Back from lunch now...
5. Analysing Risk in Child Protection from Public Servants
If your parenting choices or family circumstances do not happen conform to the norm, and even if they do (but that
Lisbon-conceived cover story about protecting vulnerable children as opposed to mass surveillance is a closely guarded secret in order not to alarm the smug “it couldn’t happen to me” brigade), your children are essentially at risk from intrusive public servants who want to determine their outcomes for them rather than allow them the opportunity to decide on their own ‘pathways’. Since so many public servants have no idea of the real agenda (as they are kept busy in their own little worker ant boxes) they often genuinely believe that universal early interference disguised as support is a good thing and can be highly dangerous predators. Despite so called austerity cuts, they appear to have unlimited budgets for the purpose of interfering with other people’s children. It’s homogeneity, not spontaneity - or else!
5a Introducing a tried and tested model for risk assessment in these cases
‘Just Say No’ to public servants who appear and seek to interfere for no good or lawful reason.
5b Identifying clear pathways to forming judgements and making decisions in the best interests of your child
When faced with intrusive public servants, ask yourself: Is what they are doing/asking for legal? Is it acceptable to me? If no, the pathway is self-evident.
5c Ensuring that risk factors associated with intrusive and inappropriate behaviours like doorstepping are clearly identified and integral to your assessment
Be mindful that some of these public servants will telephone, email and even turn up uninvited, with or without having unilaterally made appointments to visit your home and expect access to it. Some can be quite intimidating and threatening if they don’t get their own way and may present a risk to your family, so always be prepared to outline the legal position in a calm and collected way. In order to be helpful and minimise risk to your own children, you could ask them for their home address and drop by with a group of other parents to explain the law – it will be more convenient for them not to have to travel, after all. And if they have nothing to hide...
