Chapter Sixteen
Safeguarding Children through identification, assessment and work with offenders and others who pose a risk to children
In this section:
IntroductionInformation on offenders and people who pose a risk
The links with multi-agency public protection arrangements
The MAPPA Framework
The role of the MAPPA co-ordinator
Using the MAPPA framework to protect children
The relationship between child protection conferences and MAPPA risk management meetings (RAMP; CPR MAPPP).
Sharing of relevant information
Other processes and mechanisms for managing information and/or offender behaviour
Introduction
16.1 This Chapter describes arrangements for managing risks presented to children in general. The concerns about an individual may arise from their behaviour in a family and the possibility that this behaviour could be repeated in another family or employment setting; or from offending against children outside a family setting.
16.2 It is important that agencies work together to identify, assess and manage risks presented by individuals. Where a person thought to present a risk is known or believed to be in contact with or have access to children, this risk should be assessed and steps taken to ensure that the child is safe.
Information on offenders and people who pose a risk
16.3 Children’s social care holds information on people who pose a risk to children. This is in the form of information on
- People whose behaviour in a family setting has given rise to concerns
- People who have been assessed as presenting a risk and
- Those who have committed offences against children (formerly known as Schedule 1) but who have not been subject to a formal assessment
The latter two categories will be identified by a ‘flag’ on the client data base. More detailed information is available.
This information is part of the children’s social care client data base. It is provided by:
- The prison service
- The probation service
- The police
- The youth offending service
- Health services working with adults whose behaviour gives rise to concern about future contact with children
It is managed by the Service Manager - Child Protection, who is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information and that it is available to those who have a reason to see it.
16.4 As far as possible this information is based on an assessment that the person presents a continuing risk to children, carried out by staff in the agencies providing the information. This will mean that some people who have committed offences against children but who are assessed as presenting minimal or no further risk are not included in the system.
16.5 Social workers working with families will be alerted to the presence of a person who may present a risk when a family is checked against the client data base. Other staff from LSCB agencies who have concerns that a person may present a risk can seek information from the CPIRS in Leicester City and from the CPRU in Leicestershire and Rutland. Where the information indicates that the person is a MAPPA offender, information and advice can be sought from the MAPPA co-ordinator.
16.6 Where an agency notifies children’s social care that a person known to have committed relevant offences and assessed as presenting a continuing risk is known to be in contact with children, this information will be passed to the relevant social work team who will carry out an assessment of the risks presented to those particular children.
16.7 It is important to note that the information held is not necessarily complete. Absence of a flag or other indication does not guarantee that a person is ‘safe’. Any concerns about the behaviour of an individual in relation to children should be discussed with children’s social care. Further information may be available through the police.
The links with Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements
Introduction
16.8 Work with convicted offenders who pose a risk to children is a crucial part of safeguarding children. Multi-agency work with offenders convicted of violent or sexual offences is provided through the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
16.9 Lead responsibility to co-ordinate this work is held by the police and probation service, together with the prison service. Other agencies, including health agencies, and adults’ and children’s social care, are subject to a statutory duty to co-operate.
16.10 Whilst most offenders covered by MAPPA are adults, the arrangements also include young people convicted of relevant offences. The lead agency in cases involving young offenders will usually be the youth offending service (YOS).
16.11 Where young people have not been convicted, but exhibit sexually abusive behaviour, the risks should be managed on a multi-agency basis. Chapter 9: Abuse by Children and Young People of these Procedures provides a framework for this.
16.12 Child protection procedures provide a framework for identifying, assessing, managing risk and monitoring children whose carers either themselves pose a risk to them, or who are unable to safeguard their children from the risk posed by others.
16.13 The MAPPA cover convicted offenders identified as posing a risk of harm to other people. MAPPA provide a framework for identifying, assessing, managing risk and monitoring this group. It is important to keep in mind that many MAPPA offenders will not present a risk to their own or anyone else’s child.
16.14 However, where the offences do include child protection issues, there can be considerable overlap between the child protection and MAPPA systems, as convicted offenders subject to MAPPA may include those convicted of:
- Violent or sexual offences against a child
- Domestic violence offences
- Sexual or violent offences which whilst not directly involving a child raise issues about their parenting capacity
- Violent or sexual offences such that there is need to consider the safety of staff working with a family
This list is not exhaustive but is indicative of the potential overlap.
16.15 It is important that, where there is overlap, there are explicit links between the risk management plans within each system, and that there is good understanding of how the risk management available via MAPPA can be best harnessed within child protection planning and vice versa.
16.16 Where concerns arise about the safety of a specific identified child, the first priority is to instigate child protection procedures by contacting the relevant children’s social care service. The MAPPA framework must not be used as an alternative to following child protection procedures. This is to ensure that the individual child is safeguarded without delay by the lead agencies for child protection work.
