Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of statutes
- Table of statutory instruments
- Table of international instruments
- Part One Theoretical perspectives and international sources
- Part Two Promoting consultation and decision-making
- Part Three Children's rights and parents' powers
- 9 Children's rights versus family privacy – physical punishment and financial support
- 10 Parents' decisions and children's health rights
- 11 Educational rights for children in minority groups
- 12 Educational rights for children with disabilities
- 13 Children's right to know their parents – the significance of the blood tie
- 14 Children's right to know and be brought up by their parents
- 15 An abused child's right to state protection
- 16 Right to protection in state care and to state accountability
- 17 The right of abused children to protection by the criminal law
- 18 Protecting the rights of young offenders
- 19 Conclusion – themes and the way ahead
- Appendix I UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Appendix II Human Rights Act 1998
- Index
- References
16 - Right to protection in state care and to state accountability
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of statutes
- Table of statutory instruments
- Table of international instruments
- Part One Theoretical perspectives and international sources
- Part Two Promoting consultation and decision-making
- Part Three Children's rights and parents' powers
- 9 Children's rights versus family privacy – physical punishment and financial support
- 10 Parents' decisions and children's health rights
- 11 Educational rights for children in minority groups
- 12 Educational rights for children with disabilities
- 13 Children's right to know their parents – the significance of the blood tie
- 14 Children's right to know and be brought up by their parents
- 15 An abused child's right to state protection
- 16 Right to protection in state care and to state accountability
- 17 The right of abused children to protection by the criminal law
- 18 Protecting the rights of young offenders
- 19 Conclusion – themes and the way ahead
- Appendix I UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Appendix II Human Rights Act 1998
- Index
- References
Summary
The corporate parent
Society expects parents to fulfil their children's rights to care, protection, optimum health and a good education. Parents should also promote their children's capacity for independence and take an interest in their future careers. Theoretically, when a local authority (LA) obtains a care order over a child, it is deemed to share parental responsibilities with his or her parents. In practice the sharing is nominal, since parents cannot demand a right to influence events, even though they should be consulted over decisions regarding their child's future care. Consequently the state effectively takes over the parenting role and should fulfil the same duties as birth parents. Indeed, the ‘no order’ principle emphasises that by authorising an abused child's removal from home under a care order, the court is expecting the state to do a better job than the parents. The government agrees with these sentiments:
As the corporate parent of children in care the State has a special responsibility for their wellbeing. Like any good parent, it should put its own children first. That means being a powerful advocate for them to receive the best of everything and helping children to make a success of their lives.
Many children who are the subject of child protection referrals are not removed from their parents' care, but are accommodated away from home with their parents' agreement – on the authority of a ‘section 20 agreement’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Children's Rights and the Developing Law , pp. 597 - 643Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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