Children's Needs – Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ...

3Which children are most at risk ofsignificant harm?Chapter 3 explores factors that increase children’s vulnerability and those that protectchildren from suffering significant harm. Vulnerability factors include:co-morbidity of parental problemsa cumulation of negative childhood experiences including abuse and neglectgenetic transmission of parental disordersinvolvement in parental delusionsexposure to illicit drugs and the paraphernalia of drug use.Protective factors include:quick resolution of parental problemsday-to-day presence of a caring, safe adult who parents the childthe child’s own temperament, coping strategies and resilience.What constitutes significant harm?The concept of significant harm was introduced by the Children Act 1989 as thethreshold for compulsory intervention in family life in the best interests of children.The Act places a duty on local authorities to make enquiries to decide whetherthey should take action to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who issuffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. Statutory guidance (HM Government2010a) discusses the issues that should be considered when judging what constitutessignificant harm in individual cases.There are no absolute criteria on which to rely when judging what constitutessignificant harm. Consideration of the severity of ill-treatment may include thedegree and the extent of physical harm, the duration and frequency of abuseand neglect, the extent of premeditation, and the presence or degree of threat,coercion, sadism and bizarre or unusual elements. Each of these elements has beenassociated with more severe effects on the child, and/or relatively greater difficultyin helping the child overcome the adverse impact of the maltreatment. Sometimes,a single traumatic event may constitute significant harm, for example, a violent