ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 demonstrated that securing the well-being of children, protecting them from all forms of harm and ensuring that their developmental needs are responded to appropriately are all effective ways of inhibiting juvenile antisocial and offending tendencies. Chapter 3 established that the Children Act 1989 is an effective vehicle for protecting children from the disastrous consequences of their offending behaviour. The Children Act provides a coherent and comprehensive welfare safety net so that vulnerable children and families are protected from the adverse environmental, familial and socio-economic circumstances that can encourage criminal behaviour. However, most of the support and services in the 1989 Act are not intended as universal services for all children, but are selectively applied to those defined as ‘children in need’ or ‘children at risk of suffering significant harm’. Although specific duties, like the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the ill-treatment or neglect of children (schedule 2(4)(1) Children Act 1989), or the duty to provide family centres (schedule 2(9) Children Act 1989) and the duty to provide services so that children do not become involved in delinquency (schedule 2(7) Children Act 1989), extend to all children, even these are directed at a more restricted group since they exist for ‘the purpose principally of facilitating the discharge of the general duty’ (section 17(2) Children Act 1989) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need, and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families. Thus, these duties are intended to prevent children from becoming children in need and suffering significant harm.
