Children Act 1989

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the beliefs behind the UK's Children Act 1989 law and the principles governing the actions of the Local Authority. The paper examines the scope of the Act, its major implications for the practice of all those who work with children and the main impetus that was behind its establishment. The paper then looks at the American system that was also based on a view of protecting children but then changed to a more punitive system out of fear of youth crime. The paper points out the trends in the U.S. juvenile correctional system of today.

From the Paper:

"The law is based on the idea of parental responsibility and so summarizes the duties, rights, powers, and responsibilities of the parent with respect to the child. The Local Authority is assigned a duty to protect and promote the welfare of a child in need in its area, and a child in need is defined as "one whose health or development is likely to be impaired if he or she is not provided with a service, or a child who is disabled" (The Law Relating to Children 2008, para. 3). In some cases, the child must be provided accommodation, assuming that:
- There is no parent with parental responsibility for them
- They are lost or abandoned
- The person who has been caring for them is prevented from providing suitable accommodation or care
(The Law Relating to Children 2008, para. 3)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bennett, G. 1989, Crimewarps, New York, Anchor Books.
• Children Act 1989 2008. Office of Public Sector Information, The National Archives, http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga_19890041_en_1.htm.
• Curran, D.J. 1988, October, Destructuring, Privatization, and the Promise of Juvenile Diversion: Compromising Community-based Corrections, Crime and Delinquency, 363-378.
• Franklin, B. 2001, The New Handbook of Children's Rights: Comparative Policy and Practice, London, Routledge.
• Hirst, J. 2001, January 22, Another Crumbling Public Service, New Statesman, Volume 130, Issue 4521, 10.

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