Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
Y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg | Children, Young People and Education Committee
Gwasanaethau i blant sydd wedi bod mewn gofal: archwilio diwygio radical | Services for care experienced children: exploring radical reform
Ymateb gan Annibynnol | Evidence from Individual
Please outline a maximum of three top priorities for radical reform of services for safely reducing the number of children in the care system.
Reform children's services-Social workers often have little understanding of trauma & attachment, the system can be very reactive and practical support for YP and families is either not available or they are not able to react quickly in times of crisis. There needs to be a cross sector approach that really puts the needs of the child at the centre and not be about who is funding interventions/services.
prevention & early intervention particularly for children who have trauma/attachment issues/ACES and those who display 'early warning signs' often the threshold for support is too high, alot of funding & research goes into the effects of Trauma and ACES but there are not alot of high quality practical interventions and on the ground projects to help children and families whose lives are affected.
Adoption reform-too many families are unprepared for the complex needs the children they adopt face. For many love, safety and security is not enough. Adoptive families need to have a true picture of the issues their children do/might face and proper support should be in place for all families with a full indepth assessment of each child's needs
Please outline a maximum of three top priorities for radical reform of services for children in care.
Foster and residential care-not enough placements-huge variation in quality-children being placed too far away from home. Not enough early intervention/prevention so families left in crisis ultimately resulting in the requirement for costly speacialised placements
CLA/LAC reviews feel like a tick box exercise-make IRO's truly independent of the LA, make it so there is space to really review the child's needs and a clear action plan is put in place.
More placements in Wales needed for children who are facing very complex needs around trauma e.g. violent children or those who display very risky behaviours, or those who are likely to end up in the criminal justice system-sometimes being in care makes this even more likely
Please outline a maximum of three top priorities for radical reform of the on-going support provided when young people leave care.
Support worker until 25 (ideally one that's not changing every 5 mins)
Financial support like BIP (but will be interesting to consider how many YP have the skills to manage this money effectively)