The rapid development of a virtual Children’s Hearings System in Scotland
A realist-inspired synthesis assessing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the participation and rights of children
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11942100 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Catherine Nixon (0000-0002-0536-6066, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), UK, corresponding author), Indiya Kurlus (SCRA, UK), Melissa G Hunt (0000-0003-1409-0572), Melissa Hunt (SCRA, UK), Kirsty Deacon (0000-0002-9887-2661, SCRA, UK), Sarah Mcgarrol (0000-0002-2675-3882, SCRA, UK), Donald K Lamb, Donald Lamb (SCRA, UK), Helen Etchells (SCRA, UK), Lorna R McNaughton, Lorna McNaughton (SCRA, UK), Gillian Henderson (0000-0001-7080-6307, SCRA, UK) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 347-372 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Adoption & Fostering (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-5759 • E-ISSN: 1740-469X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/03085759231197229 |
| OpenAlex | W4387784066 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
Scotland’s Children’s Hearings System is a unique statutory system that makes decisions about the need for compulsory professional involvement in the lives of children who are maltreated, in conflict with the law or displaying alarming behaviours. It was designed to facilitate in-person, child-centred discussions about the measures needed to ensure the care and protection of children. The Covid-19 pandemic challenged the ability of the Hearings System to fulfil this role due to the physical closure of Hearings Centres and the need to rapidly develop a virtual system. In this paper we present a realist-influenced synthesis exploring how contextual factors such as public health guidelines, emergency legislation, technological challenges and wider structural inequalities interacted with the delivery of virtual hearings to affect the participation and rights of children during the pandemic. We also describe how learning from the experiences of the participants of hearings was critical to understanding how virtual technologies could be adapted to provide a more rights-respecting approach to participation. We conclude by arguing that there is a need to ensure that the voices of children, which are largely absent from discussions around the use of virtual technologies, are incorporated into decisions made about their continued use within Children’s Hearings
Child protection · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Legislation · Pandemic · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Statutory law · Children's Rights and Participation · Law · Medicine · Psychology
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |