The Office of the Guardian attends some of the reviews as part of its monitoring function and to advocate for improved outcomes.  It is an external audit process that provides feedback to the child protection agency on the circumstances for children and the quality of the casework service.

In 2011-12 the Office audited 194 of the reviews at 15 Families SA offices.

Read our Audit of Annual Reviews Report 2011 – 2012 for the full version or an Audit of Annual Reviews 2011-12 infographic summary.

Hear about reports as they are published viaTwitter.

Tracy Rafanelli

Charter Champions typically have a strong commitment to the rights of children and a belief in the value of a rights-based approach to ensuring their welfare and happiness.

Tracy Rafanelli, Program Co-ordinator at Magill Youth Training Centre^* is no different.  She says ‘Being a Charter Champion is an opportunity to promote the Charter within Magill and provide information and advice on the rights of children and young people in care.

‘I am a strong advocate for the rights of young people and I make sure Charter material is available and accessible to all young people and staff across the Centre.’

Champions come from all levels and roles within endorsing organisation.  Youth workers, supervisors, managers and chief executives are all represented in the ranks of the Champions registered with the Guardian’s Office.

‘By endorsing the Charter, our staff are committed to supporting the rights of young people and acting on their behalf if they identify a need. Young people in Magill now have a clearer understanding of their rights from a range of sources,’ says Tracy.

As a Charter Champion at Magill, Tracy has made sure that the Charter of Rights posters and information sheets for staff and young people are posted in all of the units and program room.   Water bottles and stress balls with rights messages have been provided to staff for distribution to young people in the units.  Boxes of the rights flash cards are in units and available to be used by staff during a young person’s induction.

Tracy has spoken to the Centre’s Training Officer to arrange a presentation about the Charter to be made to Centre staff in the near future.

‘Young people at Magill are encouraged to contribute to their future by better understanding their rights, responsibilities and their options for the future.

‘They are able to better seek out opportunities if they are not provided with them,’ says Tracy.

There are 47 agencies that have endorsed the Charter of Rights and the registration of 19 new Champions since December 2011 brings the total to 135.

The full range of materials available to endorsing agencies for distribution to young people in care is available on our website materials page.

* Tracy is temporarily Acting Supervisor at Restitution Services South with the Community Youth Justice Program.

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In the 2010-11 report we focussed on children’s safety, security and stability of placement, contact with family, friends and cultural community and participation in decision-making.

Wellbeing of Children and Young People in Care 2010-11 summarises the collected information.

For immediate notification about reports as they are released by the Office, follow us on Twitter.

The nature of the goodbye children seek from their social worker depends on the relationship.  The more connected the relationship, the greater need for a planned goodbye.  If the relationship has only been in existence for a few weeks with minimal contact, the goodbye-needs may be quite different.  Nevertheless, a goodbye that recognises the relationship and reflects the needs of the child should occur.

It is a challenge for social workers to manage the personal versus professional ending of a relationship with a child.  Some young children may find it difficult to recognise the difference between professional and personal relationships if they have not experienced professional relationships before.

Some social workers didn’t say goodbye at all or just made a quick phone goodbye on the day they moved on.  One advisor remembered calling the worker’s office only to be told their social worker was gone.  They recalled that the unprepared departure did not provide enough time to process the ending of the relationship, and left them hurt, offended and untrusting.

A number of advisors recalled not knowing what happened to their social worker and never heard about them again.  Sometimes young people do not realise the value of the social worker relationship to them until later in life so it is important that the social worker takes steps to acknowledge the relationship with each child.

Advisor tips for saying a quality good-bye

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A full report of the audit is provided to the Minister for Families and Communities, following opportunity for comment from Families SA.

The following are main points from the Audit of Annual Reviews 2010-11- Summary Report which can be downloaded in PDF.

• Six offices facilitated children and young people to attend the review meeting.
• The direct participation of children and young people increased from 16 per cent in 2009-10 to 25 per cent. Additionally, in 39 per cent of cases reviewed the social worker spoke in detail about the child or young person’s involvement in case decisions and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the child’s views.
• Thirteen per cent of children and young people did not have a voice in case planning or annual reviews.
• Nineteen per cent of children and young people did not have regular contact with the same case worker.
• Sixty-eight per cent of children and young people whose cases were reviewed were in stable, long-term placements.
• Eighty-nine per cent of children and young people whose cases were reviewed were receiving services to meet their needs.
• Nineteen children and young people, including ten adolescents approaching independence, did not have any significant connections beyond Families SA.
• For the most part, good efforts, and in some cases exceptional efforts were made to ensure family contact was maintained.
• Sixty-two per cent of the Aboriginal children whose cases were reviewed were placed with their extended family or with Aboriginal carers. In most cases there was evidence that the children had been provided with information about their cultural heritage and identity.
• Thirty-three per cent of the children and young people had a Life Story Book.
• There was evidence of strong inter-agency collaboration in 101 cases (41 per cent of all cases, and 61 per cent of cases requiring interagency collaboration). In 81 cases, Families SA reported that no other agency was involved in the child or young person’s life and that inter-agency collaboration was not needed.

