8. Examples of advocacy services
The following are examples of advocacy services to illustrate different approaches to providing formal advocacy support to children and young people in Scotland. All examples were provided by the individual organisations.
Who Cares? Scotland
We offer independent, rights-based advocacy support to children and young people aged up to 25 years who are or have been looked after away from home. We've begun working with some looked after at home too. Presently, we work mostly with over 12s, with the bulk living in residential care though this is changing. The work we do with children and young people in foster care is in the main concentrated in a few local authority areas.
We take our remit from children and young people - not that we don't take referrals but our starting point is checking the individual understands what we offer and wants our help. Raising awareness of children's rights and our role amongst children and young people (and professionals working with them) is key. They tell us trust, the relationship and independence are critical. We don't make judgements about what is in their best interests or tell them what to do. Instead, we help them understand their rights and options, make informed choices and, above all, express their views. Our independence acts as a safeguard too.
We receive a Scottish Government grant and, outwith Orkney and Shetland, we have contracts with Scotland's other 30 local authorities - which vary in size and priorities - and with eight independent residential care providers.
Our other activities - often with partners - include consulting children and young people at local and national level to capture their perspectives. We offer various participatory ways for them to speak for themselves and encourage them to succeed. We use what we learn to influence policy, practice and training.
Advocacy Western Isles
Advocacy Western Isles provides an independent Children and Young Persons ( CYP) Advocacy service for all children and young people who may require it from birth to age 21 throughout the Western Isles. The project is currently funded by the Big Lottery.
Advocacy support is offered in many areas including children's panels, residential care, family issues including residency and contact, alcohol and substance misuse, education, additional support for learning needs, bullying and criminal justice.
The service also undertakes presentations on advocacy and children's rights to various youth groups and hopes to be able to take this in to schools. The CYP service has also just started its first collective advocacy group of 15 children who are pursuing issues and funding in order to make positive changes in their community.
The aim of the Advocacy service is to ensure that the rights of children and young people are explored and upheld, they are given a voice and are listened to in order to become involved in decisions that are made about them.
We have found young people have a feeling of being valued and being important. We try to ensure that young people are able to influence their lives through expressing their views and have a sense of being listened to regarding decisions and being supported in their choices. The young people also have a sense of confidence and control with one commenting 'Advocacy makes you feel brave'.
Through independent advocacy, agencies should ultimately be able to make more informed decisions which should result in better decisions for children and young people.
CAMHS and Transition Advocacy service for young people based in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital
The service is for young people aged from 12 to 18 years old who receive psychiatric services and support from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Advocacy is provided irrespective of the status of patients. We advise on rights, promote the individuals' expressed wish, provide information, attend meetings, help to ask questions and on occasions provide access to free legal advice should a person choose to oppose any formal detentions when they are used.
Our service can include young people from across Scotland who receive treatment and assessment here in Edinburgh. We also provide advocacy support to young people who may find themselves on adult wards. We are funded by NHS Lothian. The service was managed by Circles Network until October 2009 when AdvoCard, an Edinburgh-wide advocacy project for adults who have experience of mental health, took over management of the service.
We have raised awareness of young peoples' rights of access to advocacy and mental health issues by visiting projects out in the community. We have taken part in service planning by canvassing the views of young people regarding their individual care and treatment issues and anonymously sharing those issues with staff and hospital management.
We try to make our service as accessible as possible. We run drop in sessions and respond to calls directly from patients as well as from staff. Our aim is to help young people have a voice and develop ownership of their experience. Young people say that they have been strengthened by having access to independent advocacy. We have thank you cards to prove it!
What is important is that young people have an independent advocate who is not part of the care and treatment team and who they can develop a rapport with and trust in expressing their wishes. From this, questions can be asked and information gathered which reinforces young people's self confidence and raises their self esteem. It gives young people an opportunity to reflect on where the journey has taken them so far whilst transitioning into adult life.
