Pathways to Inclusion: the voice of the child in decision making

Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies Conference 2016

Introduction

Good afternoon everyone and thank you Wendy for the introduction. It’s fantastic to be here today amongst so many people committed to the wellbeing of children in Australia. I too would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to elders past, present and future.

As National Children’s Commissioner, my job is to promote, and advocate for, the rights of children and young people. The theme of this conference – ‘pathways to protection and permanency’ – has focused on exploring ways of getting it right for children, young people and their families.

I think the image of a ‘pathway’ is particularly appropriate. As you know, achieving safe, secure and stable living situations for children and young people is a journey that can take many twists and turns, and will be different for every child and young person. However, in order to ‘get it right’ and to reach this destination, it is vital that we ask for directions from the very children and young people we are seeking to assist. Children and young people are the experts in their own lives and can offer us the most valuable insights to help them to be able to live in homes and communities where there is a strong sense of belonging, and where they can be sure they will be safe from harm.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

As National Children’s Commissioner, all the work I do is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention). On the path to ensuring the wellbeing of all children and young people, this Convention can be understood as a roadmap for getting to a place of safety and belonging. The Convention is the most ratified international human rights treaty in the world. The Convention makes clear that children have the same human rights as adults, and additionally they are entitled to special protections because of their unique vulnerabilities and attributes as children. By ratifying the Convention in 1990, Australia promised to protect and uphold the rights of all children in our country.

One of the four central principles of the Convention is the right to be heard. This is laid out in article 12 of the Convention, which requires that children and young people are given the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect them, and that governments take into account the views of children in the laws and policies that impact on their lives. (1) This right is a gateway to all the other rights in the Convention. This right, when realised, simultaneously empowers and safeguards children. 

As we have seen from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, when children are silenced, when children’s voices go unheard, or when they are heard but deliberately ignored, children are the ones that suffer. And we have also seen through Royal Commission that the risk of abuse in out-of-home care is not a thing of the past. (2)

The importance of the right to be heard in out-of-home care

While children in every sphere need to be both seen and heard, it is particularly important to seek out and listen to the voices of children in the complex context of child protection and out-of-home care. But, as is the case with any vulnerable sector of the population, too often we make the mistake of shaping an agenda for children in out-of-home care, rather than with them.

Indeed, often an unintended consequence of recognising a certain group’s vulnerability is a failure to acknowledge the agency of individuals within this group. Many of these young people become subjects of a system that captures and engages them in particular ways. And whether this is done well or not so well, they are treated differently to other children and young people, often over a number of years, as passive recipients of what the system is able to deliver to them. 

Some are moved from home to home, school to school, and neighbourhood to neighbourhood. They become immersed in a world of judges and court officials, care orders and contact orders, caseworkers, case plans and case reviews, family group conferencing and placement principles, kin carers, foster carers and rostered staff in residential units.

And then for many of these young people, they turn 18 and all of this disappears.

It is no wonder then that as they leave care and enter adulthood, many will struggle to fit in, find stable accommodation, a job or further education, or connect up with people and relationships they can trust. Many will find it difficult to get the help they need, or to access mainstream services that feel safe, welcoming and responsive. In short, for young people who have experienced the world of care as children, the path to a normal life and all the opportunities that should come with that in adulthood can be a very rocky one indeed.

As the primary users of out-of-home care services, children and young people have the most insights to offer about their experiences in care and how their needs could be better met. They also have the most to lose or gain from what we do or don't do.
Viewed in this light, authentic engagement in this context is not just ‘a nice thing to do’, it is imperative to children’s safety, stability, welfare and healthy development.

Progress towards including children and young people in decision making

There have been some encouraging recent shifts pointing to a growing understanding of the importance of the views, opinions and experiences of children and young people in making improvements to practice and service delivery.  (3) However, despite these developments there remains a lack of consistent and cohesive approaches to ensure that this happens as a matter of course.

