Page 3562 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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practice conference held in July this year. Talking practice is an opportunity for staff from child and youth protection services and our non-government partners to come together to share and exchange best practice as well as explore the challenges and trends, solutions and initiatives for child and youth protection systems throughout Australia. This year’s theme was “Stepping up with dignity: empowering children and families through purposeful partnerships”.
The agenda for talking practice was deliberately structured to include the experiences of children and young people at the very beginning of the day. At talking practice, I was pleased to attend a panel discussion hosted by the ACT Public Advocate and Children and Young People Commissioner, with three CREATE young consultants, in front of a full house of around 300 staff. These three inspiring young people provided insights into their personal experience of out of home care and freely gave advice on how case managers and the wider system can better support young people to feel heard and involved in decision-making and to feel valued. It was an incredibly powerful and moving experience for everyone, as it was at last year’s talking practice forum.
One of the things I appreciate about hearing these stories directly from young people is seeing the development in young people’s own stories, young people who have had very complex backgrounds and sometimes have had difficulty engaging. Yes, they tell us stories about the difficulties they have had in the system, about not understanding decisions that have been made at times, about the way they want to be listened to and heard and have their opinions represented through the system. But we also get to hear stories about the incredible caseworkers who have made an enormous difference in the lives of these young people, caseworkers who have stood by young people and therapeutic support workers from the Australian Childhood Foundation who have walked alongside young people through very complex journeys, in their trauma recovery and their complex lives. Out the other side are coming young people who have hope for the future, who have a vision for where their life is going to go that is a positive one. Sometimes we hear from young people who, 12 or 18 months earlier, saw no future for themselves. We have a lot to learn, but we also hear about the incredible work that young people see from their caseworkers and from our non-government partners.
That was also reflected at the round table I attended on 30 November 2018. I had the pleasure of listening to young people during the youth round table for young people in care. The round table provided insights into how staff across our organisations can better work to support children and young people to participate in the decisions that impact on their lives. These findings have been shared with staff and have generated resource material to be referred to in daily practice.
Following the round table, a group of staff from across child and youth protection services and ACT Together are forming a participation reference group that specifically focuses on how children and young people can be encouraged to participate in the care system. This is from an individual basis through to policy and governance.
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