Keeping Childrens Stories Alive
The use of computing to support the protection of children from abuse and neglect

Kindly sponsored by The Nuffield Foundation
Grant:
Project start date: Jan 2006

 

Abstract

It is estimated that between 1 and 3 children die of abuse or neglect each week whilst in the care of their parents and that these children are often under the age of five years. These figures are an under-estimate as there are children whose deaths are noted as accidental but where the causes may be more sinister. It is also important to remember that there are a number of children whose lives are blighted by abuse and neglect. These children may have their resilience so impaired that removal from their families at some later stage may be too late to effect recovery. This project aims to investigate the potential for a larger, innovative project into the use of computing to support risk assessment in work with vulnerable children and their families. It is already proven that computers can sift large volumes of data, find patterns and make data more accessible. They support rapid communication and can help in enforcing and monitoring adherence to policies. Computers can, in fact, be part of the solution to problems of confidentiality and preserving organisational memory. The complex task of analysing volumes of information has been made easier in other fields by computers which are good at supporting complex, data rich analytical tasks. However, existing computing applied in child protection is limited, timid and architecturally and organisationally constrained. Technological lessons learned elsewhere have not been fully absorbed into a field in which these lessons could be of substantial value.





Page last updated on 21st Sep 2006