Failure to Attend Child Preventive Examination as a Possible Indication of Risk to Children's Welfare: Retrospective Analysis of 605 Cases Reported to the Child Protection Services

Objective The extent to which childrens's welfare is compromised when they do not attend compulsory prevention medical check-ups is yet to be determined. Together with the Hessen Prevention Center for Children (Hessisches Kindervorsorgezentrum), the Child Protection Services in the Main-Taunus district have conducted a study to investigate failure to attend child preventive examinations as a possible indication of risk to the welfare of such children. Method 605 notifications of child preventive examinations that were not carried out, sent in 2012 to the Child Protection Services by the Hessen Prevention Center for Children, were analyzed retrospectively. Each case was recorded using a standardized questionnaire and, cases that were passed on to General Social Services within Child Protection Services were investigated with an additional interview with the employee responsible. Results In 60 (10 %) cases there was no certificate to show that the check-up had been conducted, while in 165 (27 %) cases the check-up was conducted late, i.e. only after being contacted by the Child Protection Services. In 9 of the 605 cases (1.5 %), the families involved were already known to Child Protection Services due to previous proceedings against them under endangering children's welfare act (known as 8a cases). No new case of a risk to children's welfare was detected. In 58 cases, families gave reasons for the missed or late check-up. Reasons included being abroad and moving house (20 cases), forgetting (14 cases) and illness (11 cases), as well as lack of knowledge of the law (6 cases), lack of health insurance (4 cases), lack of language skills (2 cases) and objection to the law in principle (1 case). It was notable that, in 57 % of the cases notified, documentary evidence could be provided by the end of the case work that the check-up had taken place within the recommended period (including additional discretionary period). The majority of these notifications of failure to attend can be prevented by an upstream clearing procedure.