Dumfries and Galloway Council is Champion for looked after young people and care leavers
At the first ever meeting of the Champions’ Board for Looked After and Young People and Care Leavers, they will meet with councillors, the Council chief executive, the corporate parenting group, the chief social work officer, and managers from social work, education, health, and the third sector.
Dumfries and Galloway Council is the 5th local authority in Scotland to set up a Champions Board for Looked After Young People and Care Leavers.
Councillor Jim Dempster, chairman of the Social Work Services committee, said, “Providing the best start in life for all our children, protecting the most vulnerable, and being inclusive are key priorities for our Council. So, I’m delighted that we’re that we’re in the first 5 local authorities in to set up a Champions Board for looked after young people and care leavers. This is a great opportunity for these young people to be actively involved in decision-making and have their recommendations put into action. It will improve the lives of looked after young people and care leavers across the region and is a major achievement for the Listen2Us consultation group.”
The Listen2Us project will also launch Take a Walk with Us, a book of personal stories, poems, and artwork by local looked after young people and care leavers.
The Listen2Us project seeks the views and experiences of looked after young people and care leavers across Dumfries and Galloway, providing them with the opportunity to design, shape, influence and improve the range of services they access and receive. This innovative project puts young people at the heart of the decision-making that influences policy. It aims to use the experiences of young people in a positive way, making a real difference for current and future young people.
Councils are responsible for Corporate Parenting for children and young people who are ‘looked after’ under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Most young people become looked after as a result of a decision of a children’s hearing or a court and are often referred to as ‘in care’.
Looked After Children and Young People: We Can and Must do Better (Scottish Executive, 2007) defines corporate parenting as:
The formal and local partnerships needed between all local authority departments and services, and associated agencies, who are responsible for working together to meet the needs of Looked After children and young people and care leavers.
These Are Our Bairns (Scottish Government, 2008) states that a good corporate parent should:
• Accept responsibility for the council’s Looked After children and young people and care leavers
• Make their needs a priority
• Seek for them the same outcomes any good parent would want for their own children
While the primary responsibility lies with the council, community planning partners have a duty to cooperate to promote and safeguard the wellbeing of Looked After children and young people and care leavers.
Attachment:
to view Our promise to Looked After children, young people, and care leavers click hear
