As a medical professional, you have a duty of care for children who may have been affected by child abuse. What may be less obvious, but very much the case, is that your contact with adult patients provides you with a unique opportunity to identify child abuse, and is part of your duty of care.

Research has shown that there is an increased risk of abuse or neglect of children whose parents have serious psychiatric or addiction problems, or who have been affected by domestic violence. To address this, the so called ‘Child Check’ was developed in The Netherlands. The Child Check involves you always checking with certain groups of patients about whether they are responsible for minors.

In this course, Marjon Donkers, child rights and youth policy consultant, discusses the child check. An example interview shows how the child check is conducted. The questions teach you what the child check involves, why it is important that you carry it out, and how you go about it.

The course includes a library with additional information.

This course focuses on:

1. Knowledge: What the child check involves, what parental signals are, when and how to carry out a child check, and what steps should be taken if concerns arise.
2. Approach: Awareness that certain parental situations can harm the development of children, and recognition of roles and responsibilities for identifying these problems.
3. Skills: Recognise parental signs, ask about the presence of minor children, record findings in a file, take appropriate action, and discuss these aspects with the patient / client.