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CHCCHILD401A: Identify and respond to children and young people at risk

Apply ethical and nurturing practices in work with children and young people

Protect the rights of children and young people in the provision of services

Children’s rightsAs a worker you have a responsibility to promote children's rights. Your responsibility is extended to include those people around you, such as volunteers and students, to make sure they promote the rights of the child. Children’s rights in Australia are defined by international Conventions, legislation, your duty of care obligations, Codes of Ethics and accreditation principles, which together determine the obligations of services and their workers in ensuring the welfare, wellbeing and safety of children and young people are supported and protected

Background informationThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a set of 54 Articles which establish universal basic standards for the care. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989 and was accepted (ratified) by Australia in 1990. When a country ratifies a UN Convention, it agrees to take on the responsibilities of meeting the standards set down in that Convention. The Convention presents a view of children as individuals with their own rights, rather than the property of their parents. Parents are responsible for protecting those rights. The Convention also sets out the obligations of governments regarding ensuring the rights of children, emphasising that any government intervention must have the best interests of the child as the primary consideration.

An important standard in the Convention is the right to participation. Article 12 states that: 'Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.' This means that you, the childcare worker, have an obligation to ask children in a developmentally appropriate manner, if they agree to an action affecting them. This does not mean consulting every time you want to move activities, but certainly to consult when changes will affect their comfort and expected routines.

Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340 © NSW DET 2010

United Nations, Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (1989) The Convention on the Rights of the Child, Geneva. Available online: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm

Equal opportunity legislationIn Australia there are laws which protect the rights of people who may be discriminated against on the basis of age, race, sexuality, cultural background, disability or sexual preference. The laws have been introduced to ensure that everyone is treated fairly. This is to ensure that everyone has the same rights, opportunities and equal access to services and goods within the community. The legislation makes it unlawful to discriminate against people, including children and young people, based on these factors.

For further investigation please go to the following websites.

Australian Human Rights Commission: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/

The above websites provide you with another tool to ensure your work promotes the rights of children and young people.

Responding appropriately to incidents in the workplaceIt is important that affirmative action is considered when responding to incidents in the workplace. Too often the option taken is to be the bystander when we need to be actively safeguarding the rights and safety of the child. You should consider:

• immediate reaction• considering outcomes• action plans.

Immediate reactionThis is sometimes called the 'knee-jerk reaction' or 'thinking on your feet'. This response can actually make us paralysed and we react in a negative way. This could include fleeing or ignoring the incident. This is the first step you will encounter and it is important to move through this phase as quickly as possible. On the positive side, if a child is in danger, say from falling off equipment, then this response makes you act quickly almost without thinking.

Considering outcomes This response will enable you to consider your actions and analyse what the outcomes may be. It gives you the opportunity to consider what the best option is for the child and the staff. You will need a good understanding of legislative

Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340© NSW DET 2010

http://www.hreoc.gov.au/

requirements, regulations and policies and procedures for the centre. Your decisions should be discussed with appropriate staff and, if possible, anyone with authority that can actively guide you through a situation. Unfortunately this can take time—which you may not have.

Action plans Action plans will enable you to rely on the policies and procedures of the centre. You need to attend regular staff meetings. Becoming a member of a professional association is highly recommended. In this way you can have regular updates on new legislation, policies and guidelines. Often there will be accompanying material to help you to implement changes that maybe necessary. Making informed decisions helps you act in the most professional way to safeguard the rights and safety of children.


Identify and seek supervision support for issues of ethical concern in practice with children and young people

Professional values and ethics When you choose to work in community services you bring all of your personal values and ethics to the workplace—and so does everyone else with whom you work. Everyone is unique and if everyone has different values and ethics, how will this work in the workplace?

The answer to this dilemma is that a set of professional values and ethics needs to be established. Professional values and ethics are ones that can be shared by those who work in community services. In this way we can be guided to act in a certain way and respond to situations in a consistent way.

Professional values and ethics help all to choose actions which enable them to fulfil their responsibilities—statutory, legal and regulatory.

Code of ethicsA code of ethics is a set of statements which outline the appropriate behaviour expected of members of the profession and which reflect the professional values of the group. Codes do not provide right or wrong answers for conflicts and problems workers may experience, but rather serve as a framework to inform and guide the decisions and on the job behaviours of workers.

Early Childhood Association (ECA) Code of EthicsChildren are particularly vulnerable and it is your role as a worker to make decisions in the best interest of the child. You will have to make decisions on a daily basis and demonstrate that you are acting in an ethical manner. How do you know what to do? What can help you make the right decision in challenging situations? One tool that can help you is the Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code


of Ethics, which takes its direction from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• the well-being of the individual child is of fundamental importance• acknowledge the uniqueness of each child• consider the needs of the child in the context of the family and culture.

The code of ethics plays an important role in children's services as it provides guidelines on protecting children, taking into account children's vulnerability. Services should ensure that the code of ethics is reflected in all policies and procedures. This should provide a guide to daily practice for working with children which encourages the support of children’s rights by all workers in the service.

