1000 - who cares? scotland · 2016. 9. 28. · us and they are bad for scotland. we truly believe...
TRANSCRIPT
1000 Voices
-our ambition to create the
most caring nation in the
world-
Our outcomes
Despite the best efforts and hard work of those delivering care for decades, our
outcomes have not changed. We’re more likely to be homeless, ill and unemployed. We’re
less likely to be in school, at university or settled in a community. If these outcomes were
replicated in living rooms up and down Scotland, parents would be outraged. These are our
outcomes and you are our parent. Are you outraged?
Dear future first minister...
We’re care experienced people and you are our parent. 15,580 of us are in care at present
and including those who have left care, we make up around 0.5% of the population. You
might know us as “looked after children” because that’s what the law defines us as. We prefer
care experienced.
The vast, vast majority of us are in care because we have experienced neglect and abuse.
Many of us stay at home and social workers are involved in our lives. Some of us stay in
kinship care with a member of our own family. Some of us live with a foster family and some
of us live in a residential care setting. Unfortunately, many care experienced people
experience stigma and discrimination. We want to live in a Scotland where care experienced
people have the same chances as everyone else and feel like they belong. We think that the
next Scottish Government has an incredible opportunity to do that.
A Coalition of hope
We saw the Scottish Parliament at its best when it united around care experienced young
people to pass the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. 21 young people,
supported by Barnardo’s Scotland, Aberlour Child Care Trust and Who Cares? Scotland, told
MSPs about their lives . They did it in the hope that there could be something better. They
gave evidence at Committee, they met MSPs and Ministers gave them an equal seat at the
table. That led to the boldest legislation for care experienced young people in a generation.
It led to the coalition winning awards for their bravery. And it led to a movement of care
experienced people across Scotland determined to make care better for those who will come
after them.
A movement of CHANGE
We need to stop care experienced people’s potential being wasted. The outcomes are bad for
us and they are bad for Scotland. We truly believe this document is a road map to equality
for care experienced people.
There’s some things that you can do as soon as you take office that will help make the
ambitions of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 a reality.
We’ve also outlined the key issues in Education, Health, Housing and Employment that we
face and the questions that need asked to make them better.
Real, meaningful change in our lives is only made when our voice is heard, individually and
collectively. This isn’t about altering parts of a system or making a process run more smoothly.
This is about the Government, our parent, understanding who we are and doing what it takes
to make sure we succeed. It’s what every other parent does for their own children. So please
do it for us.
Your to do list: Listening to 1000 care experienced voices will be crucial in delivering the change that we
need. The last Government started some really important work to make our lives better but it
isn’t finished yet.
Let young people return to care and extend aftercare
We told you that we don’t always leave care at the right time and that sometimes, we wish
we were able to go back. Other parents don’t ever close the door on their children and we
don’t think you should. The last Government listened and said it would explore how the door
could be kept open for us when we need it. In the next Parliament, we want you to finish that
exploration. Then we want you to tell us how we can create a Scotland where care
experienced young people know and feel they always have somewhere to go that they are
loved and cared for.
Make sure young people who are looked after at home get
the support they need
Many of us are still staying at home with our parent/s but have social workers involved in our
lives. Our outcomes are particularly bad, our circumstances can often be very different and
that means we’re not reaching our potential. The last Government committed to
understanding us more and said it would make sure that we are cared for in a way that
reflects our needs. In the next Parliament, we want you to listen to those of us who are
looked after at home and ensure we have the right support at the right time.
Realise the potential of the wood commission
Getting and keeping a job can be really hard when you have few qualifications, little support
and hardly any confidence in yourself. The last Government’s Wood Commission recognised
the challenges we face and set out some clear recommendations. In particular, it said that
those responsible for us should work together, earlier, to make sure we have as much chance
as other children to succeed. In the next Parliament, we want you to deliver on the findings
of the Wood Commission and make sure more of us have a chance at getting and keeping a
job.
That’s why... We are calling on the next Scottish Government to have a
conversation with 1000 care experienced people. We are
Scotland’s children and the only way to know what we need is to
talk to us.
When you have heard about our lives, we want you to act on
what we have said. We want you to be bold and ambitious to
make sure we have the lives we dream of, not the destiny that
being in care creates.
And when you have heard our voice, we want you to help us
create a Scotland that is united in providing the care, stability,
opportunities and love that we need.
Education
Ashley Cameron
Remember:
40% of care experienced children leave school with one or more qualification
at SCQF Level 5 , compared to 84% of the general population.
Almost half of care experienced children have not had their educational needs
assessed, even though they are entitled in law to additional support.
Care experienced pupils are 7 times more likely to be excluded from school
“It took too long for me to get to
University. Very few people, including
myself, ever believed it was possible. I was
bullied at high school and judged for being
in care. I left with just a handful of
qualifications and was supported to fill out
a benefits form at 16, rather than a UCAS
form. I had aspirations but no way of
realising them. Care experienced young
people aren’t less capable, it’s just hard to
concentrate on education when your home
life is upside down.”
