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 Ambassador, Angela Frazer-Wicks MBE.

We are unique in bringing together legal and social work expertise with the direct voices 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.

Interested in finding out more about our family panels?

If you are a mother, father or kinship carer with experience of the child welfare system and want to find out more, please email Beverley Campbell MBE, family participation officer [email protected].

Young people who have participated in Lifelong Links and want to be involved in the next stages of Family Rights Group’s work are invited to join our young people’s advisory group. Through the advisory group, young people share their expertise to influence our thinking at strategic and operational level, support the development of our work and any innovations, train coordinators and other practitioners, and help drive our #BuildNotBreak campaign.

The advisory group ensures that the voices of care experienced young people remain at the heart of everything we do. It brings together young people aged 18 to 25 who have experience of both the care system and Lifelong Links to help inform our strategy, campaigns and ways of working.

How young people are making a difference

Members of the young people’s advisory group currently:

• Share their insights, ideas and experiences in internal project meetings.
• Co-deliver Lifelong Links coordinator training.
• Present at national webinars with senior leaders and practitioners in children’s services and other national organisations.
• Present at meetings of the Lifelong Links and Family Group Conference National Network.
• Co-present at external training sessions and both online and in-person events.
• Help develop resources for Lifelong Links services, including films, practice guidance and other materials. For example, AJ and Bayley not only starred in our film but also helped shape and produce it.
• Play an active role in driving our #BuildNotBreak campaign.

Flexible opportunities to get involved

We recognise that young people want to participate in different ways. Our young people’s participation officer can work with young people individually on activities such as creating social media content, sharing feedback and contributing ideas. Young people who would like to get involved in group activities are invited to join our young people’s advisory group.

Want to find out more?

If you are a care experienced young person interested in finding out more about participation opportunities at Family Rights Group, please contact:

Lottie Stacey, Young People’s Participation Officer, [email protected].

In addition to determining our priorities, activities and campaigns, our panels and our young people’s advisory group 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 from our advisory group 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.