Advocate for children in Local Authority care

[VD2ER]

The care and supervision proceedings concluded a while ago. I am conscious that my children had a guardian they could call upon, though in reality I believe she only saw them a couple of times. Since the hearing I understand the guardian has no further responsibility and so no longer involved.

I was of the understanding that an Advocate should be appointed for my children.

1) Must a child request one or should one be be appointed without such a request? If so from whom?
2) Can a parent request an advocate for the children on their behalf? If so from whom? I have made a request to the Social Worker.

Are there any timescales for this to happen?

Always grateful for a steer as to what I can do next.

[VD2ER]

This is still ongoing.

Their carers believe that the children's advocate is the Independent Reviewing Officer, except the document:
iro_statutory_guidance_iros_and_las_march_2010_tagged.pdf
says that, "When meeting with the child before every review, the IRO is responsible for making
sure that the child understands how an advocate could help and his/her entitlement
to one."

Of course there was no such meeting before the review with the IRO. Is there any reason why I cannot be the child's advocate in the absence of an appointed one?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear VD2ER

My name is Suzie, I am an online adviser and will be replying to you today.

First of all, I would like to sincerely apologise that we haven’t responded to your post above dated 2nd August. As per our Service Standards we generally aim to respond to all forum requests for advice within five working days. Due to an oversight on our part we have on this occasion regrettably missed to meet this standard.

I will today respond to both your queries together.

You are correct in your thinking regarding the Guardian and their role. Once care proceedings conclude they are no longer involved. Please see HERE for further information and guidance.
Article 12 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that Every child has the right to say what they think in all matters affecting them and to have their views taken seriously.
It is a statutory right for all looked after or care experienced children to have an independent advocate. You can read more about this in the Care Act 2014.
Please see for further information and guidance HERE from Barnardo’s.

They have a facility to find an advocate in the child’s area who are independent, from the local authority, children's services and the NHS. Their role is to explain the wishes and feelings of the young person and to argue their case. They do not give their personal opinions.

The independent reviewing office (IRO) is responsible for ensuring your child’s care plan is meeting their needs. Consideration should be given to an independent advocate as part of care planning for your child. Your child’s care plan should be review periodically at their looked after review meeting . However, you do not need to wait for this to raise the matter. There are no timescales to appointing an independent advocate.

The role of an independent advocate should be discussed age appropriately with your child to ascertain whether they would like one or not. Your child can request an independent advocate if they are of an appropriate age to do so. It would be a good idea to email the IRO, copying in the allocated social worker and their team manager to discuss this with them.

As a parent you cannot act as your child’s official independent advocate. Whereby you are naturally your child's biggest supporter, an official professional advocate must be completely independent. This means they cannot be involved in the situation, hold parental responsibility, or have their own opinions on what should happen. An advocate’s only job is to speak up solely for what your child wants and feels, without taking anyone else’s side—including yours, the social worker’s, or the Local Authority’s.

You can read more about the national standards of advocacy for children and young people as set out by the Department for Education (DfE) HERE.

I hope the information provided is of help to you. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons.

Best wishes, Suzie