A serious case review of Child H, a 3-year old Somalian boy who died of injuries received whilst in the care of his father. A week earlier, his youngest brother had suffered a serious injury, and had been admitted to hospital in a neighbouring borough. The children were subject of Child Protection Plans, due to the history and pattern of domestic violence and abuse that had emerged
(Edited publisher abstract)
A serious case review of Child H, a 3-year old Somalian boy who died of injuries received whilst in the care of his father. A week earlier, his youngest brother had suffered a serious injury, and had been admitted to hospital in a neighbouring borough. The children were subject of Child Protection Plans, due to the history and pattern of domestic violence and abuse that had emerged in the relationship between their parents. Key findings include: a tendency among professionals to focus on the emotional impact on children of living with domestic violence, and not on the increased probability that they will be physically harmed; inadequate check and balance mechanisms, including poor professional supervision and lack of multi-agency discussions; poor range, availability and quality of interpreters; miscommunication between social care and medical professionals and misunderstanding about past and future risks in child protection investigations; and inadequate information-sharing practice.
(Edited publisher abstract)