Welfare and the Children’s Hearings System
Welfare and the Children’s Hearings System
“Justice” within Welfare
This chapter examines the Scottish system of children’s hearings and the philosophical concept of welfare which underlies them – ie the principle of meeting hitherto unmet needs in the child’s life as a means of resolving problems and, in particular, precipitating a diminution in offending behaviour. It compares and contrasts welfare with “justice” approaches and examines Garland’s theory of responsibilisation in terms of its impact on children who re-offend. It then picks up the theme of the tension in the concept of childhood (emerging from the attempt to apply both welfare and justice approaches) between the need for protection and the nurture of autonomy illustrating this further by reference to children’s rights and to legal representation of children. Finally, it discusses how to optimise the taking of responsibility by children both generally and for their criminal acts especially in the context of children’s hearings.
Keywords: Children’s hearings, Welfare, Justice, Responsibilisation, Responsibility, Children’s rights, Legal representation of children
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