If, after the pre-birth assessment, the social worker is worried the baby may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, an initial child protection conference should be held while the mother is still pregnant. This is so a plan can be made about what should happen when the baby is born.
When conference is arranged before a baby is born it is called a pre-birth child protection conference.
The child protection conference is:
- Is organised by children’s services
- For everyone present to look at all relevant information about the child’s situation
- To decide whether if they think the baby is likely to suffer significant harm in the future.
Information available to the conference should include:
- Information from existing social work records
- Information from enquiries that have been made before the conference.
Midwives and other health practitioners working with the parent or carers should be invited to attend key meetings. This will include pre-birth child protection conferences.
If conference does think the baby is likely to suffer significant harm in the future they must:
- Come up with plans to make sure the baby is safe and well cared for when they are born, and that the parents have the right support during the pregnancy
- Decide whether there needs to be a child protection plan
- Set a date for any future review conference.