Whose agenda? Participation and Children’s Advocacy in Wales

Imperfect present But planning a better future

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Location - Cardiff• 2 hours west of London• Capital city of Wales

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

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 don’t get 5 GCSEs = 15% 7.5% 16 year olds no GCSEs = worst UK high smoking girls, obese boys, poor diet. Unfit

dwellings. 37 per 10,000 on CPR – 10% more than England 76 per 10,000 Looked After -20% - ditto – Children all too often seen as ‘problem’ or ‘needs’

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Need to see 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. Avoid participation as adult-defined?

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Rights and inclusion - Policy

Waterhouse Report 2000 - Scandals – children not listened to Children’s Commissioner, 2001, 2001 WAG fund LAs to commission vols to provide advocacy Adoption & Children Act 2002, children in need have right to

advocacy in complaints in relation to 1989 Children Act 2003 WAG inaugurate ‘Children’s Assembly for Wales’, 0-25

yrs to engage with policy (2006) involved in policy decisions Wales first in 2004 to formally adopt UNCRC in policy making. Rights driven WAG flagship policy: Children & Young People:

Rights to Action (2004) with 7 Core aims WAG 2009 ‘Young Wales: A Guide to the Model for Delivering

Advocacy Services for Children and Young People’

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Children’s Commissioner reports problems - Gov’t wants to know what’s going on??

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?

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

What do Advocates do?

Explore choices open to young people Provide answers to questions Stand up for young people Complaints advice Prepare for & attend review meetings Seek and meet target groups of children Participation events Newsletters / communications/ phones

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Voices from care….. She really helped us get our voices heard. To get

across difficulties we have getting on buses and buildings that aren’t accessible..

My social worker wasn’t listening and neither were the staff. If you’re a young kid you can’t get your voice heard over adults – can you? Staff said they couldn’t do anything about me being moved…..

I had a gutsful – it was going on too long. I tried all sorts of other things to sort it – my SW was useless.

They’re all scared of the advocate ‘cos they know she’s got the power! She said she (YP) wants more contact with her mum – she will go further than that

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Advocacy – view from young people’s focus groups

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

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

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 they’re going……”

“…..would listen, have satellite ears, a big brain, and uses her head, she has open and fiery eyes, but she’s not angry, she gets attention…”

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Not all seen as ‘independent’in promoting the child’s voice some respondents saw the advocacy

service commissioned by the local authority as lacking independence because of their financial relationship.

…..they are funded by social services which makes them biased… they are all pally pally, work close together. It’s disappointing and it lets people down…..

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Antipathy, Ambivalence, Approval –Responses from social workers

SW rivalry– identity & power usurpers! pro-complaints, irresponsible, don’t 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!

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

Market model has problems

Network/virtual orgs, staffing fragile with varied skills 3 year contracts – time and trust Marketised = distrust system No independence for agencies Duplication No robust evaluation

Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

new inclusive model National Independent Advocacy Board Advocacy Develop. & Performance Unit National Advocacy and Advice Service –

telephone and website Local Integrated Specialist Advocacy

Service- Commissioned by consortia from voluntaries- One stop shop – complex complaints, hard to reach,

wider inclusive- Government inspected- Standards to be reviewed