Who Cares? Scotland training initiative

Focus 1: Participation of children and young people in care decisions and care settings

In 2010 Who Cares? Scotland received three years of funding to design, develop and deliver a national training initiative aimed at raising awareness and developing the capacity of locally elected representatives and key agencies with decision-making responsibilities for children’s services.

Children and young people in formal alternative care and care leavers have been involved throughout the development and delivery of the national training programme. 127 young people were involved in this process via making local training films for the training sessions and overall 18 different young people were directly involved in the delivery of the training sessions to these senior people. Positive evaluations showed young people’s involvement in the training sessions made the training particularly effective.

Young people have gone on to be employed as trainers on the programme and have represented the organisation internationally. The programme has resulted in changes to local policy and practice in a number of ways including improvements in local housing policy for young people leaving care, enhanced opportunities for training and employment, better access to sport and leisure facilities and improved participation in decision-making.

For more information visit:Corporate parenting website

International Social Service, Oak Foundation, SOS Children's Villages International, unicef, ATD Fourth World, Better Care Network, Family for every child, ngo group for the crc, PEPFAR, RELAF, Save the Children, USAID