Drumchapel Children's Rights Project
Drumchapel Children's Rights Project is a community based independent resource and is a constituent part of Drumchapel Law & Money Advice Centre. The project offers a generic professional advocacy service covering the West Glasgow geographical boundary as defined by the local Community Planning Partnership. The service is open to all children and young people aged five to eighteen and in essence we will support any appropriate issue presented by or on behalf of a child or young person in the area and referrals are received from a variety of sources, including parents.
Funding is an on-going issue and is currently received from Social Work Services, Community Planning Partnership and the Volant Trust and this activity consumes significant time commitments to remain financially viable. The project delivers workshops on the UNCRC in both local high schools and some primary schools to raise awareness of the convention and the project as well as training to teachers and professionals. The advocacy service responds to any need identified through this provision and we also participate in local service planning and developments.
A significant point is that the project works with a number of young people who are not known to statutory services and the generic approach we take allows us to respond to all identified and unmet needs therefore safeguarding their rights across all their needs.
Moray Children and Young People's Rights Service, CHILDREN 1st
Moray Children and Young People's Rights Service is a CHILDREN 1 st project and has been commissioned by Moray Council to provide a service for the Moray area.
There are two posts with different remits. One post provides a generic service for children and young people aged 0 - 18 years. Children and young people are advised about their rights. The service provides a rights overview for very young children and other children who have additional support needs which prevent them from expressing their views. Advice is offered to professionals on children's rights. Young people are prepared and supported to attend meetings. Young people can be supported to make a complaint. They can be supported to appeal an exclusion from school or a change in their Education Maintenance Allowance entitlement. We also consult with children and young people on the services they receive and liaise with Moray Council on issues, patterns and themes.
The second post focused on child protection. This service is for children aged 7 - 16 years. In exceptional circumstances we will work with children under 7 who are deemed mature enough to understand the processes and support them to express their views. The remit of this post is to prepare and support children and young people to express their views at their child protection case conferences and associated meetings.
Some professionals misguidedly attempt to protect young children from 'difficult' or 'hard' information about their circumstances. However, we have found that early inclusion in their planning is a positive experience for children and contributes to their wellbeing.
South Lanarkshire Children's Rights Services
South Lanarkshire Council provides its own children's rights service. There are three children's rights officer posts supporting different remits which are funded by the local authority's Social Work Resources.
Children and young people who are accommodated
We offer an advocacy service to children and young people who are accommodated in children's houses, residential schools, foster placements, therapeutic residential placements and secure accommodation. We visit all children and young people aged 5 plus and provide them with a children's rights pack including those placed external to South Lanarkshire. We have worked with children under 5 in the past and do not have an upper age limit. There is a dedicated telephone line and mobile phone numbers available weekdays. We help young people to present their views at Children's Hearings, court hearings, LAAC review meetings, child protection case conferences and complaints interviews. Other activities include exit interviews with care leavers, anti-bullying training, and a newsletter for under 12s produced by young people. We contribute to service planning and policy development.
Children and young people affected by disability
We offer advice, information and advocacy support to young people with a disability in receipt of social work services. Young people can self refer, but the majority of referrals are made via social workers, residential care staff or families. Many children and young people using the service have limited experience of using advocacy services. They may use alternative and augmentative forms of communication and require support to access the service. We visit young people who are living away from home in residential establishments external to the area. We run an annual consultation, the Burning Issues Consultation and Advocacy Network ( BIPAN) and co-ordinate My View Too which offers training for staff in social work, health and education in order to better involve young people with a disability.
Children and young people in receipt of education services
We offer advocacy, advice and support to individual children and young people aged 4 to 18 years of age. Young people can self refer but most are informed of the service by education or social work staff. Postcards detailing the Children's Rights Service in Schools are issued to Schools, Children and Families Teams, Integrated Children's Services and Psychological Services. The Children's Rights Officer supports and represents young people at various meetings including Exclusion Appeal Hearings and Children's Hearings.