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Contents

1. Definition and Identification
2. Children at Port of Entry
3. Children Already in the UK
4. Responding to Concerns
5. Interviewing the Child and Adults
6. Issues to Consider When Working With Trafficked Children
7. Looked After Children

1. Definition and Identification

A trafficked child is coerced or deceived by the adult who brings her/him into the country. When the child arrives s/he is denied their human rights and is forced into exploitation by the trafficker or the adult/s into whose control the child is delivered.

Even when a child understands what has happened they may still appear to submit willingly, through fear of what they believe might happen to themselves or their family, or because they believe the situation to be the will of their parents.

2. Children at Port of Entry

Immigration officers are empowered to refer children to the Local Authority Children's Social Care service in the area the port is located, if a child's immigration documentation is incorrect or if the officer has concerns about the child's welfare. However, officers have a very limited opportunity to assess the child's welfare, and adults bringing children into the country illegally are adept at concealing irregularities in their relationship with the child, including using threats to ensure that the child presents appropriately.

3. Children Already in the UK

As most trafficked children are not aware of their rights or that they can claim asylum, they are unlikely to come to the notice of asylum or immigration services once they are in the UK.

Many trafficked and exploited children are never registered at school or with a GP. These children do not come into contact with the statutory services who could raise concerns about their welfare. Younger children may be known to housing services or the benefits service. However, most trafficked children are invisible.

Professionals in all agencies should be alert to the possibility that a newly immigrant child could be living with adults who are exploiting the child i.e. that the child is trafficked. A child may be presented at Accident & Emergency services, Walk-in Centres, minor injury units or GUM clinics, or could be registered at school for a short period only. See also the London Guidance Safeguarding Children Missing from School, LSCB 2006.

A child in this situation is being privately fostered and professionals should check with Children's Social Care whether the arrangement has been notified to them (see Private Fostering Procedure).

4. Responding to Concerns

Children's Social Care must:

• Obtain as much information as possible from the referrer
• Verify that the child is living at the address as soon as possible
• In the case of a referral from a school or education department, obtain the list of documentation provided at admission
• Complete a Home Office check to clarify status of the child/ren and the adult/s caring for them

On completion of the initial information gathering Children's Social Care must plan one of four ways forward:

• An Initial Assessment to gather more information
• Accommodation of the child under s20 Children Act 1989 (e.g. if:
  • the child is lost or abandoned or there is no person with parental responsibility for the child i.e. the child is an unaccompanied minor
  • the person who has been accommodating the child is prevented, for whatever reason, from providing suitable accommodation or care
  • if there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, an Emergency Protection Order  or Interim Care Order may be sought. Consideration should be given to Police Powers of Protection in an emergency
  • a s47 and a Core Assessment of need
  • no further action

Children's Social Care must advise the referrer of which plan is in place.

5. Interviewing the Child and Adults

Once information has been gathered, Children's Social Care and the Police must decide whether to conduct joint interviews with the Child Abuse Investigation Team or Borough Police and/or the Immigration Service.

Where it is decided that the family should be visited and interviewed, standard social work practice should be followed. The child must be seen alone, preferably in a safe environment, and ensuring that the carers are not in the proximity. Children and young people will usually stick to their account and not speak until they feel comfortable.

Professional interpreters, who have been CRB checked, must be used if necessary, it is not acceptable to use a family member.

The adults in the family must be interviewed (separately if possible) on the same basis, using the same questions. A comparison can then be made between the answers to ensure they match.

All documentation must be seen and checked. This includes Home Office documentation, passports, visas, utility bills, tenancy agreements and birth certificates. Particular attention should be given to the documentation. It is not acceptable to be told 'the passport is missing' or 'I can't find the paperwork right now'. It is extremely unlikely that a person does not know where their paperwork/official documentation is kept.

On completion of the assessment a meeting must be held with the Social Worker, their supervising manager, the referring agency as appropriate, the Police and any other professionals involved to decide on future action. Further action should not be taken until this meeting has been held and multi agency agreement obtained.

6. Issues to Consider When Working With Trafficked Children

The child is likely to need:

• A 'safe house' if they are victims of an organised trafficking operation
• Legal advice about their rights and immigration status
• Their whereabouts to be kept confidential
• Discretion and caution to be used in tracing their families
• A risk assessment to be made into the danger they face if they are repatriated

7. Looked After Children

The Social Worker should seek a placement proportionate to the need to protect the child. This may include protection from possible abduction and in some cases require surveillance cameras in operation, monitoring of phone calls and intensive supervision. If required an escort must be organised to take the child there.

The child's location must not be divulged to any enquirers until they have been interviewed by a Social Worker and identity and relationship / connection with the child established (with the help of Police and immigration services if required).

A Care Plan must be agreed, as for all looked after children, involving the child, the Social Worker, carers and Police and this must address:

• Explicit risk factors
• Completion of a Core Assessment (if not already undertaken)
• Supervision and monitoring arrangements
• Care planning meetings and LAC reviews

The Core Assessment must be undertaken immediately to include:

• Establishing relevant information about the child's background
• Understanding the reasons s/he has come to the UK (so as to understand needs, not determine rights to enter the country)
• Assessing the child's vulnerability to the continuing influence / control of the traffickers

Planning and actions to support the child must minimise the risk of the traffickers re-involving a child in exploitative activities.

Thus foster carers / residential workers must be advised about how to provide intensive supervision and must be vigilant about anything unusual e.g. waiting cars outside the premises / phone enquiries.

The Social Worker must immediately pass to the Police any information on the child (concerning risks to her/his safety or any other aspect of the law pertaining either to child protection or immigration or other matters), which emerges during the placement.

The child's Social Worker must try to make contact with the child's parents in the country of origin (immigration services may be able to help), to find out the plans they have made for the child and seek their views - the Social Worker must take steps to verify the relationship between the child and those thought to be her/his parent/s. Contact information can be obtained via the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (0207 008 1500), relevant Embassy or Consulate (see London Diplomatic List, ISBN 0 11 591772 1 from Stationery Office on 0870 600 5522 or Foreign and Commonwealth Office website).

Anyone approaching the local authority and claiming to be a potential carer, friend, member of the family etc., of the child, must be investigated by the Social Worker, the Police and immigration service.

If the 1st line manager is satisfied that all agencies have completed satisfactory identification checks and an assessment of the potential carers suitability to care for the child a decision will need to be made regarding whether the child will remain looked after. Where the decision is for the child to be discharged from care, the Social Worker needs to be mindful of the regulations relating to Private Fostering which may apply.

Where a child is to remain looked after the potential carers will need to be assessed as kinship foster carers and the policy and procedures relating to such arrangements needs to be followed. 

The young person must be subject to regular LAC reviews.  At the conclusion of the child protection enquiry and at each review a decision must be made as to whether the young person continues to be at risk of being trafficked and the reasons for this decision recorded.

Should it become clear the risk of trafficking is extreme and immediate, consideration must be given to commencement of legal proceedings, in conjunction with the Group Manager and legal advisor.

Should it become clear that the child is not at risk of trafficking, or that the risk has been reduced, the continued appropriateness of the safe placement should be considered and efforts made to identify family or friends who can appropriately take over the care of the child/young person. In order to promote stability children should not usually be moved to another placement, but their supervision reduced.

End