Where we have seen some of the most potentially significant changes in recent times is under the auspices of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. This Framework, as you know is the national policy initiative which has brought together since 2009, the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and non-government organisations in a sustained commitment to improve the safety and wellbeing of Australian children. Part of the work being done under the National Framework has included the development of National Standards for Out-of-Home Care.

A series of indicators were developed to measure progress toward these standards. It is intended that a number of these indicators will be evaluated through a national survey of children in out of home care, so that voices of children and young people have a direct and formal role in the ongoing evaluation of the progress of the Framework and the quality of care service around the country.

A pilot version of this national survey was rolled out last year. This a fantastic step forward. Some of the survey results were very encouraging. Of the 2,083 children surveyed, 91% of children reported feeling both safe and settled in their current placement. (4)

However, less reassuring was the fact that the indicator which measured the lowest was the indicator relating to children and young people’s participation. Only 67% of the respondents reported that they usually get to have a say in what happens to them, and that people usually listen to what they say. (5)  A further 23% reported that they usually get to have a say (6%), or they usually feel listened to (17%), but not both.  (6) These figures tell me that on the pathway to genuine inclusion and participation, we still have some way to go.

Additionally, 74% children reported that people usually explained the decisions made about them. (7) The lack of explanation around decisions for a quarter of the respondents is particularly concerning to me.

This is concerning to me because, in many ways, the flip side of the right to be heard is the right to access to information. The right to information is another crucial right within the Convention on the Rights of the Child (and incidentally it is this right –article 17 – that is the focus of this year’s national children’s week).

Access to information is especially important to children involved in the care and protection system, to understand their backstory, cultural roots and family connections, and also to get a handle on what will happen to them next, and who they will be dealing with and why.

According to the Create Foundation’s Report Card for 2013 less than one third of children and young people surveyed knew about the existence of a care or case plan for them. (8) In addition, approximately 40% of respondents didn’t feel that they could contact their caseworker as often as required and felt that there was scope for the caseworkers to be more helpful in assisting children and young people to meet their needs. (9)

If children and young people are to have their rights fulfilled, they need to know what their rights are, what they are entitled to demand, and how to raise concerns, make complaints and get things fixed.

Returning to the work of the National Framework, another area where the Framework has seen initial progress to including the voices of children and young people is in the development on the Framework’s Third Action Plan. The National Framework is implemented through three-year action plans, spanning from 2009 to 2020.

Together, the Create Foundation, myself and others have advocated strongly for the inclusion of children’s and young people in development of the third action plan.

As a result, last year, the Department of Social Services facilitated two roundtables for young people with care experiences. Remarkably, this is the first time that the perspectives and ideas of children and young people have been directly sought in the development of any actions or plans under the Framework.

Initial consultations took place in Lismore and Melbourne and involved a total of 17 young people with a care experience, ranging in age from 14 to 25 years. I was fortunate to be able to participate in the Lismore roundtable.

So what did the young people say?

Issues they raised were:

The stability of placements

This issue was felt keenly by the participants. Young people wanted carers to make them feel welcome and as though they belonged, ‘like you do in a family’. This included issues such as matching them with a family that had similar interest to them; being placed near their home town so they are still part of the community; letting them settle down before they ask them to do anything. One young person said: ‘I came from a violent family into a calm family and didn’t know how to live in that environment. But after a while the calmness caught on’.

Being listened to

When asked ‘what makes a great foster care family?’ one of the overriding qualities was ‘to listen.’ This critical element came through in almost every young person’s story about their experience in foster care. This extended to having a say in their day to day lives. Being consulted was an important sign that carers were respectful of the young person’s needs and showed that they were thinking about how the young person felt.  It was important even for simple things. Young people said: 

Going back to the importance of having access to information, some young people said they hadn’t been told they were being moved to a different foster home until their care worker arrived and told them to pack.

The concept of an information file on carers was very attractive to these young people, since the carers got a file on them. I think this is a very interesting idea, and I wonder whether having children and young people directly involved in the selection of their carers and case workers would be worth considering as a way of enhancing the success of placements.

