What is an Initial Child Protection Conference?
An Initial Child Protection Conference (an ICPC) is a meeting that brings together you as the parent(s) with professionals who are involved with your family to make decisions about how we can work together to keep your child(ren) safe.
An Initial Child Protection Conference is held when there are significant safety concerns for children. It will take place because a social worker and other professionals involved will have decided together that this is the next step that is required (they will have met together previously in what is known as a strategy meeting).
It is important to note that a Child Protection Conference cannot decide if your child should live outside of your care. This can only be decided by the courts. This conference is about working together to keep children as safe as possible.
What happens before the meeting?
Before the meeting, your children’s Social Worker will explain why they feel a Child Protection Conference is needed. They will share a report with you at least two days before the conference and they will make sure that you’re supported to attend the meeting. If other professionals write reports, these will also be shared with you.
The independent Child Protection Chair will also contact you before the meeting to make sure that you have all of the information you need. We don’t want there to be any surprises so it’s important that you know what we will be talking about in the meeting beforehand.
Who will be at the meeting?
The conference will be chaired by an independent Child Protection Chair. Your child’s Social Worker will attend, the police, and any professionals who are involved with your family. It’s really important that you attend also, and where possible we would like your child(ren) to attend too.
What happens in the meeting?
The Conference Chair will ask everyone in the meeting, including you, to share what they are worried about and why. We will also talk about what is going well and your own strengths and resources. The Chair will ask everyone in the meeting for their suggestions about what needs to happen to make your child(ren) safer, and these suggestions will be included in a plan known as an outline plan.
Once the outline plan has been made, the Conference Chair will ask the professionals in the meeting if they think there is need for an ongoing Child Protection Plan or if the concerns could be reduced through a different support plan such as Child in Need. Details of these types of plans are available in separate leaflets.
What will be written about us?
To make sure you shouldn’t have to repeat your story and that all professionals are on the same page, we will record our involvement and decision-making and information which relates specifically to the safety of the child.
This info will be shared with other professionals involved with your family. The records will be for the purpose of working together as best as possible. You can ask to see the records that are being written.
How will the views of my child(ren) be shared?
If your child is able and willing to attend the meeting, they can share their views in person. However, the social worker will make sure they have other accessible ways to share their views that work for them. This might be through the Mind of My Own app, a children’s Advocate or in any way that they feel represents them.
How will I be supported to attend the conference?
It’s really important that you attend the conference, and the Social Worker and the Conference Chair will do everything they can to support you to be able to do so.
An interpreter can be provided if required.
If you need some support to be able to understand the meeting or share your views in the meeting, the Social Worker can arrange for you to have an advocate, or you can arrange your own.
If you would like a family member or friend to attend with you, this can be arranged with the Conference Chair.