Children and Young People Risk of Harm:

¶ … Children and Young People Risk of Harm:

The identification and reaction to children and young people risk of harm basically involves the proper application of necessary knowledge and skills to deal with the requirements of duty of care. This process involves all workers who are engaged in providing various services to children such as health, education, family services, and community services. In addition, this process incorporates three major elements i.e. implementation of relevant work practices, reporting the probable risk of harm, and application of nurturing practices.

The other critical aspect in this process is the need for these workers to possess essential knowledge and skills to enable them achieve their respective goals. Children and young people may be at risk of harm when their psychological and physical needs are unmet, they lack necessary medical care, and they are susceptible to sexual or physical abuse. Moreover, when children and young people are exposed to severe psychological harm or domestic violence, their risk of harm is increased.

Major Elements in the Process:

The risk of harm to children and young people are considered as factors that enhance the possibility of a future negative outcome for these people. In identifying and responding to these risks of harm, workers need to use various protective factors that lessen the likelihood of the occurrence of these negative outcomes. This is largely because most risk and protective factors are usually linked and inter-related with the various outcomes on children and young people. The protective factors are interventions and services that deal with numerous domains of functioning of children and young people. Although there are various types of risk of harm to both children and young people, the recognition and reaction process include three major stages or elements as explained below:

Application of Work Practices:

This is the first step in this process that involves implementation of work practices that foster the protection of these children and young people. Workers should begin by observing the signs of risk of harm, raising non-invasive questions, and recognizing the protective issues. These workers should then use appropriate communication and information-gathering measures based on the established good practices. While the application of relevant child protection procedures is critical, information-gathering should involve the maintenance of confidentiality. In response to the disclosure of information by children and young people, workers need to adhere to the acceptable standards, lawful instructions, and techniques in all work activities. The implementation of protective work practices also requires that decisions and actions are applied based on the workers' level of responsibility and role.

Reporting Signs of Possible Risk of Harm:

After identifying situations that are likely to result in harm to children and young people, the information should be recorded in a suitable means. Reporting of any sign of possible risk of harm by a worker involves the appropriate documentation of the identified abuse or harm situations. This recording should include the determination of relevant information, the general circumstances surrounding the situation, and the specific circumstances to the situation. While any form of recording abuse is suitable, it should be in compliance with the established organization procedures and the ethical and lawful requirements.

While the types of record may vary depending on the particular situation, the documentation should be done in an objective and confidential manner. Following the appropriate and objective recording of the sign of likely risk of harm, workers should promptly these indicators based on the statutory and organizational procedures. They should then work collaboratively with the relevant agencies in ensuring the maximum efficiency of the report.

Implementation of Moral and Nurturing Practices:

The final element in the process is the application of moral and nurturing practices when working with children and young people. This involves safeguarding the rights of children and young people when providing response services and determining and seeking supervision support for ethical concerns. In compliance with the professional regulations, workers need to develop and establish ethical and nurturing duties. Notably, this development of ethical and nurturing practices depends on the worker's ability to identify signs for possible moral concerns and issues.

Practical Steps: