Safe accommodation for trafficked children

A recurring issue voiced to the CSJ by those from children’s services, the police and NGOs is the lack of suitable accommodation for children who have been trafficked. The unique and particular risks that a trafficked child is at – as illustrated by the high number that go missing – mean that specific safety measures must be put in place.

In the vast majority of cases this will mean that accommodation such as bed and breakfasts or large children’s homes will not be appropriate. In the year to March 2012, 5,750 looked-after children were placed in children’s homes or hostels.85 _{Of these, 15 per cent of placements}

were in homes or hostels which are not subject to children’s homes regulations.86 _{The CSJ}

84 Paragraph 23, preamble, Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA [accessed via: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:101:0001:0011:EN:PDF (23/01/13)]

85 Department for Education, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers) – year ending 31 March 2012 [accessed via: http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001084/index.shtml (14/02/13)]

86 Ibid

‘From the moment an unaccompanied child victim of trafficking in human beings is identified and until a durable solution is found, Member States should apply reception measures appropriate to the needs of the child and should ensure that relevant procedural safeguards apply.’

Preamble to EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims84

‘The big missing link in all of this is safe accommodation.’

Anonymous vulnerable children support worker, in evidence to the CSJ

‘We’re limited in terms of the number of options, particularly around

the provision of where they go to next.’

Anonymous former social worker, in evidence to the CSJ

Recommendation:

„

„ The activities of local authorities to safeguard child victims of trafficking and ensure their recovery should be included in Ofsted inspections as part of their progress on identifying and safeguarding children at risk. In particular, Ofsted should particularly scrutinise cases of children going missing from local authority care.

fears that proportion of these placements may have been used for children who have been trafficked, given the low awareness of social services and the lack of recognition of the risks these children face. If children trafficked both into and within the UK cannot be offered homes that keep them safe, the UK is failing in its response. The lack of awareness of modern slavery amongst social workers leads to trafficked children being placed in inappropriate accommodation. The CSJ has also heard frequently that there is a lack of suitable accommodation available. This creates a worrying situation where, even if a trafficked child is identified, finding them safe accommodation is still very difficult.

6.13.1 Foster placements and specialist fostering

One way to contribute to the safeguarding of children who have been trafficked should be through foster placements. However, the CSJ has been alarmed to find that, of the number of trafficked children reported missing to one voluntary sector organisation, 38 per cent went missing from foster care placements.87 _{In these cases, foster carers are unable to keep the}

child from going missing because they do not understand the particular risks to the child and are consequently unable to mitigate the risk of them disappearing. The CSJ was appalled to learn that children have in the past been placed with foster carers who have not even been told that the child has been trafficked.88

Barnardo’s has been running a safe accommodation pilot project in the form of a specialist foster placement service, specifically aimed at accommodating trafficked and sexually exploited children in an effort to create a safer environment for these children.89 _{This model}

is a positive step. Given that previous CSJ research into the experiences of children in care

87 NSPCC submission to All Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry on children who go missing from care [accessed via: http://www.nspcc.org. uk/Inform/research/ctail/response-missing-children_wdf89466.pdf (22/01/13)]

88 Anonymous charity, in evidence to the CSJ

89 The Barnardo’s Safe Accommodation Project [accessed via: http://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/203592/The-Barnardos- Safe-Accommodation-Project-Dr-Lucie-Shuker.pdf (22/01/13)]

‘Assigning places is often about juggling resources to find

appropriate accommodation.’

Paula Neil, former manager of large children’s services, in evidence to the CSJ

‘We are persistently putting children in places where they are just

going to get away.’

Senior police officer, in evidence to the CSJ

‘Some foster carers just don’t get it – one carer left her phone lying

around, and the trafficked child in her care went missing.’

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and vulnerable children shows that relationships and trust are essential to making a child feel safe, we are convinced that specialist foster placements are an appropriate means of helping to safeguard a trafficked child.90

For such a scheme to be successful, it is crucial that thorough training is given to prospective specialist fosterers. The success of such placements also relies upon adequate numbers of foster carers being recruited. There is currently a national shortage of foster carers in the UK – an extra 8,750 foster carers were needed across the UK in 2012 alone.93 _{Recruitment could}

therefore be a significant stumbling block to the effectiveness of this programme. Three out of every five fostering services in the UK were reported in 2012 as ‘desperately seeking’ carers.94

In 2012, 98 per cent of foster services were looking for more families for teenagers.95 _At

present, there are 12 specialist foster placements in place under the Barnardo’s pilot, and the CSJ recommends that this format be replicated across the UK. The CSJ draws on its previous recommendations regarding the recruitment of foster carers, and reiterates the need to recognise and reward fostering in order to incentivise applications.96 _{These recommendations}

can be found in the CSJ’s seminal 2009 report on the care system, Couldn’t Care Less.97

90 The Centre for Social Justice, Couldn’t Care Less: A policy report from the Children in Care Working Group, London: Centre for Social Justice, September 2008

91 Foster carer, in evidence to the CSJ, January 2013 92 Ibid

93 The Fostering Network [accessed via: http://www.fostering.net/foster-care-fortnight (22/01/13)]

94 The Times, Drive to recruit foster carers from work force, 22 May 2012 [accessed via: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/ article3420656.ece (20/12/12)]

95 Ibid

96 The Centre for Social Justice, Couldn’t Care Less: A policy report from the Children in Care Working Group, London: CSJ, September 2008, p24

