This review on “Child Voice Implementation in Child Protection Processes and Systems” was conducted in Australia.
Majorly, keyword searches for policy and research documents in Australia was conducted with regards to knowledge on key websites and social sciences databases.
Favorable results were employed in the development of this presentation alongside using relevant reference harvesting and expertise in proving outlined cases of child involvement issues.
This discussion presentation will discuss a number of issues including:
- Child voice in processes of protection
- Advocacy services in Australia in relation to child protection
- Advocacy service benefits to children
- Understanding child protection conferences and their importance to children
- Child rights violation risk reduction
- Child voice empowerment services
- According to several research studies on the same, up to 67% of Australian professionals.
- 80% of children themselves, think that engagement of toddlers in processes of decision making would be a recipe for increasing child risk outcomes.
- To give strength to the voice of children in relation to child protection in Australia requires the development of advocacy services (Cossar, Brandon and Jordan, 2011).
- Better advocacy services will ensure that children are given the opportunity air their views while ensuring that their rights fully protected (Morgan, 2008).
- There are a lot of evidences that show how beneficial the provision of better advocacy and improved national guidance is to children (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010).
- There is no statutory rights in relation to independent advocacy within systems of child protection alongside useful information as to how nationally available such systems are.
- UNCRC (The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) escalates that children have the right to be involved in making decisions that impacts their lives (United Nations, 1989).
- Australia has national guidelines and legislations that stress on the importance of having children involved in processes of decision-making particularly in “child protection cases” (United Nations, 1989).
- Several child exploitation and abuse cases clearly demonstrate that the voice of children is not effectively heard.
- Proper systems of advocacy empower toddlers.
- Proper systems of advocacy ensure that children understand better the processes of advocacy (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010).
- There are many case reviews that have highlighted the significance of listening to children and ensuring that their views are accounted for.
- According to one report in the name of “Ofsted Report”, up to 70 serious child protection case reviews showed that professionals did not consider asking children about their views or feelings.
- In most instances, adults are given the mandate to speak on children’s behalf.
- However, children are considered to be able to provide information that is important about themselves and how they are treated.
- According to Children Act of 2004, local authorities are required to ascertain the feelings and wishes of children while taking them into consideration in processes of decision making and processes of protection.
- Therefore, government of Australia decided to lay down a framework that would have children involved in legal processes that require them to air their voice on matters that affect them.
- Article 12 of the Children Act of 2004 states that children have the rights to express their views and their wishes on matters that affect their lives given the weight deserved with regards to their ages and maturity levels (Brady, 2011).
- The provision of advocacy and representing the views of children is one way of ensuring that their voices are heard in relation to child protection.
- Otherwise, children are also capable of influencing decisions.
- On the Australian Department of Health 2002 Guidelines, one advocating for children voicing their views must ensure that their work processes are led by the wishes and views of children.
- Advocates must champion for the needs and rights of children.
- Advocacy services need to be accessible, well-publicized, as well as easy to use when requested.
- Advocates are required to provide high confidentiality levels while exclusively working for children (Department of Health, 2002).
- The current child right protection system does not have statutory rights to independent advocates for systems of child protection provided at authority discretion.
- Several reviews suggest that children who are given support through advocating speak highly of the support they receive from the same.
- “Munro Review” of 2011, ascertain that there are limited, small qualitative studies which explore advocacy impacts on children airing their views (Munro, 2011).
- Munro Review established that advocacy services evaluation and monitoring in the country is no standardized (Munro, 2011).
- Evaluation and monitoring is done by advocacy providers establishing contractual and/or internal purposes (Department for Education and Skills, 2004).
- NSPCC is an advocacy service program in Australia.
- NSPCC ensures the protection of children rights.
- Advocates, according to NSPCC are the source of inspiration and the way of preparing children to be part of conferences.
- If children participate in conferences, the shared information quality is likely to be more accurate while children feeling part of plans for protecting.
