Get Help from a VOYPIC Advocate
If you are in care, or are a care leaver up to aged 30 years old, you can get help and support from a VOYPIC Advocate. To get help, just click the button below and fill in the short form. Or, give us a call on 028 9024 4888 and tell us you want an advocate.
Your Rights in Care
Sometimes families need some extra support at home, to make sure that children are being looked after properly. This usually means supporting families to make sure they can live together at home, but sometimes it may mean a child having to be cared for somewhere else. Sometimes this happens through a Care Order. That’s where a Judge, in a court, makes a decision that a child should be in care.
Being in care- sometimes called being ‘looked after’- means that you are not living with your parents. There are lots of different reasons children come into care, but the focus should always on making sure the child is safe and cared for. You have the right to live with your parents unless it is not in your best interests to stay with them.
UNCRC Article 9 – Children must not be separated from their parents against their will unless it is in their best interests (for example, if a parent is hurting or neglecting a child).
If you are in care, you will have a social worker who is responsible for your care. A social worker is a trained professional who supports young people in care and their families, regularly visiting to check how things are going and to listen to how you’re feeling. They may take notes to make sure your voice is heard, and these are kept safely in your file, which you can ask to see.
You have the right to information about why you are in care, and to have your say on what happens to you.
UNCRC Article 12 – Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life.
Coming into care can be upsetting and scary. Here’s a wee video about what might happen.
While you are in care, your social worker will work with your parents to try to make it possible for you to move back home safely. Sometimes the reason you are in care is just for now. Other times your parents may need to work with social services to make bigger changes to make sure it is safe for you to be at home. Every situation, and every family, is different, so there is no straightforward answer. It is important that you are told about what is happening, why it is happening, and what is likely to happen in the future.
Where will I live?
When you come into care, your social worker is responsible for developing a plan for how you will be cared for. This includes where you will live. You should be able to live as close to home as possible, and brothers and sisters should be kept together. They must make sure that you are kept safe and cared for. If it is not possible for you to live with your family, you have the right to protection and stable alternative care.
UNCRC Article 20 – If a child cannot be looked after by their immediate family, the government must give them special protection and assistance. This includes making sure the child is provided with alternative care that is continuous and respects the child’s culture, language and religion.
Children in care live in different settings. The main places children in care live are:
Kinship Care
This is where you live with members of your family, or friends, other than your parents. This might be your grandparents, an older brother or sister, an aunt or uncle, or friends or neighbours.
Foster Care
Foster carers are people you don’t know, who have been specially trained to care for children and young people in their home. Sometimes you might stay with temporary foster carers until a more long-term place to live is agreed.
Children's Home
A children’s home is a house where a few children live together, supported by adults who work in the home. If you live in a children’s home you will have a staff member called a ‘key worker’ who is there to help you with any problems and answer any questions.
Your Care Plan & Review Meetings
Everyone in care will have a Care Plan. It will include lots of important information about how you are to be cared for, including where you will live and go to school, details of your health and wellbeing, and how you can see and keep in touch with your family.
The Care Plan will be made when you first come into care, and then reviewed and updated every six months, at a Review Meeting.
A Review Meeting is when lots of adults who are involved in your care come together to talk about how to best care for you. This might include your foster/kinship carer, your keyworker, your social worker, your parents, your teacher etc. They will talk about your care plan and what everyone can do to make sure that you are well, safe and happy. They might talk about:
Your Health
Your Emotional Wellbeing
Your Education
Where You Live
Your Hobbies & Interests
Family Time
(when you see your family)
The first review meeting must be held no later than two weeks after you first went into care. The second review should be three months after that. Then reviews will be at least every six months.
It is really important to remember that your Care Plan belongs to you! You have the right to say what you want to happen, and for your views and wishes to be taken seriously. You have the right to go to your Review Meeting and talk about your wishes there.
UNCRC Article 12 – Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously.
Your Social Worker may not agree with your suggestions if they think they would cause you harm. If that happens, they have to tell you about it, and why any decisions are made.
Independent Advocacy
Sometimes it can feel scary to speak out, and it can be hard to say everything you want to say. Having someone to support you can make that easier. Every young person in care is entitled to have an Independent Advocate. This advocate can help ensure your voice is heard in the decisions that matter most to you.
Advocates help you get the information you need to make real choices, support you to put your views across to others making decisions about your life, and make sure your rights are protected.
VOYPIC’s Independent Advocates are separate from social services and other children’s social care services. They will not make decisions for you or about you. They will:
- Tell you about your rights in care and make sure they are protected.
- Make sure there is a plan for your care, safety, and aftercare.
- Attend professional meetings with you or represent your views, wishes, and feelings.
- Make sure you have the right services, financial support, and practical help to meet your needs.
- Help you challenge decisions about you care and support if you do not agree with them.
Get Help from a VOYPIC Advocate
If you are in care, or are a care leaver up to aged 30 years old, you can get help and support from a VOYPIC Advocate. To get help, just click the button below and fill in the short form. Or, give us a call on 028 9024 4888 and tell us you want an advocate.
Moving on from Care
Some children and young people spend only a short time in care before returning home. Some young people live in care until they are 18 years of age and are ready to move into independence and adulthood.
You should not have to leave care until you are ready to. To help you prepare, you will be have a personal adviser who, along with your social worker, will work with you to come up with a plan of support. This is called a Pathway Plan.
Your pathway plan will set out the help and support you need for your:
• health and development
• education, training or employment
• family support or other relationships
• financial needs
• practical skills for independent living
• care, support and accommodation.
Remember, if you are a care leaver aged up to 30 years old, you can get help and support from a VOYPIC Advocate. To get help, just click the button above and fill in the short form. Or, give us a call on 028 9024 4888 and tell us you want an advocate.