Questions for the next government:
Why do so many of your children leave school with such low attainment?
Does current additional support policy and legislation work?
Is it right for a parent to give their child a loan to get through
college/university?
How can you help care experienced people realise their aspirations?
housing “Everything felt settled and safe for me
in residential care, then it changed in an
instant. Process determined that it was
time for me to move out of care and
towards ‘independent living’. At the age
of 16.
No one really lives independently. We all
need people around us and we
shouldn’t make care experienced people
feel like they have to go it alone.”
Connor Chalmers
Remember:
Care experienced people are just 0.5% of Scotland’s population but make up
30% of people who are homeless.
When care experienced people leave a formal care placement, they can’t go
back if things don’t work out.
Care experienced people are moving into their own tenancies at a time when
other young people are going on holiday with their friends, doing exams and
planning their future.
Questions for the next government:
Why are so many of your children ending up homeless?
Should young people be able to return to care if they want to?
How can you support relationships to continue even when formal care
placements come to an end?
employment
Carla Wilkinson
Remember:
20% of care experienced people leave care without a formal plan for what
happens next.
Not all young people who are entitled to aftercare support receive it.
Care experienced people are much less likely to gain and sustain a job than the
general population.
“When I left care, I felt totally alone.
Getting a job takes confidence and belief
in yourself. I didn’t have any of those. That
meant the idea of going to an interview
was scary. The help that I was offered
didn’t feel personal or like it was coming
from a parent. No one asked me what I
was good at or interested in. No one
encouraged me to think big.
Care experienced people have so much to
offer. Like every other young person, we
need our parents to help us get on.”
Questions for the next government:
Why are so many of your children unemployed?
How well is Job Centre Plus supporting and understanding your children?
How can you support initiatives by local authorities, like the Highland Council,
who have committed to giving care experienced young people a job?
Given that you are Scotland’s biggest employer, is it possible for you to find
jobs for your children in the family business?
health
Shilla Zwizwai
Questions for the next government:
Why are so many of your children experiencing poor mental health?
What is the purpose of care if these are the health outcomes it delivers?
How equipped is the NHS to support care experienced people?
Remember:
52% of care experienced 5-10 year olds have a mental health disorder
compared to 8% of those who are not care experienced.
Over 22% of care experienced people have tried to hurt, harm or kill
themselves.
Care experienced young people are 20 times more likely to be dead by the age
of 25.
“Life before care was tough and I had to deal
with things no young person should have to.
My mental health was pushed to the limits
and it has taken a long time for me to deal
with that. At the start of my care
journey, people seemed more comfortable
talking about my basic needs than about
how I felt. The relationships I built with staff
made a huge difference in the end. All care
experienced people should be given a
chance to talk about and recover from the
experiences that lead to us being there.”
Love
Laura Beveridge
“When I grew up in care, no one was
allowed to tell me that they loved me. I know
that love did exist, I felt it. But the way the
system is set up meant it wasn’t allowed to
flourish. That led to years of self doubt and
self harm for me. I could trust no one.
It was exactly the same when I started
working in care. I wasn’t allowed to say ’love’
out loud. Young people desperately needed
me to love them, they needed to be claimed
but I wasn’t allowed to. To love someone was
not seen as being ‘professional’.
Not every young person thrives in care. That
will only happen when they have somewhere
that they feel at home and able to be themselves.
Care can’t be clinical or institutional, it has to be like family life. Parents don’t tell their kids
“I’m attached to you” they say “I love you”. Why should young people in care be denied the
chance of feeling love? This is about our lives and it’s time for a big, bold and brave
conversation about love and care.”
Questions for the next government:
How often do you tell your children that you love them?
How can you ensure that Scotland’s care experienced young people feel loved?
Is it possible for care to provide children with a loving, long term relationship
that mirrors family life?
How can you support initiatives by local authorities, like Orkney Council, who
have said they will find adults who can offer care experienced young people a
loving relationship?
If elected First Minister, I will commit to and oversee a national conversation, between my
Government and 1000 care experienced people, by December 2018, in order to:
Explore and investigate how care in Scotland can provide stable, loving, life
long relationships
Lead the way in creating a society that supports and champions care
experienced people.
Become the confident and ambitious parent that Scotland’s care experienced
people need me to be.
Ruth Davidson
Kezia Dugdale
Patrick Harvie
Alison Johnstone
Willie Rennie
Nicola Sturgeon
We support 1000 Voices...
Who cares? Scotland Who Cares? Scotland is a national membership and advocacy organisation that works across
Scotland with care experienced people to help them speak out, secure their rights and
ensure their qualities and successes are recognised across society.
@WhoCaresScotland
/WhoCaresScotland
Our vision Who Cares? Scotland has a vision of a Scotland where all people with experience of
care are understood, believed in and given every opportunity to thrive.
© Who Cares ?Scotland 5 Oswald Street
Glasgow G1 4QR
Tel: 0141 226 4441
Who Cares? Scotland is a registered charity: SC 026076
1000 Voices
This work is supported with funding from the Life Changes
Trust. The Trust is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.