The Scottish Government has launched a consultation about the proposed reforms, which includes creating a single national body to oversee the system.
The body has been given the provisional title of the Scottish Children's Hearings Agency and will be responsible for the delivery and administration of children's hearings, as well as the recruitment and training of the children's panel members.
The government hopes the changes will streamline the current hearings system, which is currently delivered by the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA), children's panels, and children's panel advisory committees.
Ruth Stark, spokeswoman for the British Association of Social Workers Scotland, said structural changes were needed. "The current hearings system is nearly 40 years old and needs streamlining," she says. "The focus has changed over the years from being about juvenile offenders to being more about child protection. The protection piece of the hearings system needs to be strengthened within the new proposals."
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