Whose agenda Participation and Childrens Advocacy in Wales

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Whose agenda? Participation and Childrens
Advocacy in Wales

• Imperfect present
• But planning a better future

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Location - Cardiff

• 2 hours west of London
• Capital city of Wales

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(No Transcript)
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Child as citizen?

• Citizen as member of community to be involved
  in decisions
• About relationships of inter-dependence
• Escape language of futures, practice listening
  now. Children right to our time.
• Adult power inescapable involve early.
• Child is attentive witness to our morality.
• Participation adult-defined?

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Wales policy (i)

• Childrens Commissioner, 2001, 1.6m
• 2003 CYP Assembly for Wales, 0-25 yrs, (Art 12
  UNCRC), engage with policy
• NAfW 2004 (country report) formally adopts UNCRC
  as basis of policy making.
• Statutory school councils. 2 students serve as
  governors in secondary schools.
• 2006 Gov policy Childrens Assembly - active
  part in decision making / influencing services.

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Wales policy (ii)

• Children and Young Peoples Cabinet Committee,
  monthly, Leader and ministers.
• Flagship policy Children Young People Rights
  to Action with 7 Core aims
• flying start range of educational opps
• best health and free from abuse
• access to cultural and leisure activities
• listened to and identity recognised
• safe home, physical and emotional well-being not
  disadvantaged by poverty.

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Children in Wales

• 650,000 0 19 4,500 looked after.
• 28 defined as in poverty 170,000
• 70,000 severe poverty, 130 per week, not
  including housing benefit.
• 16 year olds dont get 5 GCSEs 15
• 7.5 16 year olds no GCSEs worst UK
• high smoking girls, obese boys, poor diet.
• Unfit dwellings, highest proportion who are poor
  at school.

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Listening to vulnerable children

• Scandals children not listened to
• 2001 WAG fund LAs to commission vols
• Adoption Children Act 2002, children in need
  have right to advocacy in complaints in relation
  to 1989 Children Act
• 2003 WAG launch 10 National Standards
• 2004 Childrens Commissioner says still
• problems for children being heard why!?

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Wales Government definition

• Speaking up for children, empowering so rights
  respected, wishes heard. Views, needs and wishes
  represented to decision makers help them
  navigate the system
• Case based service targeted at social care
  priorities
• vol sector deliver to 22 Local Authorities
• Health and education catching up

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What do Advocates do?

• Unit of activity hard to establish / measure
• 1 to 1 counselling / comps advice
• Seek and meet target groups of children
• Promote service to key audiences
• Participation events
• Newsletters / communications/ phones
• Attend meetings with children
• Duplication?

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Suspicious minds tick-box game?

• Research to map key stakeholders views
• How many children get advocacy for
• complaint-making or other activities and what
  do they think of service?
• What LA think of advocates vice versa?
• What impedes / facilitates advocacy at an
• organisational and strategic level?

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Hard to find but much regarded

• Not understood how popularise?
• Info not read /retained more innovative?
• Word of mouth other professionals
• Liked /expect rapport, accurate reporting of
  their words, confidence and persistence in
  presenting case, provide help without making
  decisions, setting out options.
• Emotional work being doing advocacy

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Imagining the advocate

• Draw and annotate
• ..they will have a big heart, big ears for
  listening, a big mouth for getting heard, and
  good shoes to get where theyre going
• ..would listen, have satellite ears, a big
  brain, and uses her head, she has open and fiery
  eyes, but shes not angry, she gets attention

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Antipathy, Ambivalence, Approval Responses from
social workers

• SW rivalry identity power usurpers!
• pro-complaints, irresponsible, dont refer.
• Advocacy becomes a cop-out see your advocate,
  nothing I can do!
• Advocacy complaints an opportunity. Not a
  threat. Some over-referred - advocates complain
  co-option!

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Childrens Complaints - Wales (12 months)

• 678 registered complaints
• 70 led by adults mainly parents
• 48 in care system
• 30 led by child over 10 with adult support
• 23 led by child as sole advocate
• 11 involved childrens advocate

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How many seen and cost?2005-6

• 700 seen _at_ 1,000,000.
• Range 12 to 80 children seen p.a.
• Annual cost 25,000 - 150,000
• Network/virtual orgs, staffing fragile
• 3 year contracts time and trust
• Marketised distrust system
• No independence for agencies
• No robust evaluation

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We need a new Model

• National Helpline, National Advo Unit.
• Regional commissioning of one-stop service to
  mainstream advocacy.
• 3 tiers complaints-specialists high needs -
  hard to reach universal access for any child
• Ambitious participation agenda children as
  advocates, trainers, planning, review.