COVID-19 – Advice for professionals

Safeguarding risks may increase during isolation for vulnerable children and adults:

• Abuse/neglect is hidden from professionals or others;
• Adults at risk and children do not get the support they need;
• People feel like they do not want to ask for help for fear of being an added burden or perceived as failing in their role;
• Increased household stress and tension;
• People ask for help from people who want to take advantage of their vulnerable position;
• Increased risks to the child from engaging in more and/or unsupervised on-line activity.

Guidance

1. Use existing policies and procedures for children and adults;
2. Use existing tools to assess risk;
3. Ensure you factor in Covid-19 pressures to any risk assessments;
4. As always, adults need to consent to any action undertaken but consider mental capacity, control and coercion on a person’s ability to make decisions and keep themselves and their children safe.

Plans to manage risk might include:

• Exploring with adults, children and extended family, their own worries and strengths in order to identify their own solutions;
• Identifying family/friend/neighbour to support the person / family and ways in which this could be done via phone/internet if possible;
• Undertaking an assessment/re-assessment of need;
• Discussing contingency arrangements for the adult / child’s care should the parent/carer become ill, the person providing informal support needs to self-isolate or becomes unable to support the individual.