16.17 What follows is:
- A brief overview of the MAPPA framework
- How this may assist in managing those who pose a risk to children
- Responsibilities on those operating in child protection procedures to link with MAPPA and vice versa
16.18 It is important to note that the MAPPA arrangements are targeted at the more serious convicted offenders (see categories below). There will be people who have access to children who do not meet the criteria for MAPPA management, but are still identified and assessed as presenting an actual or potential risk to children.
The MAPPA Framework
16.19 Local arrangements cover the same geographical areas as the child protection procedures i.e. Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. They provide a framework to identify all offenders who fall within the remit of MAPPA, and to put in place arrangements to share relevant information between agencies.
16.20 There are three types of offenders who are subject to MAPPA procedures.
| Mappa Category | |
|---|---|
| MAPPA category 1: Registered sex offenders in the community | 16.21 These are identified and assessed by the police, using the risk matrix 2000 assessment tool. These offenders may also be current Probation cases, who will also have been assessed using their assessment tool (which is known as OASys), or, in the case of young offenders, under the supervision of YOS, who use an assessment tool known as ASSET. |
| MAPPA Category 2: Violent or sexual offenders who receive a custodial sentence of 12 months or more – but only whilst they remain on post-custody licence. | 16.22 These are subject to statutory supervision by the probation service or by YOS and are therefore identified and assessed by probation or YOS as above. |
| MAPPA Category 3: Other convicted offenders who are assessed as dangerous but do not fit into category 1 or 2. |
16.23 This is a diverse group and may include: current probation or YOS cases whose convictions are outside the criteria for category 1 or 2 but whose current or previous offences suggest that they may pose a risk to others offenders whose period of post custody licence or time on the sex offender register has expired but who are assessed as still posing a high risk other offenders e.g. mentally disordered offenders who did not become subject to probation or YOS supervision but who are assessed as high risk those with serious historical convictions, e.g. predating sex offender registration, not currently involved with any criminal justice agency but whose current behaviour is causing concern |
16.24 The framework requires a common assessment of the level of risk of harm to others – low, medium, high or very high. It is necessary to ensure that all MAPPA offenders are managed at the appropriate level of a three-tier risk management structure. The level at which they are managed reflects their level of risk of harm.
Level 1: Management by a single agency.
16.25 Registered sex offenders who are assessed as “low” or “medium” risk are usually managed by officers in the Local Policing Unit that covers the area where the offender lives. Most MAPPA offenders who are on post-custody licence and assessed as low or medium risk, are managed through supervision by their probation officer or YOS supervisor.
Level 2: Multi-agency management.
16.26 Where it is necessary for a number of agencies to contribute to risk management, this is co-ordinated by “Risk Assessment and Management Panel” (RAMP meetings) RAMP meetings are normally convened and chaired by probation, the police, or YOS depending on which agency has current lead responsibility. For some mentally disordered offenders where no other agency has a statutory responsibility, meetings may be convened and chaired by the health service as “Risk Concerns Meetings” which are part of the Care Programme Approach (CPA) procedures.
16.27 MAPPA Level 2 meetings are normally chaired by middle managers. Practitioners from any agency working with the offender will be invited to attend. Initial meetings will normally be convened, within 15 working days of the offender being assessed as high risk.
16.28 Subsequently, regular review meetings will be held, and on each occasion a review of the risk assessment must be undertaken. This is necessary in order to decide whether the case should continue to be managed at this level or, if the risks have decreased, whether the case can revert to Level 1 management, or if they have significantly increased, whether the case should be referred to MAPPA Level 3.
Level 3: Multi Agency Management of the “critical few”, very high risk offenders.
16.29 This is a multi-agency Panel system set up to provide assessment and management of risks posed by convicted dangerous offenders where it is judged that there is imminent risk of serious harm to others. The Panel consists of senior managers representing all key agencies who act as core panel members and consider all the cases. It is chaired by the Multi-Agency Public Protection (MAPPP) manager. It meets once a month for a full day.
16.30 Frontline practitioners from key involved agencies are invited to Panel meetings and contribute to the discussions; the key decision as to whether the offender meets the threshold for ongoing MAPPP oversight and management is taken by the core Panel members.
16.31 This process is reserved for the “critical few” most serious cases and a strict gate-keeping process is applied. Referrals are approved by the core panel member for the agency wishing to refer the individual to the MAPPP, and then screened by the MAPPP manager. Such individuals will normally have been considered by a Level 2 RAMP meeting.
16.32 If it is decided that MAPPP management is necessary, the case will be regularly brought back before the MAPPP for review. When the risks are assessed to have significantly reduced, the risk management automatically reverts to MAPPA Level 2.
