Children brought up in care can often feel that their views and feelings are ignored. But since 2007 those children have been given a voice through children in care councils (CiCCs).
Run by local authorities, CiCCs discuss matters that are important to the children, from health and education to being supported, to leaving care. They have no standard format – they can be formal or informal and meet fortnightly or every three months. Their membership can range from a handful of children to 20 or more. Sheree Kane, principal development officer at the National Children’s Bureau charity, says: “Councils work best when they have a clear purpose and structure, when they have clear decision-making powers and there is a clear connection to corporate parents.”
The best CiCCs are much more than a talking shop. Emma Corbett, participation officer at the Who Cares? Trust charity, says that in some of the councils young people are given their own budget and make decisions about how that money is spent. Because they aim to represent all children in care, many CiCCs carry out surveys of, and interviews with, other children in the system. It is also important to reach children who are placed out of borough – Kane cites the example of one child who took part in meetings via Skype.
Some CiCCs have produced DVDs about what makes a good carer and others have been involved in producing materials for schools about the needs of children in care. “CiCCs have been instrumental in improving recruitment practices because young people have been involved in recruiting staff, even foster carers,” says Kane.
Corbett believes that CiCCs fulfil a social role too: “Young people often tell us that they feel as if they are the only person in care. Meeting up with other young people in the same situation has a significant effect on how they feel about themselves.”
The Fostering Network, which represents foster services and foster carers, has received a government grant to raise the number and widen the range of young people taking part in CiCCs. Some of the money will be spent creating a national virtual CiCC that will, according to the Network, “pull together all the amazing work that happens locally into a national place that can then influence policy and practice”.
Despite variations in practice, Kane believes CiCCs play a positive role in boosting children’s self-confidence: “Participating in CiCCs is nothing but good in terms of skills and development.”
