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Executive Summary
1. This research project was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to find out how advocacy for children in the Children's Hearings System compares with arrangements in other UK systems of child welfare and youth justice and those internationally, and what children and young people and the professionals who work with them think about advocacy arrangements in the Children's Hearings System and how these can be improved.
2. For the purpose of this research a broad definition of advocacy was developed by the research partners, that reflects the complexity of options that could help children and young people understand, communicate and participate effectively according to their age and understanding in Hearings processes and in important decisions which affect their lives:
'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.'
3. A literature review revealed that there has been little research which directly sought the views of children and young people on their experiences of advocacy in the Children's Hearings System and none which involved young children. There was also little research evidence on children and young people's opinions on how advocacy arrangements in the Children's Hearings System could be improved.
4. Drawing on the findings from the literature review in terms of what is already known and to address the gaps in our knowledge of children's views and experiences of advocacy, the research project was designed to answer the following questions:
- What are children and young people's experiences of advocacy in the Children's Hearings System?
- How do children and young people involved in the Children's Hearings System think that advocacy arrangements could be improved?
- How do adults' accounts of children and young people's experiences of advocacy and their views about how advocacy arrangements could be improved, differ from those of children and young people?
5. Twenty-nine children and young people were interviewed for the research. Their ages ranged from 5 to 18 years at the time of the interviews. Nine were aged below 12 years old. Twenty-one were from an urban area and eight were from a rural area. Seventeen were boys and 12 were girls. Each child and young person who agreed to take part in the research, was asked to nominate an adult professional who they had worked with who would be asked to take part in a telephone interview. The adults nominated included social workers, key workers from residential care including children's units and secure units, teachers, counsellors, youth workers, children's rights workers and carers. Not all of those nominated were available for interview, and the final sample of those interviewed comprised of 13 adults, one of who was nominated by three young people. Those interviewed did however, reflect the diverse range of adults nominated by children and young people.
6. All but one of the children and young people interviewed for this research had an allocated social worker and consequently social workers were most commonly referred to by children and young people as providing advocacy support, involving a variety of roles and tasks.
7. Some relationships with social workers were characterised by children and young people as based on trust and respect and this facilitated the provision of advocacy support. For others, their experience of social work was less positive. Social workers were not seen as providing advocacy support and in some cases children and young people did not want them to be present at Hearings.
8. The presence of family members at Hearings was perceived by children and young people to be very important, though their advocacy support role was limited. It was rare for children and young people to describe the presence of parents as problematic, though adult respondents shed a different light on this in some cases. For some children and young people other relatives and carers played an important role at Hearings.
9. Advocacy support from independent children's advocates was not typically part of the experience of children and young people. However, where they had been involved the support was generally regarded by children and young people as very positive either over a long period of time or in relation to more limited intervention.
10. For children and young people in residential care, key workers became an important source of advocacy support at Hearings. Some children and young people discussed supportive relationships with a variety of other adult professionals including, befrienders, counsellors and community support workers. However, the extent to which they were involved in providing advocacy support in the Hearings System varied.
11. Children and young people's accounts suggest that there are a range of factors that may help or inhibit their participation in Hearings.
12. Factors that children and young people described as helpful to their participation in Hearings included:
- Providing papers which are accessible
- Preparation and discussion before the Hearing
- Knowing what to expect
- Evidence of listening
- Providing explanations
- Creating a comfortable environment
- Asking for views about possible decisions
13. Adult behaviour that children and young people described as inhibiting to their participation in Hearings included:
- Talking over children and young people
- Using language and terminology that is not understood
- Repeating statements or questions
- Directing questions to others
- Asking difficult or awkward questions
- Talking about children and young people rather than to them
- Being discouraged from speaking
14. Children and young people also described their own feelings and fears as inhibiting including:
- Feeling shy or embarrassed
- Feeling suspicious of adult motives
- Feeling that adults did not listen to answers
- Feeling that adults did not believe answers
- Fear of an unknown process
- Fear of outcomes
15. The qualities of an advocate identified by the children and young people interviewed for this research as important included:
Someone who listens
- Someone who explains things
- Somebody known
- Somebody who can be trusted
- Someone who is loyal
- Someone who is flexible
- Someone who is sensitive
- Someone who is approachable
- Someone who can communicate with children and young people
- Someone who will challenge the panel members at their Hearings
16. Children and young people interviewed for this research described a variety of experiences and articulated a range of needs and wishes in relation to advocacy support. Broadly speaking they fell into five categories, though children and young people's accounts, particularly those of older respondents suggested that they may have occupied more than one category over time.
- There were those who did not understand the process sufficiently clearly to articulate their needs and wishes.
- There were those who were disengaged from, and within, the Hearings process to the extent that they were unable or unwilling to identify whether they wanted advocacy support and who might best provide it.
- There were those who were broadly content with the advocacy support they received.
- There were those who identified adults who were already providing them with support outside the Hearings System as potential advocates.
- There were those who identified the need for additional advocacy support, sometimes in addition to support they already received from parents or adult professionals.
17. The research findings underline the crucial importance of listening to children and young people and keeping them informed in ways that are accessible to them. They confirm that those providing advocacy support being confidential, good listeners and able to communicate effectively with children and young people. They also suggest that continuity of support through the Hearings process is important.
18. Other qualities which children and young people described as important included loyalty, flexibility and sensitivity and an ability to challenge the panel members at their Hearings. 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.
19. 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 Hearings 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 which have an impact on the extent to which children and young people are able to participate in their Hearings.
20. 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. 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. 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.
21. 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 to their needs and wishes. 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.
22. The research suggests that 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 they may formed 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.
23. The research 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. 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.
24. 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 which was 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.
25. This research suggests that there is a need to strike 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.
26. The findings of this research suggest that the needs and wishes of children and young people could be met by devising a common advocacy standard that enables 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. 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.
27. 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.
28. In determining how transparency and accountability are best provided in the context of a multi-agency approach, an important distinction to be made 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.
29. 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.
30. This research also strongly suggests 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 children and young people's participation.
31. While advocacy support may best be provided by a combination of those already involved in supporting, and working with, children and young people, including independent advocates, 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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