Childrens Champion for Jersey – Where are YOU?

Yesterday Andrew Williamson of “Williamson Report” fame appeared as a witness before a Scrutiny Panel to report back on progress to date.
It made dismal hearing for those who could cut through the PR cr*p.

He was followed by Mike Taylor who heads up the Jersey Child Protection Committee (JCPC) and here was yet more of the same

For anybody who listened to the hours of “bureau speak” it became more and more obvious why childrens’ social workers are still being sacked in places like Birmingham and why yet more abuse scandals are being revealed all over the world.

The fact is that decent people like Williamson and Taylor are steeped in the very same traditional way of thinking that is an integral part of the problem. They still believe that the answer to every problem is to form a committee and if possible several linked sub-committees.

During more than two hours of discussion yesterday the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was not mentioned once by anybody. Vetting and Barring was also ignored.
There were no original or radical solutions on offer and Mike Taylor conceded that in the UK, even if you are a local authority with the most efficient child protection systems in place, it is not possible to predict that a serious abuse problem will not hit you! The warning indicators might not be present!

So what is the point of any safeguards then – if the abusers can still run rings around them? Short of asking abusers to declare themselves – what do these polite bureaucrats really expect?

Ironically, it was Constable Silva Yates who instinctively realised how inadequate it all was. He had already expressed his frustration at a previous Scrutiny meeting this week on Income Support and how he was now hamstrung by the bureaucratic restraints of Data Protection and the Social Security department and prevented from helping directly those in need in his own Parish. “I am not allowed to know who they are” he had pleaded – and he realised that the 24 person Committee and the endless sub-committees of the Jersey Child Protection body was yet more of the same.

Of course, Silva Yates speaks as an example of the “benign dictatorship” that is afforded to people who have the ability and power to act spontaneously and using their own discretion. This is just what is still lacking for children in Jersey – there is still no single person – a Minister or Commissioner or whatever – who can be approached directly by ANYBODY and has the authority to initiate direct action.




As was revealed, even the obscure JCPC website still declares:
“If you wish to raise a concern about the immediate safety or welfare of a child please do not contact the JCRC - Instead, you should call the Childrens Service. If you need to contact someone outside normal hours, you should call the States of Jersey Police.”

No immediate help there of course and not even the alternative telephone numbers or links. It sums up the whole attitude of child protection and welfare. Not just in Jersey but within so many governments, authorities, institutions and bureaucracies world-wide. And, call who at Jersey Police by the way………..?

There were so many obvious inadequacies revealed in these few hours of discussion. It was not just the shortcomings of the answers but, as always it was the lack of coordinated and systematic questioning by the scrutinizing States Members.
Endless promises of “teamwork” and “robust responses” are empty and meaningless words when the witnesses were not even able to clarify precisely what are the age limits for children in Jersey for the purposes of the proposed Childrens Plan?

As in the past, a central problem is to coordinate the various activities of three distinct Jersey Ministries – Health, Education and Home Affairs – but, as always this was just a fresh coat of paint over the same old failed model and it should be evident to everybody that when it comes to the crunch, adequate funding will not be available to repair or reform the system properly.

Inevitably, the general public were noticeable by their absence at yesterday’s most important meeting. It was just as well because there was no available seating and as always, they would have been required to keep silent.

And so it goes on.

Subitted by Thomas Wellard.