During 2011 we will inquire: What children in care say about contact with their siblings and the impact sibling contact has on wellbeing.

Children in care and contact with their siblings – literature review looks at what authors have said about keeping siblings together, the complexities of defining ‘siblings’,  the variety of relationships between siblings and uncovers the relative lack of research about the experiences and opinions of children and young people themselves.

Follow this inquiry and our other activities on Twitter.

Advocacy strategies are readily and naturally linked to the Charter of Rights. The Charter affirms the right of a child or young person to have an advocate and so supports the role of an advocate within an endorsing agency and externally with other agencies that have also endorsed.

When a social worker advocates to their supervisor for a child to be present at their annual review they are pursuing the right for a young person to participate in decision making. A youth worker in residential care advocating for an extra staff member so that a child can go to cricket practice is promoting the child’s right to develop their talents. Clearly linking an advocacy position to the Charter of Rights supports and guides our action and highlights the need for others to consider the Charter and address the rights in their response.

One of the most significant challenges an advocate for a child or young person can face is undertaking advocacy within their own organisation. Advocacy can be misread by colleagues and management as disruptive or obstructive to the work of a team when members should be working cohesively. Advocates may also fear that, as a voice within their team, they will not be as powerful as an external or more senior voice, and so be less likely to pursue an issue.

In effective teams, however, advocacy can encourage reflective practice which promotes professional and organisational growth and encourages considered decision making. The widespread adoption of the Charter and its strong endorsement of advocacy frames the work of an advocate positively, as a legitimate action that focuses attention on the young person’s voice.

To this moment, 46 government and non-government agencies have endorsed the Charter of Rights.  Each agency has committed itself in its policy and practice to actively support the rights and entitlements of children in care. This gives us the opportunity to set aside our pre-judgments, organisational imperatives and even our expectation of an ideal outcome and to give full and first consideration to the rights, voice and point of view of the children and young people with whom we work.

Good advocacy supports the rights of the child, develops the skills of advocates, robust organisations and results in better decisions – and the Charter can promote good advocacy. To support advocates in the field and encourage discussion of advocacy issues, the Office of the Guardian has a new Fact Sheet – Using the Charter in Individual Advocacy which is available now, online at www.gcyp.sa.gov.au.

For information and updates on rights for young people and the Charter of Rights, follow us on Twitter.

You can now read the Office of the Guardian’s Response to Directions for alternative care in PDF on the website.

In 2008 the Office of the Guardian started to involve young people more directly as collaborators in its inquiries, by engaging young people to conduct interviews, assist with focus groups and comment on the analysis. Amanda Shaw, project manager for the inquiry into social worker relationships with children saw immediate benefits.

The advice of the young research collaborators about the suitability of interview venues and the best way to frame questions was invaluable at the planning stage.

Engaging children and young people as collaborators in research is still novel. They have long been objects of study, sometimes subjects of study but more rarely actors in study.

Caution in working alongside children and young people in research is understandable. Researchers must avoid exploiting children, adapt their methodology, make sound judgements about ability and maturity, and it takes more time.

The benefits to researchers though are considerable. Through partnering with young people, adult researchers understand better a child or young person’s perspective and the findings are more likely to be authentic.

Emily Rozee, young researcher in two inquiries, saw that, ‘using young researchers really helps to make participants feel relaxed and comfortable to express their opinions and thoughts.’

The benefits to children and young people are probably less evident, but can and should be front and centre of a project. The more obvious benefits are being heard, skills development, and honorariums or payment for their expertise.

Emily reports,

Being a young researcher has given me an insight into policy, project management, interviewing techniques and the process of conducting a research assignment. I am grateful for the experience and hope to use the skills I have learned in my future employment.

The less obvious benefits to young people are effecting change, having their views validated and imparting knowledge. Of course there are also potential negative outcomes when views are not used or do not lead to change.

Ethics guidance and guidelines are critical to including children in research in whatever capacity they are to be involved. Ethics processes can inhibit or promote the voices and participation of children and it is incumbent on members of ethics committees to accept that children are capable of contributing to research and how best to include them.

Careful consideration is required for each stage of the process where children and young people are involved, including how to end the project and the relationship. Informed consent to participate as an interviewee or a collaborator is essential and the adult researcher has to pay attention to each child’s level of ability and capacity to consent, as well as informing and consulting with the adult decision-makers.

A key purpose of the Office is to strengthen the voice of children and young people and to demonstrate how it can be done. Our systemic inquiries feature the views and experiences of children and young people and in all inquiries the Youth Advisors have an ongoing advisory role. The active involvement of young researchers is an important addition.

We are still learning how to do this well. We must strike a balance between child and young person leadership and robust inquiry outcomes, but it clearly can be done to benefit all and for all to learn.