Advocacy service for children and Young people under 18 years

Descriptions

Provision of advocacy services for young people (up to 18 years)both within and out with the council area. The service will also be required to provide advocacy services to looked after children with learning disability or mental health issues. The service will be expected to use a wide range of communication methods including face to face (preferred), video conference, telephone or other method preferred by the child. It is expected that the advocacy service will deliver the service in the following areas : Looked after children, including those in residential accommodation (some of which will be out with the Local Authority area); Those in Kinship care or Foster Care ; Looked after Children with Disabilities or particular needs ; Children attending case conferences The present service activity is approximately 80 referrals for children’s advocacy for looked after children are made each year. The advocacy provider should have a strong understanding of children's rights or can show how the service aims to ensure staff gain this understanding. This will allow them to both inform the child about those rights and to support children in taking decisions about how they want to exercise their rights. The service should also be able to recognise and understand the rights and responsibilities of a child’s parents. The service should be mindful that parents themselves may have a need for advocacy support in order to express their wishes in relation to decisions affecting their children and should ensure that in the course of provision that parents are signposted to the appropriate services to assist. Disabled children and young people may have a range of complex needs which include communication support and support for cognitive ability and capacity to understand. The service should have experience of working with children or adults with particular needs (such as children with autism, a learning disability or a mental health need) or should be able to show how it can ensure that this can be met. Whilst service provision will predominantly be within West Lothian, there will be requirement on occasion to support children living out with the Local Authority area, mainly those in residential accommodation The service will be available throughout the year with the exception of the main public holidays.