A desperate plea has been made for volunteers to help shape the lives of troubled youngsters in the north-east.
The Aberdeenshire Children’s Panel is launching a recruitment drive today – with a particular focus on men and people under 30 years old – to find 60 new members in order to widen the pool of experience it can provide.
Each volunteer will sit on two tribunal panels per month – meeting in either Aberdeen, Banff or Fraserburgh – and, with two others, will help to make a legal decision on whether a child needs additional supervision.
This can include providing their family with additional support or placing the youngster in foster care for their protection or respite.
Aberdeeenshire panel convener Anna Mackay said: “We are trying to help children from all sorts of backgrounds so we want people from all walks of life.
“I suppose it’s usually retired people who feel they have the most time to help but we need people to bring different experiences to the panel.
“We need a broad spectrum from the community – if we are all the same types of people then it’s not fair on the children.”
Council worker Iain McDonald signed up to be a panellist 11 years ago and hopes other men will do the same.
He said: “I think it’s a societal thing that children are looked upon by people as being in a woman’s domain but that is certainly not the case – especially with child welfare.
“Most of the cases that come before the panel are to do with this and maybe some men don’t feel equipped to do it but the training you receive is very detailed.”
He added: “It’s a big commitment and it felt a bit like I was stepping into the unknown at the start.
“But when everything clicks into place – when the kid is happy and they can go back to a normal family life – it’s very rewarding.”
John Allen, who sat on his first children’s panel last year, said: “I think people might be put off by the legal side of this but there’s not a huge amount.
“You’re a layperson and you’re not expected to be an expert. There is someone else there to advise on the law but they’re not part of the decision.”
He added: “It can be emotional and quite hard but there are good days and bad days.
“We really need people of all ages to sign up and help out.”
For more information visit childrenspanelscotland.org
Between April 2017 and March 2018, 32,553 children’s hearings took place in Scotland.
These supported a total of 14,076 vulnerable children and young people at risk of neglect, abuse or who may be in the care system.
Among them were 331 children in Aberdeen and 253 in Aberdeenshire.
Youngsters can be referred to the Children’s Reporter for a number of reasons, but around 85% of cases are on the grounds of care and protection.
The panel relies on a network of around 3,000 volunteers from across Scotland, who use their differing life experiences to make judgements on what is best for each child.
Last year, through sitting on panels and helping to organise the scores of members, they dedicated more than 360,000 hours to the cause.
A national campaign is launching today with the aim of recruiting more than 500 newcomers, including 200 men to help even out the gender balance of its volunteers.
