"The report finds that in some cases the process has led to children's deteriorating mental health, including self-harm and suicidal ideation, and that going through a Home Office age assessment is far more severe and traumatic than a comparable experience with a local authority social worker. If children are wrongly assessed as adults they will be placed in adult accommodation, often alongside unrelated people, which can put them at risk."
"The board employs more than 50 social workers to conduct the assessments, but some children have said they are out to get them. The report cites the case of one child who was 15 on arrival but was assessed by the Home Office to be seven years older than his true age and charged with offences relating to his arrival. He was confirmed to be the age he said he was last year and criminal charges against him were dropped."
A coalition of refugee support groups called for a Home Office organisation to be axed, saying it puts hundreds of children at risk. The Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium of more than 100 organisations analysed the Home Office's national age assessment board (NAAB), established in March 2023 to determine ages of young asylum seekers often arriving on small boats. The board employs over 50 social workers. The assessment process has, in some cases, led to children's deteriorating mental health, including self-harm and suicidal ideation, and is far more severe than local authority assessments. Wrongly assessed children are placed in adult accommodation, increasing risk; some have been charged with offences linked to their journey. Freedom of information data shows many initially declared adults are later confirmed as children after detailed local authority assessments. Some judges have criticised the NAAB as adversarial and inconsistent with current guidance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]