Understanding how advocacy services support care-experienced young people to participate in decision-making

This document sets out the protocol for a realist-informed exploratory study of advocacy services for children and young people provided as part of the children’s service within a large Local Authority in England. Participation in decision-making has been found to contribute to increased self-confidence, self-efficacy, and self-worth for care-experienced children and young people. There is some consensus on the need for advocacy services for young people to enable them to participate in decisions about their lives, and legislation and guidance which underlines this. Despite this, there is little research that explores how advocacy can best lead to positive outcomes for care-experienced children and young people. The service which is the site of this study aims to empower children and young people to participate in decisions affecting their lives, with the advocacy service providing support and representation for these young people independent of the primary social work team. This study will explore the scope, operation, and perceived impact of this service to develop a theoretically informed, collaborative framework to guide the delivery of advocacy services for care-experienced children and young people

Mechanisms for Support: A Realist Evaluation of Peer Parental Advocacy in England

International research shows that although parents perceive the child protection system to be stigmatising and authoritarian, peer parental advocacy (PPA) programmes have a positive impact on improving complex relationships between parents and professionals. PPA programmes enable parents with lived experience of child protection processes to support other parents to navigate the system. As an emerging area of policy interest, research investigating the role of PPA in empowering parents to participate meaningfully in decision-making is crucial to developing collaborative approaches within child protection social work. This realist-informed study considered how a newly implemented PPA programme supported parents in two English Local Authorities. Our findings highlight the unique role peer advocates can play as a resource to influence decision-making, power relations and working relationships between professionals and parents. This article presents our final programme theory, which identifies four key mechanisms that support perceived effectiveness in PPA implementation: active engagement, effective communication, facilitating trust and adequate support for advocates. These findings highlight how PPA programmes in these Local Authorities were valued and begin to build a picture of how further advocacy programmes can be explored throughout the UK

“They seem to listen more now I have an advocate”: a study into the implementation of parental advocacy in Wales

Purpose: Parental advocacy is an emerging area of research and policy interest in Wales and across the UK. Although there is little research in the UK context to date, international research has indicated that parental advocacy can improve the relationship between parent and professional in the field of child protection social work. This paper aims to ascertain how the implementation of a parental advocacy programme supports parents to play a meaningful role in decision-making when children’s services are working with them and their families. Design/methodology/approach: This study used interviews, surveys and focus groups to obtain qualitative data from 18 parents, seven parent advocates, two advocacy managers and four social workers, to explore the potential impact of parental advocacy on decision-making. The study identified challenges in implementing parental advocacy, particularly relating to awareness of the service. Participants also discussed experiences of the child protection system and how parents are supported by advocates. Findings: Despite challenges surrounding implementation, initial findings were encouraging, and generated examples of how parental advocacy services have helped parents to understand children’s services and develop relationships of trust with social care professionals. In doing so, this study identified potential mechanisms that may be useful to support future service delivery. Originality/value: This paper and research is novel as it explores parental advocacy within the Welsh context. Although there has been research conducted into parental advocacy, this has largely come from the USA. This research comes from the evaluation of an innovative and promising parental advocacy scheme in Wales

Peer parental advocacy: A narrative review of the literature

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the current state of literature on peer parental advocacy, offering practical insights and ideas for researchers and practitioners interested in this evolving field. Design/methodology/approach: This narrative review is a comprehensive, critical and objective analysis of the current knowledge on peer parental advocacy. Findings: Parental peer advocacy (PPA) has seen growing interest, with increasing research detailing the benefits and challenges. It is now being considered within children’s services across the UK, drawing upon the success of similar initiatives, especially in the USA. There is a compelling case for PPA, not least as it may contribute to resolving the longstanding challenges within children services of families having the opportunity to meaningfully participate in decision-making (Corby et al., 1996; Muench et al., 2017; Bekaert et al., 2021). Research limitations/implications: Parental advocacy (PA) continues to be an evolving area of academic research and policy development both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Emerging research suggests a compelling case for an expansion in PPA within child welfare and protection systems, specifically in case, program and policy advocacy. Practical implications: PA continues to be an evolving area of academic research and policy development both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Emerging research suggests a compelling case for an expansion in PPA within child welfare and protection systems, specifically in case, program and policy advocacy. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first UK-based narrative reviews that critically analyses the research, highlighting the limitations and strengths of adopting PPA as an approach