RE: Re-registration decisions

[ikatz@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Anne

My unit  have done a number of audits of children on the CPR in various 
local authorities, and have looked at the issue of re-registration.  In 
general, the numbers are very small, so it is hard to make any 
generalisations.  We had a lot of problems defining re-registration, because 
in the majority of cases children were registered the second time for abuse 
which occurred in totally different circumstances from the original abuse eg 
a child might be registered for neglect by mother, moved to an aunts house 
be deregistered and then be sexually abused by aunt's partner.  A related 
factor was that many re-registered children seemed to come from what we used 
to call 'multi-problem families', where there is long-term professional 
involvement, and periods on the register are interspersed with periods in 
care or on supervision orders.

Another definitional problem is that many children on the register have not 
been abused themselves we were surprised to find in one audit that most CSA 
registrations were for children living with convicted (Schedule 1) 
offenders, or were siblings of an abused child, but had not themselves been 
abused.  So re-registration in these cases is not a proxy for re-abuse.

As I say, this information is anecdotal rather than scientific, but I hope 
it helps you.  I know that a reduction in re-registration is a target for 
both 'Quality Protects' and 'SureStart' (UK government initiatives) but my 
view is that it is a deceptively simple performance indicator.


Ilan Katz

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Dr Ilan Katz
Head of Practice Development Unit
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)
42 Curtain Rd
London EC2A  3NH
Tel  +44 0171  825-2732
Fax  +44 0171  825-2737
email     ikatz@nspcc.org.uk
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From: A.E.Hollows@shu.ac.uk
To: CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@
Subject: Re-registration decisions
Date: 19 May 1999 19:53

<<File Attachment: ENVELOPE.TXT>>
I am currently looking for literature around the re-registration of
previously de-registered child protection cases, prior to a study of 100
such cases. I would be glad of suggestions. I recall some recent
discussion arounf registration of previously unsubstantiated cases but
cannot locate it.
Also, I would be glad of any views on how far to match a control group -
our current plan is to sample on the basis of families, rather than
individual children, as current practice in the area concerned tends
generally to register all the children in the family, but this presents
problems in idenitfying a matched control group. Details of experience in
theis area would be appreciated.


Anne Hollows
Principal Lecturer in Social Work
School of Health and Community Studies
Sheffield Hallam University
Collgiate Crescent Campus
Sheffield S10 2BA


tel  +44 (0) 114 225 2369
fax+44 (0) 114 225 2430