"It gives you power. You can say what you need and want and it will not just be listened to, but something will be done." Sofia Hussain is chair of Blackburn with Darwen's Children in Care Council. The 22-year-old care leaver began working with the council when she spotted a vacancy for an apprentice on the leaving care team. When the opportunity arose to join a forum for looked-after children and care leavers she grabbed it.
"As well as helping young people, it helps professionals - and not just the professionals who work with us but executives, directors and councillors," she explains. "It gives them a better idea of what is affecting us and what we want."
First mentioned in the Care Matters: Time for Change white paper, Children in Care Councils exist to involve looked-after children in shaping services that affect them.
Two years on from the publication of the paper, the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care (NCERCC), along with professional body Children's Rights Officers and Advocates (Croa), is establishing a Children in Care Council consortium. The group is aiming to include a representative from every Children in Care Council in England to help share best practice.
Its first task has been to find out what has been achieved so far. After contacting all local authorities in the country and receiving 43 responses, NCERCC and Croa are encouraged at the progress being made.
Users' views
Jonathan Stanley, manager of NCERCC, says: "We now live in a world where the views of users are as important as those of the professionals. The work of Children in Care Councils should be useful for corporate parents to understand the lives and wishes of looked-after children."
But what are the councils achieving on the ground? Mark Goodman is the team lead participation worker for children in care in Devon. "We have had to build credibility and trust with the group, making sure it represents young people from across Devon," he says. In a large authority like Devon this can be tough. "We can't just have a county group because it will be difficult to access so we have started small groups for young people in local areas."
As the group has developed, the young people have begun to have a greater influence on the county's children's services. In a recent recruitment drive the care council members helped interview for practice managers and social workers, turning down an applicant they weren't pleased with.
At the launch of a sexual health policy for children in care, young people argued for more training for foster carers. The views of the council will also be fed into an autumn review of looked-after children's personal education plans.
But one of the most important results of Devon's council is the support the group can offer other children in care.
Goodman adds: "It is quite interesting when the older ones give advice to younger children - it's just like getting advice from an older brother or sister. This has been a really positive result."
In Derbyshire, the Children in Care Council is tackling practical everyday problems that children in care come across. Steve Lowe, children's rights officer with the county, says solutions have been found for things that have a great impact on children's lives.
Everyday problems
"Simple things, such as not being allowed to be in a school photo because consent hasn't been arranged in time, can really affect young people. Through the council, young people can highlight this day-to-day stuff that really matters," he says.
According to Lowe, the care council has begun to make a real difference. "What we have now is lots of things to do and we can tell young people when they will be done."
For someone who has been through the care system and faced the frustrations children in care face every day, Hussain is pleased things are beginning to change. She says: "Our council gives professionals working with young people a chance to see things from a young person's point of view."
SPACE TO AIR THEIR VIEWS - HOW CHILDREN IN CARE COUNCILS WORK
In June 2007, the government's white paper Care Matters: Time for Change challenged local authorities to involve looked-after children in shaping services.
The white paper calls on each local authority to set up a children in care council as a forum where children and young people can communicate their views and influence services.
The councils must have direct links to the director of children's services and the elected lead member for children to ensure that children's wants and needs are taken to the highest authority.
The paper states: "Whatever structures exist in a children's services authority, children's participation is an essential part of the process.
"We expect every local authority to establish a Children in Care Council to ensure that every child has the opportunity to air their views."
A conference to be held in October will invite a representative from every Children in Care Council in England to share best practice.
Jonathan Stanley, manager of the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care, says: "We are struck by the diversity we are seeing. We have to appreciate that every Children in Care Council is starting from a different position with different issues and these are the sorts of thing we want to bring together in October. There isn't one thing that everybody needs to be doing other than listening."