- Provision of protection plans then become more acceptable for children since the environment in which they are formulated is conducive through the inception of NSPCC.
- For children who do not attend conferences, they required the help of advocates to provide them with feedbacks when such conferences are done.
- With the provided feedback, children are able to understand the proceedings of conferences (Ofsted and Scutt, 1999, pg. 95).
- More recent reviews on child protection issues in Australia show that child involvement has a number of positive impacts on them.
- However, procedures of participation for children in processes that affect them should be therapeutic (Vis, Et al., 2011, pg. 331).
- In such a case, being therapeutic means that their participation needs to help them in a couple of issues including making better, more informed decisions, and be able to keep themselves safe (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010).
- Empowerment services also need to discover sustainable development cases for children and reduce instances of neglect and abuse.
- “Qualitative Studies Outcomes on Advocacy for Child Protection” as a review on the matter of empowerment services concur with the facts stipulated.
- “Qualitative Studies Outcomes on Advocacy for Child Protection” states that gaining positive effects on children ought to be managed by provision of advocacy service that are independent of services that are social (Ofsted, 2010).
- This activity describes advocacy as a service of empowering children and making them aware of their rights.
- Dalrymple is one Australian journal review on the matter of children empowerment under the context of child protection.
- “Dalrymple” provided evidences on some of the existing impacts of advocacy services in five Australian geographical locations including Sydney that ensured that vulnerable children were attended to (Dalrymple, 2005, pg. 4).
- Outcomes of the review was quite clear on the impacts the outlined services had on children (Munro, 2011).
- Otherwise, advocates listened to the views of the children ad spoke out the minds of children in various forums and conferences (Department of Health, 2002).
- With such services, children were in a personal position of enhancing their confidence.
Conclusion
- This review discussion and presentation has clearly demonstrated the need to, ways of, and outcomes of implementing the child’s voice.
- The ideas that are outlined in this activity are derived from and supported by several sources.
- As identified, there are systems and policy frameworks in place that ensure that children are involved in protection proceedings and services (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010).
- The systems also ensure that toddlers can access support and advocacy services independently.
- However, the activity did not get systematic evidence on the number of local authorities and service centers that provide children advocacy programs including child protection therefore, providing limited evidence on the impacts and effectiveness of advocacy (Brady, 2011).
Reference
Brady, L (2011). Where is my advocate? A scoping report on advocacy services for children and young people in Sydney. Australia: OCC.
Children Act 2004. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ ukpga/2004/31/pdfs/ukpga_20040031_en.pdf
Cossar, J, Brandon, M and Jordan, P (2011). ‘Don’t make assumptions’: children’s and young people’s views of the child protection system and messages for change. OCC.
Dalrymple, J (2005). Constructions of child and youth advocacy: emerging issues in advocacy practice. Children & Society, 19(4), pp. 3-15.
Department for Children, Schools and Families (2010). Working together to safeguard children guidance. DCSF.
Department for Education and Skills (2004). Get it sorted guidance – Providing effective advocacy services for children and young people making a complaint under the Children Act 1989. DfES.
Department of Health (2002). National Standards for the provision of children’s advocacy services.
Morgan, R., D., H. (2008). Children’s views on advocacy: a report by the Children’s Rights Director for Australia.
Munro, E. (2011). The Munro review of child protection: final report. A child-centred system.
Ofsted (2010). The voice of the child: learning lessons from serious case reviews. A thematic review of Ofsted’s evaluation of serious case reviews from 1 April to 30 September 2010.
Ofsted and Scutt, N (1999). Child advocacy. In Shemmings, D (Ed) Involving children in family support and child protection,. pp.93-98.
United Nations (1989). The Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Vis, S.A, Strandbu, A, Holtan, A and Thomas, N (2011). Participation and health – a research review of child participation in planning and decision-making. Child and Family Social Work, 16, pp.325–335.
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