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Children's Social Care Services need to improve their approach to vulnerable teenage children – particularly those at risk of exploitation or who frequently go missing, according to a report by the island's care watchdog.
This finding was a key outcome of an inspection conducted by the Jersey Care Commission which aimed to assess the quality and impact of Children's Social Care Services.
The inspection revealed that, while the service has made progress since previous assessments and is generally well-managed, there are gaps in the protection of teenagers at risk of exploitation or who frequently go missing.
An Inspection report has been added to the Jersey Care Commission’s website for Children’s Social Care, Independent Reviewing Officer Service (IRO), Fostering and Adoption Services. To access the full report, please visit: https://t.co/GXWsPnVTjf
— Jersey Care Commission (@JerseyCareComm) July 30, 2024
The report called for a more robust and coordinated system to address these issues.
The Commission said: “This should include robust multiagency identification of risks and a whole system response to meeting their needs and reduce the likelihood of harm.”
The inspection also revealed an "inconsistent response" to children who go missing, with a lack of joined-up working between different agencies.
The report said: "A lack of consensus within and between individual agencies regarding responsibility and accountability results in separate disjointed priorities and approaches.
"This hampers an effective response for this group of children."
Pictured: The Jersey Care Commission promotes best practices in social care outcomes.
The current child exploitation strategy was also criticised for its limited scope, with the Commission saying it failed to address various forms of exploitation and risks outside the home.
The report explained: "The need to assess and communicate risks concerning sexual, criminal, digital, and community-based exploitation of children, and those who go missing from care or home, are not well understood or managed.
"This limits the small window of opportunity to put in place effective plans to reduce risk and mitigate harm."
To address these concerns, the Commission recommended a “collective approach” involving all key partner agencies to establish "cohesive oversight" of vulnerable children's circumstances.
This approach, the Commission argued, is crucial to ensure these young people can live safely and have the opportunity for “fulfilling and purposeful lives into adulthood”.
Pictured: The Jersey Care Commission said teenagers need improved support from Children's Social Care Services in a recently published report.
In response, Children's Social Care Services have committed to creating a multi-agency strategic action plan.
This plan includes daily multi-agency missing meetings, improved data collection, and increased out-of-hours support.
The report comes amid growing concerns about rising drug use and exploitation of young people.
In May, the Probation Service warned about children experimenting with drugs and falling into debt, potentially leading to exploitation by criminals.
Pictured: The Jersey Probation and After-Care Service annual report raised concerns about some children being criminally exploited related to drugs earlier this year.
This warning came just weeks after the Youth Court heard a case where a teenage boy who used cannabis for his ADHD was "groomed" by young adults into selling drugs to pay for his habit.
Additionally, the States of Jersey Police Annual Report 2022 revealed that a small number of children were responsible for a disproportionate number of missing person reports.
Pictured: Each missing child costs the police over £1,000. (Statistics Jersey)
It showed that there were 720 missing children reports in 2022, relating to 82 children in total.
Almost half of those, 328 (45% of the total) related to just six individuals.
The police said: “When children go missing, particularly on a regular basis, they are potentially vulnerable to criminal or sexual exploitation."
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