This code is for childcare workers in the children’s services industry. For community service workers the code of ethics relevant to your client service or profession provides specific guidelines for individual staff behaviour in the service. However the Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code of Ethics has some useful guidelines when dealing with children. http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/code_of_ethics/early_childhood_australias_code_of_ethics.html

Ethical practiceEthical practice in child related employment means working in a way that safeguards the rights and interests of children and young people. It involves a range of skills and behaviours, such as:

• treating children, young people and parents /carers with respect, even during difficult situations

• respecting the right of children and young people to participate in decision making that impacts on their lives

• maintaining appropriate confidentiality• being consistent in the performance of your duties: for example, avoiding

favouritism or bias towards particular children or young people• not ignoring indicators of harm to children or young people• being guided by relevant legislation and standards, and your professional

Code of Ethics in decision making that impacts on children and young people

• following agency policies and procedures and Code of Conduct• seeking specialised professional advice when needed• maintaining your knowledge and skills.

Acting reasonablyEthical practice which promotes the rights of children also involves ‘acting reasonably’. As a worker you have a wide range of responsibilities and duties to


http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/code_of_ethics/early_childhood_australias_code_of_ethics.html

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/code_of_ethics/early_childhood_australias_code_of_ethics.html

perform. One of the main responsibilities is to provide for the wellbeing and development of children while safeguarding the rights of children in your care. This is what could be referred to as 'acting reasonably'.

A ‘reasonable worker with children and young people’ acts in accordance with:

• relevant policies, regulations and industry standards• reasonable and lawful instructions• his or her skills, training, duties and job description, and• commonsense.

Activity 1

AccountabilityIn order to carry out your duties and responsibilities effectively you need to have appropriate knowledge and skills. By completing this course you are developing your knowledge base and your skills in dealing with situations.

As a worker you can use your knowledge and skills to act responsibly but you also need to be confident in explaining your decisions and actions to the people to whom you are accountable. These people include:

• your supervisor: this could be the director of the centre, administrator, management committee or your employer

• your fellow childcare workers • your clients (in this case families).

You are legally accountable for the actions you take on a daily basis and this is part of your responsibility as a part of your duty of care to children. For example, if a child was to be involved in an accident, you would be required to explain what happened and the actions that you took after the accident. You would need to be able to justify your actions and would be judged on how responsible and ethical your actions were in the situation. This means you need to think carefully about the decisions you make and be able to base your decisions on the relevant regulations, guidelines and knowledge.

Activity 2

Professional ethical dilemmas Just as we are faced with personal ethical dilemmas we can also be faced with professional ethical dilemmas. This occurs when you are required to make decisions by considering actions and consequences. For example, you may be required to stay back and help clean up after a special day at the centre but you also have another dinner date with your friend. This is similar to making a decision


based on your personal values and ethics but there are more immediate issues that need to be considered in your day-to-day duties in your workplace.

Drawing of a woman holding up a pair of scales with two different types of values shown in the scales

Weighing up professional values and personal values When working in a children's service you will be confronted by situations and challenges on a regular basis. Children are particularly vulnerable in many situations and it is your responsibility as a caregiver to make decisions which are in the best interests of the child while supporting families, other workers and the community.

Ethical dilemmas are recognisable by the fact that there are at least two sets of values involved, and you are being asked to decide which is most important. Being faced with conflicting values usually gives us a sense of confusion and makes us feel unsure. You need to ask yourself: what is the most important point (ie obligation, value, need, issue, etc) here?

As a child care worker your primary responsibility is to safeguard the child’s rights, but sometimes the best way to do this is not always clear. Other workers, carers or family members may see the situation differently. The situation may not be clear-cut.

Ethical dilemmas can be roughly categorised in the following ways:

• Competing values – for example, you may be working with a parent/carer who is abusing drugs. You have to acknowledge your client’s right to self determination (which would be the case for not intervening) versus the value of protecting a child from possible risk of harm (the case for intervening).

• Multiple client system –There may be parents/carers and others in the child’s life who view the situation differently and have conflicting concerns. To whom does the worker owe the primary obligation? The answer should of course always be the child, but this is not always straightforward.

• Value dilemma – This is where your own personal values may conflict with the action you need to take.


Ethical dilemmas are recognisable by needing to ask the ‘But, what if …?’ question and the feeling of confusion or tension around how to respond.

Activity 3

Fleet and Clyde (1993) have identified five characteristics of ethical dilemmas.

• Ethical dilemmas are situations where there is competition between two or more choices in the way we can react in a situation.

• To make a decision we usually have to give up on an important choice.• Ethical dilemmas can involve conflict between our personal and

professional values and responsibilities.• Ethical dilemmas may lead to the development of guidelines based on

professional values which can be used in a variety of situations. • Usually time is involved as there has to be due consideration on both sides

of the situation and the way it has to be dealt with.

Activity 4

The following model sets out the steps for resolving ethical dilemmas you may encounter in your workplace:

• Identify the dilemma, and collect as much information as you can to clarify the problem.