The young people also identified things such as parenting programs and support for transitioning out of care as being important areas where governments could improve young people’s experiences and outcomes. One young person stated: ‘Young people need to have more knowledge of what they can access when leaving care.  Also, the government should help young people to do the things they want to do in life without the red tape.  There are so many forms to sign and delays in getting permission to do what we want when we want to do it.’

As you can see, just a small group of young people had plenty of information and insights to provide. And interestingly, in my earlier conversations with the youth consultants from the CREATE Foundation who will be joining me here on the stage shortly, they also raised similar points about the key areas for improvement, and I look forward to discussing more with them in the panel.

Clearly, young people with experiences of the care system are in no doubt as to what needs to be changed or improved.

The early two consultations held last year were used as a starting point to help formulate the key themes embedded within the third action plan for the National Framework. As you know, these cover:

• Support for transition to adulthood, employment and education
• Early help for parents and families
• Building child safe and aware organisations and services

Building on the consultations from last year, 18 consultations will be held across every state and territory to examine these and related themes and assist in the implementation of strategies under the Third Action Plan. I encourage all the young people here with a care experience to get involved and share your wisdom.

Conclusion

Clearly there is still much to be done to integrate the voices of children into the landscape of Australian policy and practice. Particularly in areas such as the out of home care system where children as the primary users have the most insight to offer, and also stand to be most affected if the system fails.

But encouraging developments are emerging and understanding of the importance of cultivating children’s participation is growing. The National Framework is one such example where decision-makers are coming to realise that on the journey towards improving outcomes for Australia’s children, we need to stop and ask children and young people themselves what our next steps should be.

All of you here today are in a unique position to champion the voices and rights of children and young people in your work.

I hope after this conference you are all inspired to think about new ways you can support and encourage children and young people to participate and contribute their views in the work that you do.

The path to protection and permanency inevitably presents many speed bumps, roadworks and diversions.  But the ultimate destination is a place where the full human rights of children and young people are realised, a place that they have come to with the right help and support in the wings along the way, and where they have all the skills, resources and capabilities they need to do and go well in life

The importance of getting it right for these young people, I think is best highlighted in their own words: 

‘Young people in care are the future of this country just as much as other children still with their own families.’

‘All young people are important’

Thank you

References

(1) Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990) art 12.
(2) Commonwealth, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Out-of-Home Care: Consultation Paper (2015) 25-30.
(3) Alexandra Osborn and Leah Bromfield, ‘Participation of children and young people in care in decisions affecting their lives’ (2007) Research Brief No. 6 National Children Protection Clearinghouse, 1-12. Viewed at https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/participation-children-and-young-people-care-decisi
(4) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The views of children and young people in out-of-home care: Overview of indicator results from a pilot national survey (2016) Bulletin 132, 1. Viewed at http://aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129554600
(5) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The views of children and young people in out-of-home care: Overview of indicator results from a pilot national survey (2016) Bulletin 132, 7. Viewed at http://aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129554600
(6) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The views of children and young people in out-of-home care: Overview of indicator results from a pilot national survey (2016) Bulletin 132, 7. Viewed at http://aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129554600
(7) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The views of children and young people in out-of-home care: Overview of indicator results from a pilot national survey (2016) Bulletin 132, 7. Viewed at http://aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129554600
(8) Joseph McDowall, Create Foundation, Experiencing Out-of-Home Care in Australia, the Views of Children and Young People, CREATE Report Card 2013 (2013) 87. Viewed at http://create.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2013-CRE065-F-CREATE-Report-Card-2013-Web-File-web.pdf.
(9) Joseph McDowall, Create Foundation, Experiencing Out-of-Home Care in Australia, the Views of Children and Young People, CREATE Report Card 2013 (2013) xxi. Viewed at http://create.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2013-CRE065-F-CREATE-Report-Card-2013-Web-File-web.pdf.