Facilitating participation of children and young people in care Judy Cashmore and Andrew O'Brien A significant challenge for children and young people in care (andfor the agencies which supervise their care) is to find ways to 'have a say' in the decisions which affect their lives. The aim of this paper is to bring together the results of several recent Australian studies which have explored the views of children and young people in care and to see how well they Jit with the views of the adult professionals responsible for their care. This research makes it clear that the practice still lags some way behind the rhetoric and that many children and young people in care are not satisfied with their level of involvement. The main pre- conditions for facilitating effective participation by children and young people are outlined. Judy Cashmore Social Policy Research Centre University of New South Wales Email: judycash@nsw. bigpond. net.au Andrew O'Brien NSW Ombudsman's Office There are some promising signs that the importance of participation is beginning to be recognized for children and young people in care. Recent legislation in the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania includes principles of participation which require children and young people to be informed, consulted and involved in decisions that affect them under these Acts. Western Australia is currently reviewing the care legislation and is proposing to include a principle of participation. Two states have also progressed towards a charter of rights for children and young people in out-of-home care: South Australia has developed a charter although it is not legislatively based, and a yet to be proclaimed section of the NSW Act includes a provision for a charter. All states and territories now also have legislation requiring children and young people involved in care proceedings to be represented and informed about what is happening in court. These provisions are consistent with and articulate Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to Article 12, children and young people are entitled to participate in all decisions that affect them, with their views 'given due weight' according to their age and maturity. While this is an important and positive sign, it is also clear that a number of other conditions need to be met to facilitate effective participation by children and young people. The evidence from children and young people in care is that few feel that they can have a say in decisions that affect them, and that they need information, trusted advocates and appropriate opportunities and processes to become involved. RECENT AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH ON PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN CARE Several studies over the last few years have provided an Australian context and focus on the views of children and young people in care in New South Wales, especially in relation to their involvement in decision-making that affects them. The first, Wards Leaving Care, was a longitudinal study of approximately 45 young people aged 16 to 18 leaving care in New South Wales, Australia. It involved three interviews, one just before they left care and a further two interviews within 12 months of leaving care (Cashmore & Paxman, 1996). 1 The second study, the Having a Say project sponsored by the NSW Child Protection Council, explored children's and young people's attitudes to and ideas about participation and compared these with the views of the workers and policy makers in the government and non-government agencies responsible for their care (Spall, Testro & Matchett, 1998). It involved individual interviews and focus groups with thirty-seven 10- 17-year-olds, surveys of thirteen agencies, and focus groups with forty- two direct carers and agency workers. The third study, Voices of Children and Young People in Foster Care, involved a representative sample of sixty-six 8- 18-year-olds in foster care, using either individual interviews, pair interviews or focus groups, with the children and 1 The government workers involved with these young people were also interviewed as part of this study. A report on the fourth round of interviews with these young people, now five years out of wardship, is currently being prepared. 10 Children Australia Volume 26, No. 4, 2001