NYAS have today (22nd Jan) responded to the Care Review’s call for advice as the first stage of shaping the review. Launched one week ago, the review is intended to be broad and bold, and offer a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to tackle issues which affect children, young people and families with lived experience of children’s social care.
Our starting point for advice is that the review must empower the voices of care-experienced people throughout. This review is not about people’s work, it’s about people’s lives. The best way to engage with children and young people is to offer for them to be an active part of the process, able to shape it and reach conclusions.
We hope in the early stages that the review is able to work with our NYAS’ Campaigns Advisers, a brilliant group of care-experienced 18-25-year olds from across the country. We have also encouraged the review to reach out to coalitions of care-experienced people such as ‘Our Care Our Say’ and the ‘Care Experienced Conference’.
We have recommended some of the big questions that the review should seek to answer. These include how children’s rights can be better protected, how everyone entitled to advocacy support should know how to receive it, how mental health can be prioritised, and whether corporate parents can make a life-long commitment to care-experienced people of all ages.
You can read our ‘Call for advice’ submission in full here.