The role of the MAPPA Co-ordinator
16.33 The MAPPA Co-ordinator is an independent, dedicated post, jointly funded by the founding MAPPP agencies (the police, probation and health services and Leicester City, Leicestershire and Rutland County Councils)
16.34 The main functions of the post are:
- To provide staff of partner agencies with information on MAPPA offenders – their MAPPA category, the level of MAPPA risk management, the managing agency and contact details of the case manager/keyworker
- To provide advice and consultancy in relation to offenders
- To process and approve referrals to the MAPPP (MAPPA Level 3)
- To convene and chair all MAPPP (MAPPA Level 3) meetings, including review panel meetings
- To oversee the risk management arrangements of all offenders managed at MAPPA Level 3
- To maintain a detailed database in relation to all offenders referred to and those managed by the MAPPP
Using the MAPPA framework to protect children
16.35 Collaboration between MAPPA and child protection processes is vital in order to:
- Ensure that information exchange enhances assessment of risk in individual cases
- Ensure that the two different procedures, each of which will properly have a different focus, do not act in ways which are contradictory or are in conflict with each other
- Ensure that plans for individual children use the tools for risk management of adult offenders available through legislation
- Discharge duties to co-operate with MAPPA
16.36 Where there are concerns for a child and reason to consider that a significant person in the situation may be subject to the MAPPA framework, the MAPPA Co-ordinator can be contacted for information or advice on who to contact.
16.37 Contact should always then be made with the key worker/case manager. This is both to seek information about the assessment of the offender and to communicate information to the person co-ordinating work with the offender.
16.38 There are established links between the MAPPP Unit and the Child Protection Service Managers (Leicester City, Leicestershire and Rutland). Information on (Level 3) MAPPP-managed individuals is held by the children’s social care and flagged on the respective client data bases. The Service Managers are also available for consultation on the inter-relationship between the MAPPA and Child Protection processes, and act as a single point of contact for enquiries from other agencies regarding MAPPA offenders. Additionally, for Rutland, the Head of Inclusion can be contacted for advice or information on offenders living in Rutland.
16.39 As previously stated, where concerns arise about the safety of a specific identified child, the first priority is to instigate child protection procedures by contacting the relevant children’s social care service.
16.40 When the immediate protection of the child has been addressed, consideration should be given to whether the perpetrator(s) poses a more general, non-specific risk to other children. If so, consideration must be given as to whether to refer to the MAPPA framework.
16.41 Where a known or suspected child abuser is identified, but there are no current concerns about specific children, the MAPPA framework should be used.
- The MAPPA Co-ordinator should be contacted to establish whether the offender is currently being managed by another agency
- If so, the case manager should be contacted and made aware of any information which may be of relevance to risk assessment or management
- Where there is no current contact with a MAPPA agency there should be discussion with the MAPPA Co-ordinator to decide how to proceed
- Advice can also be sought from the Child Protection Service Managers or Head of Inclusion (Rutland)
The relationship between child protection conferences and MAPPA risk management meetings (RAMP; CPR MAPPP).
16.42 In some instances, there will be child protection plans in place which manage the risk of an offender in respect of an individual child and parallel risk-management processes as a part of the MAPPA framework.
16.43 The functions and focus of each process overlap but have distinct aspects. It is vital that the exchange of information is maintained in order to ensure that the focus of work and intervention is complementary and does not diverge over time.
16.44 The child protection key worker/offender case manager should each attend the review meetings within the other process whenever possible, and, if not possible, should submit information about the progress of the plan on which he/she is leading.
16.45 Workers need to be aware of some key differences in the processes. Level 2 and Level 3 MAPPA meetings are professionals-only meetings – more like child protection strategy meetings than child protection conferences. Although most offenders subject to Level 3 meetings are advised of the process, this may be after the meeting and, in exceptional circumstances, a decision may be taken not to disclose to the person concerned that meetings are taking place.
16.46 There can also be tensions between strategies to manage the risks to a child and other public protection aims. Keeping an adult offender in touch with their family may reduce the risks the adult poses generally because he/she has much needed support, but places a child in greater potential risk than ending the contact. In circumstances where there is potential conflict, it is even more important that communication is maintained and differences in approach discussed.
16.47 An additional advantage of a fully collaborative approach is that other forms of intervention may be available through statutory and legislative adult focused provision to manage risk, and this may be more effective in safeguarding the child than the intervention available under child protection procedures.
Sharing of relevant information
16.48 As well as sharing information between child protection and MAPPA agencies it may also be appropriate to notify non MAPPA organisations of the presence of an offender. This may include schools, nurseries and other early years providers. Decisions about such notifications will be made by the police and probation services in consultation with other members of the MAPPA Strategic Management Board.
Other Processes and Mechanisms for Managing Information and/or Offender Behaviour
16.49 A range of disposals in place to manage adult offenders who may present a risk to children. These should always be considered as possible contributors to a Child Protection Plan. Advice on these can be sought from the police, the probation service and the youth offending service.