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Chapter Seven: Policy and Practice Implications
7.1 What does all this tell us about how advocacy may best be provided? What emerges is the need to achieve a balance between a common approach to the provision of advocacy support in the Hearings System and a personalised approach which is responsive to the needs and wishes of individual children and young people at each stage of the Hearings process. Such an approach would recognise the need for a flexible but nevertheless consistent approach to advocacy provision with minimum standards.
7.2 It is interesting to note here that a recent report concerning child abuse in the Western Isles (Scottish Executive, 2005) includes a recommendation that 'the Scottish Executive should set up a national system for all children involved in Children's Hearings and other inter-agency meetings to have the opportunity of an advocate, when decisions are made about their care needs and protection'. However, the type of advocacy envisaged in this recommendation concerns providing an adult whose focus would be the best interests of the child or young person in relation to the outcomes of Hearings or inter-agency meetings. This research, in contrast, has focussed on the provision of advocacy in relation to the Hearings process and therefore the best means of securing and facilitating the active participation of children and young people in their Hearings.
7.3 The findings of this research suggest that rather than providing a 'national system' of advocacy, the needs and wishes of children and young people could be met by devising a common advocacy standard. This would enable all agencies involved in working with children and young people in the Hearings System to have shared understanding of advocacy and its relationship to participation in Children's Hearings. Such a common standard could provide a working definition of advocacy which draws directly on the experiences and perspectives of children and young people and explain how this can best be provided by agencies. It could explain how agencies can meet children and young people's needs and wishes in relation to advocacy and participation through enhancing skills and awareness of adults involved in the Hearings process and ensure that gaps in advocacy support are met. It could also involve providing the child or young person with information (including explaining it to them in person) about their rights in relation to representation and participation.
7.4 In order to ensure that those needs and wishes are met a personal advocacy plan could be drawn up with each child or young person and reviewed at each stage of the Hearings process. This could consist of a package of advocacy support that reflected the circumstances, needs and wishes of the child or young person taking into account what is known about support that is already available and identifiable gaps in provision. The personal advocacy plan could then be made available to, and understood by, all those involved in the process including panel members.
7.5 A key question which arises here is how can transparency and accountability be provided in the context of a multi-agency approach? Whose responsibility should it be to ensure that the personal advocacy needs and wishes of each child or young person are met? There is an important distinction to be made here between ensuring that needs and wishes are met and the provision of advocacy support itself. These responsibilities do not necessarily need to be performed by the same agency or adult professional. There are various options relating to ensuring that needs and wishes are met. These include Children's Reporters, social workers or other lead professionals and each has advantages.
7.6 For example, allocating the responsibility to Children's Reporters may be considered to be advantageous. First their role does not of itself involve providing advocacy support and therefore they are able to stand back and make an assessment of what is needed. This creates a separation between ensuring that advocacy support is provided and providing it in practice. Second achieving consistency may be easier because Reporters are employed by, and accountable to, a single national agency. Third it would place the responsibility for providing advocacy support at the heart of the Hearings System. On the other hand it could be argued that social workers or other lead professionals may best placed to undertake the responsibility. First because they will already have been involved with the child or young person prior to their involvement in the Hearings System, they may have more detailed knowledge and experience of their circumstances. Second because they are known to the child or young person, they may be better placed to enter into a dialogue about the way needs and wishes are met and reviewed over time.
7.7 Because the provision of effective advocacy support will involve a range of people and agencies, the provision of advice and information needs to be reviewed and considered including:
- Advice to parents, other relatives and carers;
- Information for professionals and panel members;
- Accessible information for children and young people.
The findings of this research also strongly suggest that changed behaviour on the part of adults involved in the Hearings System can make a significant contribution to enhanced advocacy and participation. In order to facilitate this training needs to be reviewed and considered including:
- Training for professionals in delivering advocacy support;
- Training for panel members in enabling participation.
7.8 The research findings also suggest that while advocacy support may best be provided by a combination of those already involved in supporting, and working with, children and young people, there will be occasions where a gap in provision needs to be met by working with a particular professional or by providing an independent advocate. Where the latter is the case, consideration needs to be given to how this would best be provided and funded, e.g. through arrangements between agencies working with the child or young person and existing national and local advocacy agencies and/or through a pool of advocates accessed via the Scottish Children's Reporters Administration.
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