Care News: Young People Back Calls to Make Care-Experience a Protected Characteristic

​​More than half of care-experienced young people said they were in favour of making care experience a protected characteristic as suggested in the Care Review, a charity report finds.

The report from Coram Voice, published in partnership with the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS), finds that 60 per cent of care-experienced young people support making care experience a protected characteristic. A further 29 per cent saying they were unsure about the ask.

These findings are based on research with more than 80 care-experienced children and young people, aged eight to 25, across 27 English local authorities, which asked them about key recommendations from the Care Review on advocacy, independent visitors and protected characteristics.

The report states that two in five young people have been treated negatively due to their care experience, with one young person saying: “People often assume that you are problematic and have many things wrong with you because you’re in care. They expect you to be aggressive and loud, when really you just want to be heard.”

It also details young people’s views on advocacy, after the Care Review recommended that advocacy services should be opt out and all children in care should be contacted by an advocate to offer support.

The report finds that 31 per cent of children and young people did not know how to access an advocate. It also estimates that this figure is lower across the entire population of children in care, suggesting that children who are in contact with organisations such as Coram Voice and NYAS are likely to have an awareness of their right to advocacy.

It further adds that children in care felt it was important to have advocates who “listen, are honest, and get to know them”, with one young person saying they wanted support from someone who “makes an effort to form a meaningful relationship with me that doesn’t just feel like a task.”

The report finds mixed feelings among young people about the role of independent reviewing officers (IROs), with some saying they were not independent as they are employed by the council, while others expressed worry about the Care Review’s recommendation to scrap the role.

It also notes that a third of those surveyed had never heard of independent visitors – volunteers who spend time with young people in care – despite their legal right to one.

Only 38 per cent of young respondents reported having seen an independent visitor during their time in the care system, and almost half of those asked said they did not know how to access one.

The report includes a number of recommendations, including:

• The government should implement the Care Review’s recommendation for an opt-out model of independent advocacy support
• The independent visitor service should be redeveloped in collaboration with young people, including the addition of a legal duty for local authorities to offer children in care and care leavers an independent visitor or befriending service up to the age of 25
• The government should prioritise consulting widely on making care experience a protected characteristic, with more resources produced to explain to young people what this means

This report follows an announcement that the government’s plan for implementing the Care Review’s recommendations will not be published until early 2023, despite the prior pledge to do so before the year’s end.

Brigid Robinson, managing director for Coram Voice, said: “As the government responds to the recommendations of the Independent Care Review it is essential that they take the views of children and young people into account. Only by listening to children in care and care leavers can the Government make sure that they design a system that will work for them.”

Chief executive for NYAS Rita Walters added: “The Care Review might have concluded, but our work continues to empower children and young people in decisions that affect them. The views of care-experienced children and young people must be at the heart of the Government’s response and implementation plan.”

Coram recently hosted The Future of Youth conference, where advocates, leaders and professionals from the youth work sector met to discuss how evidence-based action can help improve outcomes for children and young people, including for those with care experience.

Discussions were held around the role of health inequalities stemming from adverse childhood experiences, the importance of embedding anti-racist practice and trauma-informed services, mental health as experienced by those belonging to marginalised groups, and the role of digital technology in children’s social care.

Speakers included Dr Ann Hagell, research lead from Association for Young People’s Health, Jenny Coles, chair of What Works for Children’s Social Care, and Professor Anthony Finkelstein, president of University of London and member of the Care Review Implementation Board.

Source:
www.cypnow.co.uk

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