How young people and families with lived experience are changing the child welfare system

Mothers, fathers, kinship carers and young people with lived experience of the child welfare system are at the heart of our charity.

They inform, shape and guide every aspect of our work, and meet regularly with staff and trustees to determine the charity’s priorities, activities and campaigns. Half our trustee board have lived experience of the child welfare system, including our Chair of Trustees, Angela Frazer-Wicks MBE.

We are unique in bringing together legal and social work expertise with the direct voice and insights of families and young people. This underpins our work to influence and drive change throughout the child welfare system, at local and national levels.

Our participation work with families and young people with lived experience is carried out in accordance with our Family Involvement Policy, upholding the principles of confidentiality, dignity and respect. Families and young people have access to specialist support from experienced participation officers; counselling and wellbeing services; remuneration, and a skills training programme.

Family Rights Group’s parents’ panel and kinship carers’ panel have over a decade of experience working with government departments, the judiciary, researchers and local authorities to shape policy and practice across the child welfare and family justice system.

Our panel members have lived experience of children’s services – from early help to child protection, the care system and reunification. They represent a diverse range of family perspectives and different religious, cultural and ethnic communities.

Young people who have participated in Lifelong Links who wish to be involved in next stages of our work are being supported to inform our thinking, train coordinators, and drive our #BuildnotBreak campaign.

We want to support more care experienced young people to become Lifelong Links ‘champions’ and to be involved in our #BuildnotBreak campaign, policy work and communications activities.

We are working in collaboration with other charities, local authorities, businesses, and other organisations to support care experienced young people to have a support network that they can turn to for emotional and practical support, and access and flourish in education or employment.

Interested in finding out more about our young people’s champions?

If you are a care experienced young person who is interested in becoming a Lifelong Links young people’s champion, please email Laura Bissell, social work adviser lbissell@frg.org.uk.

In addition to determining our priorities, activities and campaigns, our panels and young people’s champions also work to influence policy and practice throughout the child welfare and family justice system. Examples of their influencing work include:

• Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)

  Between 2019 and 2021, parents’ panel members advised and provided detailed support to Cafcass to develop a family engagement and participation forum to influence improvements in its work with families. The Cafcass Family Forum was set up following that input.

• CoramBAAF

  In 2024, the kinship carers’ panel were instrumental in advising CoramBAAF on the development of its new Form K Kinship Carer Assessment form in England, through a series of special workshops.

• Minister for Children and Families

  In 2025, the parents’ panel hosted a visit from the Minister for Children and Families. Panel members presented on policy and practice areas that they want the government to prioritise including the importance of reunification, family-led decision making to safely enable children to remain at home and contact with birth family post adoption.

• Labour Party Annual Conference

  Family Rights Group hosted a fringe event at the 2025 Labour Party annual conference focused on our BuildNotBreak campaign, chaired by the Minister for Children and Families. A panel of Lifelong Links young people’s champions shared their experiences of the care system and why we must do a much better job of supporting relationships for children who cannot live at home.

Family Rights Group offers consultancy support for organisations in the statutory and voluntary sectors to develop their own family engagement and participation structures. This support can be varied and adapted to suit your needs. Read more here.