• Apply your professional Code of Ethics and/or your agency’s Code of Conduct

• Determine the nature of the dilemma and seek consultation. When confronted with an ethical dilemma, it is important to consult with your supervisor, or, if the dilemma involves your supervisor, with someone more senior in your service.

• Brainstorm possible actions you could take.• Consider the possible consequences of all possible actions and determine

a course of action.• Consider the rights and responsibilities of all the people involved in the

dilemma.• Evaluate the selected course of action.• Implement the course of action.


Develop ethical and nurturing practices in accordance with professional boundaries when working with children and young people

A child-focused practice

Activity 5

Activity 6

Barriers to a child-focused practice in relation to responding to harmIn developing a child-focused practice in relation to responding to harm, we need to be aware of the possibility of two major barriers in ourselves: our beliefs, attitudes and experiences on the one hand, and our fears about responding to disclosure on the other.

It is essential that we develop awareness of our attitudes towards children and young people, what is ‘abuse’, and how we think society, governments and individuals should respond to abuse or harm. We need to be aware of our attitudes towards families from different cultures, different social classes, and different types, for example, single parent families, gay and lesbian families, blended families. Also, we need to examine our views on ‘acceptable punishment’ of children, violence within families, and the rights of children in relation to their parents.


Fear of consequences of reportingSometimes workers don’t report abuse or harm to children with whom they come in contact because of fears they may have about the consequences of reporting for the child, themselves, or their workplace. Sometimes these fears are based on hearsay from colleagues, friends, etc, or media reports: in some cases, workers may have had a previous negative experience with the relevant State statutory body.

A child-focused response to disclosureResponding to a disclosure of abuse or harm by a child is an important skill that workers in the children’s services industry need to master. As no two children and their experiences of abuse are the same, you will need to use your professional judgement to decide what is an appropriate response to a disclosure by a particular child. However, there are some responses which are appropriate for all disclosures.

Activity 7

It is important to remember:

• If a child discloses to you, it is usually because they feel comfortable with you, and feel they can trust you.

• While you may feel uncomfortable with what a child is telling you, they have experienced abuse or harm.

• You need to be honest with the child, and not make promises you can’t keep.

A child-focused response to suspicions of harmOften children do not directly disclose abuse or harm. They may refer to it indirectly (such as ‘I’ve got a friend who………..’), or they are displaying signs of emotional distress, such as withdrawal, aggression, or crying. It is essential that we don’t just ignore (‘It’s his age’) or rationalise (‘the parents have just got divorced’) signs or behaviours that may be indicators of abuse or harm.

As well as a responsibility to ensure that we do not further traumatise a child by the way we respond to their disclosure, we also have a responsibility to ensure we do not jeopardise the child or the investigation when responding to a disclosure or to suspicions that a child has been abused or harmed, or is at risk of harm.

Activity 8


Recognise indicators for potential ethical concerns when working with children and young people

Quite often, when working with children and young people you will feel like this:

Ethics, children and youThere are the often conflicting needs of the child, the organisational requirements and protocols and parents which have to be juggled against any decisions you have to make. The situation may not be clear.

For example, your co-worker is late for her shift. She has been warned that if she is late again, she is fired. She argues that the children have had so many staff changes lately, how would you feel making another one happen? On the other hand, you think, what if something had happened to one of the children when we were inadequately staffed?

Another example could be that you notice slight bruising on a child known to the statutory authority. The mother breaks down and cries, saying that one more incident and she has been told the child will be put in foster care. You know the family is close, though operating under stress. But what if there is then further and more dangerous bruising and you know you could have prevented it?

Ethical concerns are recognisable by this ‘but what if?’ question and the feeling of confusion or tension around how to respond.


Activity 9a

Activity 9b

All these examples identify potential ethical concerns which could arise when working with children. However, as a worker your primary responsibility is to safeguard the child’s rights. Once you have recognised indicators for potential ethical concerns, this basic fact of the child’s rights and welfare decides your response.


Respond to unethical behaviour of others by reporting to the appropriate person

Responding to unethical conductUnethical conduct refers to situations where another person is not adhering to professional ethics and is behaving in a way that puts clients at risk: for example,

• a colleague is overhead gossiping about a client in the pub• a colleague who takes resources meant for the children for their personal

use• two workers having a heated disagreement in front of clients.

Reporting unethical conduct When you recognise that another worker is acting unethically, your first option is to confront the worker and discuss the matter with them: however, this may be difficult if they are your co-ordinator or someone else senior to you. If your approach is unsuccessful, you may need to report the unethical conduct to someone in higher authority

When reporting unethical conduct, you need to be clear:

• who was involved• when the incident(s) occurred and who else was present• the grounds on which you believe the conduct to be unethical, and• what other actions you have taken eg spoken to the person.

When considering reporting unethical conduct, you need to access your agency’s policy and procedures to know who to direct the report to.

Activity 10

Activity 11


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