Advocacy

1. Advocates

The rights of looked after children to have a say in decisions about their lives is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the Children Act 1989. Before making any decision with respect to a child who the local authority is looking after or proposing to look after, the authority must ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child. Where children have difficulty in expressing their wishes or feelings about any decisions made about them, consideration must be given to securing the support of an advocate.

An appointment of an advocate for a looked after child is necessary where a child wishes to be represented at a meeting (for example a looked after review) or assisted in making a complaint or bringing a matter to the attention of the care provider, the local authority or the regulatory authority.

Information must be provided to all Looked After Children about how they can gain access to a suitably skilled Independent Advocate.

This information should be included in the Children's Guide or provided to them at any time by their social worker or independent reviewing officer especially where their wishes and feelings may not be in accordance with plans being made for them. Information should be in a range of accessible formats.

Assistance must also be given to enable an Advocate to be appointed for the child for example by approaching the independent organisation  on behalf of the child. Particular consideration needs to be given to the needs of disabled children, very young children, children placed out of the local authority area and those with complex communication needs who  need  the support of an advocate.

1.1 Duties of an Advocate

An advocate's key objective is to promote children and young people's central involvement in decisions affecting their lives. The nature of support advocacy provides varies considerably as it is dependent upon each local authority's commissioning arrangements but every service follows core principles:

• The advocate should not be directive or judgmental but help the young person to express their views;
• Young people should be offered full information in expressing their views;
• Young people should decide upon the best course of action;
• The advocate should always remain fully supportive of the young person.