Who Cares? Scotland publishes Lifelong Rights paper on Belonging and Connection
- Area of Work: Children and Young People, Policy and Research
- Type: News Item
- Published: 10th December 2024
Who Cares? Scotland publishes their third Lifelong Rights Issue Paper on Belonging and Connections.
Who do you call family? Where do you feel most at home? Who can you always rely on, no matter what?
That personal sphere of love, belonging and connection is essential to everyone’s human dignity.
Who Cares? Scotland has supported Care Experienced people for the past 45 years, with 27 of those as an independent advocacy provider. Each year, their advocacy workers support over 1,600 people with more than 6,000 individual advocacy issues across all 32 local authorities in Scotland.
Who Cares? Scotland launched the Lifelong Rights Campaign in October 2023 with a commitment to record and evidence what they hear from Care Experienced people. It reinforces the limited national data available, which shows that Care Experienced people currently do not have the same life outcomes as their non-Care Experienced peers.
This paper on Belonging and Connections is the third in a series that are linked to the top issues that Care Experienced people, aged 16 and over, raise with us through independent advocacy.
Key findings include:
- 75% of surveyed Care Experienced adults reported experiencing loneliness.
- Almost half felt their care experiences negatively impacted their lifelong relationships.
- Respondents were most dissatisfied with relationships with parents, extended family, and professionals.
Within the paper, there are also several solutions Who Cares? Scotland recommends to address these issues.
- Services providing spaces for connection, befriending, peer support, talking therapy and pet therapy, should be made available and accessible to Care Experienced people of all ages.
- Aftercare support to include opportunities to gain independent living skills such as cooking, cleaning and money management.
- Expedite the development of relationships-based trauma training to support adoptive parents, kinship and foster carers.
- A statutory right to lifelong advocacy in the Promise Bill.
Read the full Issue Paper here.
End of page.
You may also like:
The paper is the result of feedback highlighting this as an important yet under-explored area.
Continue readingGWT have a new package of support available for people interested in or involved in delivering intergenerational work with school pupils.
Continue readingThis gives the first high-level understanding of progress towards the promise made to Scotland's care experienced children and young people.
Continue readingThe Children and Young People Programme continues to raise awareness for the importance of Getting It Right For Every Child.
Continue readingIn collaboration with Children's Health Scotland, we have published a podcast discussing their children's health rights charter.
Continue readingResources to support parents talk about how they support their children when it comes to learning about friendships, relationships and more
Continue readingThe Craighalbert Centre and Indigo Childcare Group want to hear your experiences of early learning and childcare
Continue readingWatch a new film produced by the ALLIANCE that will support the Children's Services Review led by East Ayrshire Council.
Continue readingContact’s Counting the Costs 2024 survey helps get the voice of parent carers into the media and the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
Continue readingRNIB have launched a survey into children's services to improve the support that children receive for their vision.
Continue readingA child-centred approach to justice, care and recovery.
Continue readingInadequate ASN provision having an impact across the whole learning population and detrimental to the wellbeing of children and young people
Continue readingNew report published which explores how visible disabled children are in Scotland’s children’s care and protection data.
Continue readingSCLC are working alongside the community and local organisations to explore the potential of a pop-up / outreach law clinics.
Continue readingFast Forward is Scotland’s national youthwork organisation specialising in risk-taking behaviours, prevention and early-intervention.
Continue readingA new book aimed at helping care leavers in Scotland reclaim their stories now launched.
Continue readingImproving the experiences of young people with additional support needs of all kinds who are making the transition to young adult life.
Continue readingNew research from national charity Contact reveals a third of eligible children with a disability are not receiving their free school meals.
Continue readingContribute to our GIRFEC Story Collection, a series of individuals sharing their experience of implementing GIRFEC.
Continue readingThe proposed payment is a very welcome additional support for care experienced young people that will help to realise their rights.
Continue readingThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (Scotland) Bill is incorporated into Scots Law.
Continue readingAn exciting opportunity to join the team at Child Poverty Action Group.
Continue readingFlash report and recording of our virtual roundtable on transitions into adulthood now available.
Continue readingThe Children and Young People Programme continues to raise awareness of Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC).
Continue readingThe UNCRC is an international human rights treaty which sets out the rights every child has.
Continue reading