17 November 2023

Independent advocacy support offers hope to children, young people and families in need

As an independent, legally based advocacy service for children, young people and families, we have often found ourselves lobbying for change – both directly and indirectly.

We find it necessary to clarify that whilst all lobbying is advocacy, not all advocacy is in the form of lobbying.

In addition to our enduring campaign for improvements in child protection policies and practices, the advocacy that we provide serves to facilitate the communication between those (agencies) who hold concerns and those (individuals) who lack awareness and understanding of the law. There may be a need to manage conflict between the parties, through careful navigation of the system,

However, local councils have increasingly taken a cynical approach to providing advocacy to families – an entitlement that can objectively serve the process.

When the objective is to act in a child’s best interest, advocacy may not be effectively served when commissioned internally by the local authority (and paymaster) particularly when in contention with parents or carers, or sadly not offered at all. We know from experience that the child protection process often restricts the most relevant voices.

Consider also that many of our clients originate from countries where the state has limited involvement with their children, and you can begin to imagine the confusion experienced by parents bringing up children in this country.

There may be multiple barriers to accessing services, including language, that become magnified within a hostile environment that has led to widespread discrimination, and institutional racism in practice.

It is imperative that their rights to independent advocacy support is restored for children and families, within recently announced social care reforms, as without this vital support, we will continue to see vast numbers of children in state care, or in delayed safeguarding processes under governmental control.

According to Professor Stephen Briggs, in his evaluation of our work;

“The VCF model of advocacy succeeds because it is pro-families and, at the same time, supporting professionals (especially social workers). Thus both family members and professionals are reassured by VCF presence and approach and anxieties are reduced.”

See also

Engaging children and families; the role of advocacy within child protection – a pilot study