97 Ibid, pp83–86

In evidence to the CSJ, one specialist foster carer spoke of the wide range of support that she and her family were able to offer the trafficked children in her care. Trained to identify and mitigate the specific risks for a trafficked child, the specialist foster carer plays a significant part in keeping them safe. As well as the practical aspects of protecting a child, such as ensuring they are not left alone in the initial period of their stay, making sure that mobile phone and internet use is supervised and not allowing the child to leave the house on their own, the foster carer is also able to offer emotional support to the child. Barnardo’s training includes information on the impact of trafficking on a child, and the specific emotional needs they may have. Foster carers taking part in this project will also support the child through any immigration or legal procedures that are ongoing. In the words of one carer: ‘It’s our responsibility to go through it with them. It helps with continuity. It helps the young person to feel settled and safe: they have to learn to trust you somehow.’ 91

The carer also spoke of ‘learning on the job’, developing knowledge about what the child will need and how to keep them safe, and being able to share this knowledge with other foster carers looking after trafficked children. Barnardo’s runs a regular forum for this purpose. Similarly, identifying possible risks to the family is also an element that can be developed through experience: ‘My husband tends to check the road and checks who is sat in any cars that we don’t recognise.’92 _{Trafficked children}

present a unique set of risks that must be acknowledged and dealt with; this pilot highlights the need for particular training for foster carers looking after trafficked children.

It is also essential that the child feels involved and engaged in their own safety planning to ensure that any safe placement does not feel punitive, but instead helps the child to feel protected: ‘Creating a supportive accommodation environment that addresses the child’s perceptions of risk is just as critical to promoting a child’s recovery as addressing risk from traffickers.’99

6.13.2 Secure children’s homes: an under-used resource?

The CSJ has explored the option of secure accommodation for trafficked children and has been convinced that, though not the whole answer, it can go some way to ensuring the safety of a trafficked child in the first instance. In evidence given to the CSJ, practitioners explained that the first week after a child is identified as trafficked is the point at which they are most vulnerable. In some cases where absconding (or in this case often re-trafficking) is a serious risk, a secure children’s home placement may be in the best interests of the child whilst a protection plan is formulated. The CSJ identified misinterpretations, particularly among social workers, of the purpose of a secure children’s home; many social workers view them as punitive.

98 Ibid, pp83–86

99 ECPAT, On the Safe Side, London: ECPAT, 2011, p18

CSJ Couldn’t Care Less Report: policy recommendations:

„

„ Pay all foster carers a living wage that is separate from allowances.

„

„ Provide more space for fostering children by helping foster carers with housing improvement grants.

„

„ Encourage a level playing field between independent and local authority fostering agencies, and develop better cooperation with independent providers in meeting the demand for foster carers across the country. 98

‘We haven’t got a support network for trafficked kids. That is really

where we are falling down and where we will be vulnerable.’

Police officer, in evidence to the CSJ

Recommendation:

„

„ The number of specialist foster care placements available for trafficked children should be increased in each region of the UK to improve the options for appropriate accommodation for trafficked children at risk of going missing, as part of a wider push to recruit more foster carers.

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There exist a small number of secure children’s homes specifically for children at risk either of causing significant harm to themselves or who have ‘a history of absconding and [are] likely to abscond from any other description of accommodation; and if [they] abscond, [are] likely to suffer significant harm’.100, 101 _{A trafficked child may fit the latter profile, and in these cases}

placement in a secure home could be in their best interests. These homes involve high levels of security, have a very high staff to child ratio – in some cases two staff for every three children – and children are not allowed to leave the unit in order to ensure their safety.102

100 There are currently three secure children’s homes in the UK that will only take children on a welfare placement. Secure Accommodation Network website [accessed via: http://www.secureaccommodation.org.uk/?page_id=33 (06/06/12)] 101 Section 25, Children Act 1989 [accessed via: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents (11/02/13)] 102 Representative from a secure children’s home for welfare placements, in evidence to the CSJ, June 2012

103 Case study submitted by Keith Smith, Chair of the Secure Accommodation Network, in evidence to the CSJ, June 2012

“The misguided perception is ‘I am denying a child their freedom’,

rather than ‘I am keeping a child safe’…there is a misconception

that a Young Offenders Institution and a secure children’s home

are the same thing. Until people see the difference, it’s not going

to change. Social workers need better education on the options

for a child.”

Secure children’s home representative, in evidence to the CSJ

‘We have nine beds vacant, and yet we hear of these young people

who are going missing.’

Representative from a secure children’s home for welfare placements, in evidence to the CSJ

‘Some young people said they felt safest when they couldn’t do what

they had to do – ring and leave.’

Lynne Chitty, Barnardo’s, in evidence to the CSJ

Two Vietnamese children were placed in a secure children’s home after being arrested under drugs charges. This secure home was for young offenders, and was not a welfare placement. In time it transpired that both children had been trafficked. Though they were safe in the secure home, they were immediately removed and placed in a children’s home. Within days they had disappeared. Though this example involves a secure home for young offenders, the principle remains that whilst the children were in the secure home, they were safe. It was only when they were identified as trafficked that they were placed somewhere less safe and disappeared. Given that secure homes for welfare placements are available in the UK, the CSJ recommends that they are more widely considered as an option for trafficked children, to keep them safe in the first stages of their recovery.103