Children's panel recruits sought

A RECRUITMENT drive is on to find 15 volunteers to serve on the children's panel in Moray.

The Children's Hearings System exists to ensure the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people. It does this through a decision-making lay tribunal – a children’s hearing – made up of members of the children’s panel.

Members of the community sit on the panel at children's hearings – held once a month in Elgin – to make decisions about youngsters in cases referred to the children's reporter by police, social workers and schools.

Cases go in front of the panel if the children's reporter believes there to be enough evidence to prompt serious concern. The children's panel then assesses whether a child needs care intervention – whether that be foster care, a residential home or secure unit, or kinship care within the wider family.

Lead panel member Barbara O'Brien said: "We deal with children's needs rather than their deeds."

She added: "It's not a court. The children we deal with are mostly in need of care and protection.

"And an important point of the panel is that it should represent the local community. At the moment, we're really quite limited by a low number of men coming forward. We need people of all ages and genders."

There are more than 2,500 specially trained volunteer panel members across local communities in Scotland. People who are interested in applying to sit on the panel first make an application, and if successful at interview undertake six weeks' training to ensure they are equipped to make the best possible decisions for children and young people. People are appointed on a three-year rolling basis.

To apply or for more information visit www.chscotland.gov.uk.

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