CHILDLINE (Trinidad and Tobago)

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CHILDLINE(Trinidad and Tobago)
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• The role of child helplines as access point to
  child protection systems with a special focus on
  improving referral mechanisms and case management

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• Effective Case Management is needed to provide a
  structure which enables counsellors and
  referral partners to offer counselling and follow
  up in a planned and purposeful way to each
  client.
• What are the main requirements of Effective Case
  Management
• Ability to offer an appropriate plan as soon as a
  case is received.

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• Each Plan must be tailored to the specific needs
  of the case
• The counsellor has to decide what type of
  intervention is to be offered.
• Who are the partners to contact for the best
  available outcome for the case.
• The case is then referred to partner or partners
  promptly.
• The main partners are likely to be
• The Police
• National Family Services
• Child Protection Agency
• Health/medical facilities

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• Social Workers
• Education System (Student Support Services)
• Childrens Residences
• Family Court
• Counselling is one of the most frequent
  interventions offered to clients on the helpline.
  
• How is counselling offered
• By the counsellors on the helpline itself.
• By referral to specialist counsellors for face to
  face counselling.

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• Counselling by the helpline
• Cases where child is not at risk of harm.
• The likely issues may relate to identity,
  self-esteem, relationships etc.
• Likelihood of positive outcome over the helpline
  or via online counselling
• The child is able to understand what the
  counsellor is saying, which depends on language,
  age and level of development of child.
• Referral is not usually required.

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• 2. Counselling by Specialists
• Serious cases when it is determined that a
  specialist professional is needed, sometimes over
  an extended period
• Cases of trauma from abuse or neglect
• Cases of children with special needs, such as
  developmental issues, when counselling by the
  helpline would prove to be of little help
• Cases of depression or threat of suicide
• Cases of extreme anger with risk of violence to
  self or against others.

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• Counselling generally may require repeat
  sessions, even on the helpline, but more so in
  specialist sessions.
• Counselling requires patience and consistent
  therapy by both the client and the counsellor.
• Counselling, to be successful, must be
  participatory, the client must recognize the need
  for help and is willing to be helped.
• Counselling must be easily accessible to
  children, especially those in remote and
  difficult to access locations, and those without
  the means to access much needed interventions.

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• Effective case management demands active and
  consistent follow-up after a client has been
  referred to a partner organisation. For example,
  the referral of a child to the Police or Social
  Worker does not the end of the case for the
  helpline. In its activity log must be recorded
  dates when the helpline counsellors would follow
  up with the referred partners to ensure the case
  is being handled appropriately and on a timely
  manner, in the childs best interest.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Access It needs to be available and accessible
  by children at all times. Violence can occur at
  any time and any where. We must be there 24/7 for
  the children as and when they need us.
• Free Children at risk often do not have the
  money to pay for phone calls, even if they have a
  cell phone. Helplines need to work with the
  national telephone service providers to ensure
  all calls to the helpline are FREE, even if they
  originate from another telephone provider Cable
  Wireless, Digicel, Flow etc. We must have a
  TOLL FREE NUMBER accessible by all children!

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Confidential Children and callers need to be
  assured that what they disclose to the helpline
  is confidential, and is not passed on to others
  without their consent. Exception may be when a
  child is in imminent danger and the police or
  medical services need to intervene immediately.
  Adults, such as neighbours and relatives who
  report on children at risk of neglect and abuse
  also require this assurance of confidentiality.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Staff Screening Staff must be carefully
  screened for suitability to work with children.
  Obtain certificates of good character from the
  police, check references, previous employers to
  ensure there is no record of unsuitable
  behaviour, such as child molestation. Once
  employed, staff need to be continuously
  monitored, assessed and trained to ensure
  compliance with best practice on child protection.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Data Collection All calls received must be
  logged into a database and client management
  system, such as CRM by Microsoft. This enables
  the helpline to track the management of each
  case, ensuring that needed actions are taken in
  timely manner. Referrals to other agencies are
  also recorded, with date and time of follow-up
  actions. At a glance, all relevant history is
  available, so staff on all shifts can take action
  as needed.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Data Analysis Data analysis shows what is
  happening in the helpline. The trends such as
  geographic locations, age groups, gender, types
  of calls etc will guide policy and service
  delivery to protect children who are at risk in
  particular communities or schools. Data
  collection and analysis is often neglected as an
  important tool in child protection.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Outreach Helplines are often thought of as
  people working in a call centre, answering calls
  from children. However, best practice also
  requires that a helpline engages in Outreach
  services
• To promote the availability of the helpline
  services so children know who to call when they
  need help.
• To conduct workshops in schools and communities
  on issues such as alternatives to violence, what
  to do when faced with violence in different
  settings.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Data collection and analysis also highlight
  specific locations where children are at risk.
  Outreach carried out at these locations to both
  the children and adults in the communities serves
  to help eliminate or reduce the incidence of
  violence against children.
• Child protection is not about sitting in
  air-conditioned offices to provide help or
  counselling to children in remote or depressed
  areas. We need to take our services to these
  children who often do not have the means to
  access our services. Children cannot be asked to
  travel long distances to receive face to face
  counselling!

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• Collaboration Effective and efficient child
  protection cannot be achieved by any one
  organization or sector or country. It requires
  close and genuine collaboration among
  stakeholders and agencies, such as the Police,
  National Family/Social Services, doctors and
  health facilities, counsellors, and safe homes
  where children at risk can be placed.

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Requisites of Best Practice for a Child Helpline

• This collaboration needs to take place at the
  community level, at the national level, and at
  the international level.
• Together , we can and will make a difference in
  the protection of our children from violence and
  harm.
• Thank You.