Securing a Sustainable Future for Children and Young People

This article outlines why sustainable development matters for children and young people, and explores the relevant policy context in England and the UK. It asks whether enough is being carried out by central government to secure a more sustainable future for, and with, today’s children. More is needed at the national policy level to: embed sustainable living principles within a range of policy frameworks affecting children and young people; provide a clear strategy for empowering children and young people to lead change and take action on climate change and environmental issues; and address the impact of environmental degradation on disadvantaged groups of children and young people.     

Disability in Adulthood: Ten-year Follow-up of Young People with Disabilities

This study investigates the attainment of adult status among a sample of 39 physically impaired people aged 25 to 30 years. Compared with the general population, they were much less likely to have worked in paid employment, to have established independent households, or to be married and have families of their own. Few had achieved their teenage aspirations for marriage or parenthood. Most of those who had never had a job since leaving school still wanted to work. The majority still hoped to live in a place of their own. The findings point to major inadequacies in provision for disabled people, particularly in practical and financial support for those who want to work and live independently. Policies and services for young disabled people need to be developed within a common framework which includes a comprehensive definition of the transition to adulthood and agreed goals for the achievement of adult status.     

Young People Leaving Care: Participatory Research to Improve Child Welfare Practices and the Rights of Children and Young People

Abstract

This paper discusses participatory research with young people who are leaving public care in Finland to begin independent lives. The aim of the research, organised by SOS Children's Villages International, was to bring about change in alternative care arrangements, particularly those involving young people's transition to independence. The project used a participatory research design based on employing care-leaving peers as co-researchers. This paper adheres to the methodological principles of empowerment in analysing the personal experiences of young people leaving alternative care with the goal of informing good practice. The findings suggest that the peer research method can be an effective means of empowering young people to develop research skills and to be involved in knowledge production, as well as serving as a means of promoting improved services for “care-leavers”, those young people who are leaving either foster care or institutional care. The participatory and peer research method challenges the traditional understandings of expertise and knowledge production. Although the hierarchy between adult researchers and young people as co-researchers is still evident, the method provides possibilities for better understanding the social- and health-service systems and their challenges and pitfalls from a user's perspective.     

Children and Society Policy Review: Health Policy Affecting Children and Young People

The Health and Social Care Act comes into force in April 2013. It changes the organisation of the health service and accelerates the integration of health and social care. New relationships between primary and secondary healthcare will develop and the culture of clinical and cost effectiveness will expand into social care; work on children in public care is in the vanguard of this change. However, this is not an organisational change designed for children and there are considerable anxieties about how it will impact on the delivery of health care. The issues for children in public care need to stay high on the national agenda and in local fora.     

Strengthening the Capacity of Grandparents in Providing Care to Young Children Affected by HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Action for Children (AFC) is a non-governmental organization founded and registered with the government of Uganda in 1998 to rescue children from immediate danger and to advocate for their rights. AFC is working on a three-year pilot project entitled the Grandparents Action Support Project (GAS), designed and implemented to strengthen the capacity of grandparents providing care to HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children under the age of eight, and to improve the overall welfare of the families taking care of these children. After only seven months, an interim program evaluation revealed that several effective innovative and pragmatic community-based strategies have been developed and implemented by participants. The Project has had a multiplier effect in participating communities in that ‘non-Project’ families are copying and learning from GAS Project homes. Challenges and future expansion of the Project are described.     

Relationships,Reconciliation and Children: Giving Young People a Say

I have realised how central my therapy background and skills have been in my current job. Without being conscious of it, I use much of my background as a therapist in my role as Commissioner for Children and Young People. I probably spend more of my time advocating for children and young people as a group because they are excluded or disregarded on the basis of their status as children.     

Ethical Research Involving Children: Encouraging Reflexive Engagement in Research with Children and Young People

Research involving children raises complex and well‐documented ethical questions and challenges that extend far beyond the reach of formal review and governance systems, where these exist. However, researchers collectively have a wealth of knowledge and experience in applying universal ethical principles in diverse social, cultural and methodological settings, which offers much potential for understanding how ethical concerns are responded to in situ. Through extensive consultation and research, the Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC) project, discussed in this article, has drawn on this collective knowledge in generating evidence‐based resources that highlight best practice while grounding ethical decision‐making in lived experience.     

Independent Advocacy for Children and Young People: Developing an Outcomes Framework

This article draws on a study of the outcomes and impact of independent advocacy for children and young people to explore how the value of advocacy is understood by them and by professionals, and what differences advocacy can make to the lives of children and young people. Findings indicate that outcomes of advocacy can be significant and wide‐ranging, including both direct effects on the child or young person and wider impact on services. This has implications for how to capture and report the outcomes of advocacy, for which this article offers a new conceptual framework.     

Supporting the Participation of Disabled Children and Young People in Decision‐making

Increasing children's and young people's participation in decisions, about their own care and about service development, is a policy priority. Although in general participation is increasing, disabled children are less likely to be involved than non‐disabled children and it is unclear to what extent children with complex needs or communication impairments are being included in participation activities. This article presents research exploring factors to support good practice in participation and discusses policy and practice implications.     

Reflections on Practical Approaches to Involving Children and Young People in the Data Analysis Process

This article reflects on key methodological issues emerging from children and young people's involvement in data analysis processes. We outline a pragmatic framework illustrating different approaches to engaging children, using two case studies of children's experiences of participating in data analysis. The article highlights methods of engagement and important issues such as the balance of power between adults and children, training, support, ethical considerations, time and resources. We argue that involving children in data analysis processes can have several benefits, including enabling a greater understanding of children's perspectives and helping to prioritise children's agendas in policy and practice. © 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2007 National Children's Bureau.     

The Impact of Public Expenditure and Fiscal Policies on Britain's Children and Young People

Looking at all key areas of the lives of children and young people, and most Government departments, this article reviews the research evidence on the benefits and costs of increasing investment in children, and a redirection of some economic policies that have an indirect impact on children. It concludes that much more could be done to enhance the well-being of children, but it would need a willingness to increase both public spending and taxation. It is based on ‘All Our Futures: the Impact of Public Expenditure and Fiscal Policies on Britain's Children and Young People’, commissioned and published by Barnardo's (Holtermann, 1995).