premises in which any of the following is living:
- a parent of his
- a person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him
- a person who is a relative of his and who has assumed responsibility for his care
For the time being living;
- (i) in accommodation provided by or on behalf of any voluntary organisation
- (ii) in any school in which he is receiving full-time education
- (iii) in any health service hospital
- (iv) in any care home or independent hospital
- (v) in any home or institution not specified above but provided, equipped and maintained by the Secretary of State

(i) to (v) do not apply where the person caring for the child is doing so in his personal capacity and not in the course of carrying out his duties in relation to the establishment mentioned in the paragraph in question.

(vi) in the care of any person in compliance with an order under section 63(1) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; or a supervision requirement within the meaning of Part II of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995
(vii) he is liable to be detained, or subject to guardianship, under the Mental Health Act 1983
(viii) he is placed in the care of a person who proposes to adopt him under arrangements made by an adoption agency or he is a protected child

Appendix 4 - Guidance on questions to ask potential carers of children from abroad who do not clearly have parental responsibility

LSCB Practice Guidance: Safeguarding Children from Abroad - November 2006 (PDF, 20Kb)