Blunders reveal secret hideaways of at-risk kids
The secret locations of almost 100 children in hiding from abusive or neglectful parents have been revealed after blunders by Glasgow and national agencies.
In a series of data protection breaches, the agencies accidentally allowed information about youngsters covered by tough non-disclosure orders to leak to the very people they were trying to protect them from.
The number of “non-disclosure breaches” involving children involved in Scotland’s children’s hearing system has soared from almost none to 25 in 2008, 54 in 2009 and another 19 so far this year – 98 in all.
A substantial proportion of the leaks are understood to have taken place in and around Glasgow.
The Evening Times understands this has led to major changes in the way the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, one of the organisations running the children’s hearing system, manages its regional office in the city.
Glasgow, due to its serious problems with poverty and addiction, accounts for around a third of all the roughly 1500 non-disclosure orders outstanding in Scotland at any given time.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration admitted it had been forced to make a “highly significant” payment to foster parents after coming to an out-of-court settlement after a serious breach.
The foster family had been forced to relocate after the offender father of a child in their care was told their address.
In at least five of the cases the children whose whereabouts were disclosed were deemed to be at a “high risk” of coming to harm.
Social workers were responsible for nearly half of all the breaches, according to figures seen by the Evening Times.
But other breaches were made by schools, sheriff clerks or members of the child’s family.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration has cracked down on the breaches for which it was to blame. It was responsible for 11 in 2008 – including the one for which the payout was made – but just two in 2009 and another two so far this year.
The organisation, which is responsible for all taking all referrals to the children’s hearing system for youngsters who are troubled, troublesome, or both, has overhauled its procedures over the last 18 months.
It is understood at least one manager has left the organisation after concerns over non-disclosure breaches. However, no staff have been formally disciplined.
Netta Maciver, the Administration’s principal reporter and chief executive, stressed that protecting Scotland’s most vulnerable children and young people remained her body’s “number one priority” and that non-disclosure orders were taken “extremely seriously”.
But she stressed the sheer number of breaches of such orders was a matter for all child protection agencies, including schools, social work departments and the courts.
She said: “Eighteen months ago, we carried out a thorough review of our procedures and practice to strengthen the arrangements we have in place for managing cases where a non-disclosure order applies.
“The review involved our partners in the Children’s Hearings System as it was evident a number of the breaches were occurring in partner organisations and from family members.”
The Administration has officially reported the data breaches to the UK Government watchdog for data protection, the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Its assistant commissioner for Scotland, Ken Macdonald, said: “The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration has informed us of a number of breaches involving confidential personal information in the past year.
“Any organisation that processes personal information must ensure adequate safeguards are in place to keep personal information secure.”
He added: “We are working closely with the Administration to establish the full facts behind these breaches and to ensure the appropriate security procedures and policies are put in place.”
It is believed no child has been hurt as a result of the breaches, but child protection experts said the breaches remained far more serious than “theoretical losses” of data of recent years, when laptops were left on trains or memory cards in cafe.
Martin Henry, of the charity Stop It Now, said: “We are talking about information about the whereabouts of children who have been abused or neglected having been given to those who abused or neglected them.
“I think one of the reasons for this is that officials end up putting the needs of adults before the needs of children.”
How simple slips can reveal address …
It is easy to reveal a secret hiding place of a child taken into protective care. One social worker knows exactly how easy …
The worker was overseeing a supervised visit, a carefully observed meeting between a vulnerable youngster and relative. When it was time to go home the social worker called a taxi … and gave away the child’s new address.
Senior insiders in the children’s hearing system are not happy with slip-ups like that. “There is a degree of frustration with other agencies,” said one diplomatic official in the children’s hearing system. “Sometimes people just do not understand what the impact of such a breach can be.”
Of the 98 officially recorded breaches of non-disclosure orders over the last two and a half years, around half can be blamed on social workers.
Those working in the system describe hurried, overworked professionals rattling off a letter to a parent about their youngster and – by habit – including the child’s address.
But social workers are not the only offenders. Schools are also responsible for breaches, as are members of the children’s panels and sheriff’s clerks.
In some cases, usually less serious, the leaks have been traced to a member of the child’s extended family, a granny or an aunt who has been kept in the loop. Officials admit they can’t legislate for information coming from such sources. But they believe tougher procedures could stop data seeping out of the official system.
Senior social workers are well aware of the issue.
Michelle Miller, president of the Association of Directors of Social Work, said “extra care” was always taken when a non-disclosure order was imposed on a child’s whereabouts for his or her safety.
She added: “Rare though they are, any breach of security is taken very seriously and arrangements are always put in place quickly to safeguard the child.”
There are currently some 1400-1500 non-disclosure orders in place for the whereabouts of children in the hearings system.
Some insiders suggest panels may be over-enthusiastic in imposing the measures, making them harder to police, but one panel member, who asked not to be named, denied this.
“We would impose an order only if we had a very good justifiable reason for doing so. Parents have the right to see their child, after all,” she said.
“Any breach of this would be very concerning. We are very careful with this information – we even have colour-coded systems to make sure we do not give anything away.
“The children who have a non-disclosure order have red files.”
The nightmare scenario is that a child will be hurt as a result of a breach. But officials are well aware of just how much trauma a leak can cause even if it does not result in any immediate danger.
Fosterers can live in fear of a difficult parent – say somebody with a drug problem or abuse conviction – turning up at their door and demanding to see their child.
And protected youngsters themselves may be terrified of adults from whom they have been taken.
Officials, meanwhile, are said to be bracing themselves for legal actions. They have already paid out a “significant” figure to one family forced to relocate. Other families may also chose to sue.
Netta Mciver, the principal reporter at the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, said the organisation’s performance had improved on breaches.
But she added: “All our staff are thoroughly committed to handling these sensitive cases with the care and attention they rightly deserve.”
