A response from CELCIS to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on a Children’s Care & Justice Bill
Topic: Children's hearings system, Residential care, Throughcare and aftercare
Author: Kate Mackinnon, Paul Sullivan and Lizzie Thomson
CELCIS’s response to the consultation on the Scottish Government’s Children’s Care & Justice Bill. We respond to proposals on changes to decision-making and processes within the Children’s Hearings System and criminal justice system, to secure care settings, and to the support for children in residential care settings cared for in Scotland from other nations within the UK (known as ‘cross border placements’).
The proposals in the draft bill have a particular focus on children coming into contact with care and justice services, with a view to supporting them through age-appropriate systems and services, and also focus on further reducing the number of children in Young Offenders’ Institutions and reforming the approach to supporting children in secure care. The introduction of additional safeguards and regulation for children placed in cross-border placements is also proposed.