It was interesting to read in the Denver Post
this week about the furore in Colorado surrounding the fragmented child
protection system in the state.
In Colorado individual counties run child protection
services, resulting in what has been described as a two-tiered system lacking accountability,
accessibility and consistency.
A first step to reform has been proposed. This is for a single
hotline for the whole state to centralise child abuse reports and responses.
Campaigners want a central call centre to receive and allocate referrals believing this
will result in more consistent decision-making.
The Denver Post’s headline asks: “If state officials can't
enact this simple but important reform, is there any hope for more significant
changes that must be made?”
I would like to see a similar headline here in Britain.
What we need, particularly in our major urban areas, but elsewhere as well, is greater co-ordination of services and a
single, simple interface for use both by members of the public and professionals.
That would be an important first step to making more
flexible use of scarce resources. If our officials can’t get on with it
…!!!
