Growth and development.pdf

Appendix 2Children’s Services• Just over 7,200 children were referred to local authorities for child protection inquiries in theyear ended 31 March 2000. 36% of those referred were the subject of an inter-agency caseconference.• In 88% of instances where children were subject to a case conference the children in questionwere living at home prior to being referred.• In 78% of all case conferences, the primary source of abuse/risk to the child was known orsuspected to be the child’s birth parent(s).• 73% of case conferences occurring as a result of children referred in the year ending31 March 2000 resulted in the child being placed on the local child protection register.• There were just over 2,100 children removed from child protection registers in the year to31 March 2000. Two thirds of these children had been on the register for less than a yearwith nearly 11% having spent at least 2 years on the register. Of these 2,100 deregistrations40% were for children whose main category of abuse had been identified asphysical injury.• As at 31 March 2000, 2,050 children were on local child protection registers, a decrease ofjust over 300 on the number one year previously.• At 31 March 2001, just under 10,900 children were ‘looked after’ by the local authorities• In the year ended 31 December 2001, 418 applications were made for adoption comparedto 405 the year before.• At 31 March 2000 the number of children in residential accommodation on was 1,960.Figure 1Children registered as a result of a case Conference: Breakdown by Category of above/riskidentified by case conference.Percentage breakdown by category of abuse 2000Other1%Physicalneglect33.8%Physicainjury37.7%Emotionalabuse12.4%Sexualabuse15.1%277