Home Supervision. Scotland's Children. Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Research Findings.

In Scotland's unified system of juvenile justice and child welfare, the Children's Hearings system deals with over 60,000 referrals annually. If the hearing officer is satisfied that compulsory measures of supervision are necessary, it may require home supervision when the child remains at home. In 2001, over 6,000 children were on home supervision with their parent or guardian. This report presents the findings of a study of home supervision in Scotland with the aim of examining the effectiveness of home supervision in promoting beneficial changes in the life of the child. Data on a sample of 189 children on home supervision in 2001-2002 were collected from a variety of sources, including social work case records; reporters, panel members, teachers, and social workers; families; a national data set on children in home supervision; and key informants in local authorities. Findings indicated that service provision by the social work department and others in the interagency network contributed to beneficial changes in the lives of children. Broadly positive views about the effectiveness of home supervision were expressed by social workers, panel members, teachers, key informants in local authorities, and families. Children initially referred on grounds of care and protection were considered to have the most successful outcomes, followed by those referred on offense grounds. Home supervision worked least well with respect to children referred on grounds of non-attendance at school without reasonable excuse. Service in some parts of the country was affected by staff shortages. Case files revealed that some of the key statutory requirements were not being implemented in the course of home supervision, particularly in respect to care plans, the timing of the first visit to the family, and holding internal social work case reviews. Panel members and social workers identified a need for closer monitoring of home supervision. (KB)