International focus: Care-experience fellowship

Social care practitioners and professionals working with children and young people with care experience can apply for an international study fellowship that could see them travel overseas to learn new solutions from experts, and shape policy and practice in the UK.

Children and young people with experience of care is one of nine themes to be included in the new round of Churchill Fellowship grants, which opened for applications on 12 September and closes at 5pm on Tuesday 14 November.

Successful applicants will be funded to spend up to two months learning from innovators in their field anywhere in the world, in person or online. A key element of the projects is to share ideas and inspire change in the UK, which the fellowship supports.

Applicants to the children with care experience theme will need to show how their project can improve the lives and outcomes of young people with care experience including looked-after children, those on the edge of care, adoptees and care leavers.

Applications are also welcome from individuals who aim to increase support for care givers and families affected by care concerns, from anyone who has contact with young people in care in any context, and care-experienced people themselves.

This is the second year that Churchill Fellowship has run the care experience theme. Last year, it awarded 10 fellowships to study projects across Europe, North America and Australasia (see below).

The new round of fellowships are to be undertaken between August 2024 and July 2025. Other themes include arts and communities, physical activities and health, and education in schools. More information from www.churchillfellowship.org

CHILDREN WITH CARE EXPERIENCE CHURCHILL FELLOWS IN 2023/24

LGBTQ+ children in care, Canada & USA

Children’s social worker Esme Miller plans to explore what overseas support is offered to young people and their professional and family networks to meet the distinct needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people in care so that lessons can be learnt for the UK, which is subject to heteronormative biases within the child welfare system.

Better residential care, Italy

In England, there is a shortage of residential care places and soaring costs, while provision often fails to meet children’s needs and relies on low-paid staff. Ivana La Valle will explore Italian children’s residential care delivered by not-for-profit organisations and done regionally – both key aims of recent reforms to England’s social care system.

Adultification of children in care, USA

Sylvia Ikomi is a secondary school teacher and higher education lecturer who will explore strategies being used in the USA to address the issue of adultification of black girls in state care, an area that has little research evidence from a child’s perspective. The project aims to offer a race-and-gender-sensitive approach to the issue.

Kinship care through cultural curiosity, Jamaica

Sharon McPherson has been a special guardian for her grandsons for a decade, but like many black kinship families they have been denied access to culturally appropriate assessments, services and support. The Care Review has highlighted the issues of racial disparity in the care system and an acknowledgement there is a dearth of cultural curiosity research, including countries of heritage.

Homelessness prevention Canada, Finland, USA

Research shows that a third of care leavers become homeless within two years of leaving care. Lauren Page-Hammick, a youth homelessness manager at charity Homeless Link, recognises the need for innovative housing solutions that address this. She will explore how leading countries in this field have adopted youth-focused housing support strategies.

Media toolkit for journalists, USA

Journalist Sophie Hall will engage global experts in trauma-informed journalism to learn from journalists, academics and care -experienced people involved in the media. She will design a media toolkit for care-experience people and journalists, and offer guidance on rights when working with the media and self-care practices.

Support for the adopted child, Australia and New Zealand

Glasgow University research assistant Sharon Graham will explore how to improve the experience and processes for children in care, or who were adopted, when seeking their birth parents. It will also look at how to improve the process for the child and both sets of parents – areas in which Australasia is a world leader.

Post-adoption depression, France

Dr Lynn Snow is a paediatrician and looked-after child designated doctor. Post-adoption depression is experienced by 16 per cent of adopters and can seriously damage the bonding process with the child. Dr Snow’s fellowship will identify structured approaches and/or tools that can be easily adapted to use in the UK. She also hopes to influence practice among regional adoption agencies.

Rights to care records, Australia

Children’s rights lawyer Augusta Itua is exploring access and support for care-experienced children and adults wishing to access their children’s social services records. The UK does not grant legally secured rights to access care records or support to achieve this. She will compare the UK’s approach to Australian legislative and practice frameworks, with a view to incorporating learning into ongoing reforms in this area.

LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, Australia and USA

Child social worker Aiden Quinn will explore how to better improve the experience of foster care for LGBTQ+ young people. Quinn’s fellowship will research how organisations can implement existing evidence to improve outcomes and then create guidance based on what is successful globally, and share this with UK local authorities and fostering agencies.