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Chapter Six: Conclusions
6.1 The introduction to this report referred to a definition of advocacy which was formulated by the partner organisations involved in the research:
'At its broadest, advocacy is the provision of information, explanations, support, simple encouragement to participate, or direct advocacy by way of representation. Children and young people involved in the Children's Hearings System experience a need for a mixture of these things at different stages in their involvement with the System and to differing degrees depending on their particular needs.'
The research has enabled that definition to be explored through the experiences of children and young people who have been involved in the Hearings System and some of the adult professionals who have worked with them.
6.2 The research findings also build on the findings of the literature review. First they underline the crucial importance of listening to children and young people and keeping them informed in ways that are accessible to them. Second they confirm that those providing advocacy support being confidential, good listeners and able to communicate effectively with children and young people. Third they suggest that continuity of support through the Hearings process is important.
6.3 However, as the summary provided at the end of Chapter 5 indicates, they also suggest that other qualities are important to children and young people including loyalty, flexibility and sensitivity. Moreover the extent to which an advocate is perceived to be effective may depend on children and young people believing that an advocate is prepared to challenge the panel members on their behalf. Crucially, children and young people want advocacy support to be provided by people who are known to them. This may mean that it is best provided by people who have supported them and worked with them prior to their involvement in the Hearings System. Where this is not the case it means that a trusting relationship will need to be established prior to attending a Hearing to facilitate effective advocacy support.
6.4 As the summary points provided at the end of Chapter 4 demonstrate, the findings also suggest that there are a range of factors which may inhibit or promote the participation of children and young people in their Hearings. These relate to the behaviour of adults involved in the Hearings process including panel members, the Hearings environment and to the feelings, and sometimes fears, of children and young people themselves.
6.5 An overview of the research findings suggests that while there is an implicit commitment to providing advocacy for children and young people in the Children's Hearing System, the extent to which this commitment is made explicit varies considerably. As a consequence while some children and young people have extensive experience of advocacy support and an appreciation of how it can aid their participation, the experiences of others are more limited. Children and young people may also have had varied experiences, both positive and negative, over time. These factors have a demonstrable impact on the extent to which children and young people are able to participate in their Hearings.
6.6 The evidence underlines the fact that children and young people have a range of expectations and aspirations in relation to advocacy support and who they believe may be best able to provide it. As indicated at the end of Chapter 5 above, the needs and wishes articulated by children and young people interviewed for this research broadly fall into five categories. These categories illustrate that while the needs and wishes of some children and young people were, or could, be met by adult professionals whom they were already working with, others identified unmet needs which could in some cases be met by providing an independent advocate. The evidence also suggests that advocacy support is multi-faceted and for many children and young people it is unlikely to be derived from single source, so that for example the presence of parents may complement the support provided by an adult professional or vice versa. In that sense it is helpful to see providing advocacy support as a process involving a combination of people who assume different roles and perform a range tasks rather than a role which can be invested in one dedicated advocacy professional.
6.7 Children and young people's needs and wishes therefore change both at different stages of the Hearings process and over time. Age and levels of understanding are also relevant factors here. There are however some overriding issues, most importantly the need for advocacy support to be provided by people in known and trusting relationships which are built over time. The research also suggests that the extent to which children and young people are able to make choices in relation to their needs and wishes varies, for example in relation to age.
6.8 Advocacy relationships are therefore not homogenous and involve a range of skills and tasks that need to be discussed and reviewed with children and young people, recognising that their expectations and needs will be contingent on a variety of factors. At different stages of the process and over time this relationship may form with dedicated advocates, other adult professionals including social workers and parents/other relatives/carers. Where advocacy support is provided by those who are not dedicated advocacy professionals, for example social workers or parents, consideration needs to be given to how the roles or tasks performed by those complements or conflicts with providing effective advocacy support. Both adults and children and young people may have relevant views about this which need to be taken into account.
6.9 A further issue which needs to be considered here is that of independence. The traditional role of a dedicated advocacy professional is in part based on the independence of that person from other professionals or adults involved in a child or young person's life. However, these findings suggest that children and young people may not necessarily perceive independence as a critical factor in determining whether an adult is able to provide advocacy support. On the other hand the fact that children and young people link trusting an advocate to the maintenance of privacy or confidentiality, and that they may want an advocate to be able to challenge the panel members at their Hearings, suggests that independence may be an important ingredient of advocacy support in practice. Trust and independence are, of course, not necessarily mutually exclusive. Nevertheless this research reveals that there is an important balance to be struck between advocacy support which is provided in the context of known and trusted relationships and advocacy support which involves an appropriate degree of independence.
6.10 In summary, the findings of this research enable us to expand and clarify our initial thinking in order to arrive at a new definition which builds on the original definition formulated at the outset of the research project. Advocacy and participation also need to be seen as two sides of the same coin. Thus, enabling participation also depends on other adults involved in the process, particularly panel members.
' Advocacy is a means by which the extent to which children and young people participate in the Children's Hearings System can be maximised and by which the quality of that participation can be enhanced. Advocacy for children and young people in the Children's Hearings System may involve both indirect and direct forms of representation.
Indirect representation may include the provision of information, explanations, providing a supportive presence, encouragement to participate and assistance with speaking, i.e. prompting, word choosing. Direct representation includes speaking on behalf of the child or young person, with their consent and after consulting with them about what they would like to say. Indirect and direct forms of representation are not mutually exclusive, even within an individual Hearing.
Children and young people involved in the Children's Hearings System have needs and wishes for a mixture of these things at the various stages of the Hearing cycle and at different stages of their involvement in the System. These needs and wishes may change over time depending on factors such as age, experience, living and family circumstances.
It is therefore necessary to see the provision of advocacy as a process which is negotiated and re-negotiated with the child or young person rather than something that is fixed and determined at the outset of their involvement in the System. Rather than being located in one person, i.e. an advocate, it is likely to involve a range of people, both adult professionals and parents, other relatives and carers. These people may assume a variety of roles and perform a range of tasks which may be both integral to, and independent of, the Hearings process and the issues being addressed with it.
Children and young people have their own views about the qualities and skills that such people need to have in order to take on these roles and perform these tasks in ways that are useful to them. They also have views about the particular people or combination of people who are they regard as supportive and who they wish to be involved in providing advocacy. Of particular importance is the need for those providing advocacy support to be in known and trusting relationship with the children and young people.
The provision of effective advocacy therefore involves understanding and being sensitive to each individual child or young person's views and circumstances which may change over time and on engaging in ongoing dialogue with children and young people about their needs and wishes.'
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