This policy attempts to ensure that, within the parameters dictated by the advocacy process, the well-being of the child and protection from abuse, of any sort, is maximised.
All of Asist’s projects are run within Asist’s policies, which are designed to protect everyone involved in the advocacy relationship.  Most people who obtain advocacy from Asist are in vulnerable situations.  As such, and to varying degrees, the potential for abuse is a possibility. 
Asist’s current policies ensure as much as we can that both service users and advocates are protected.  Asist recognises that children are particularly vulnerable and deserve the highest level of protection and thus this new, dedicated policy. 
Additionally we need to recognise that advocacy often requires a one to one private relationship.  This factor alone demands the highest standards of protection for all concerned.
Finally, like all policies within Asist, this policy must be impliementable and be rigorously enforced.   It must give us the practical means to ensure that the advocacy relationship is secure and safe.

Sources
This policy is sourced from a number of documents including:
Sure Start guidelines
Staffordshire Social Services guidelines and procedures
Conversations with Staffordshire Social Services Child Protection Team members
Debate within Asist

Main statement of intent
The Safety of children is paramount in the child advocacy service.  The project will follow practices that will ensure that children are provided advocacy in a safe and supportive environment.  Asist and all staff will maintain the highest quality of safety within a regime of safe recruitment practices, rigorous monitoring, support and supervision procedures and clear practices on contact and relations with individual children.

General principles
* The welfare of the child is paramount
* The child has a right to be consulted about actions that are to be taken on their behalf
* The child has a right to see their “file”.
* Information retained by Asist will be protected under the data protection act
* Confidentiality must be respected within the terms of the Asist confidentiality policy.  The child must be made aware   of the “exceptions” that the policy contains.
* Children should be treated as individuals
* The project should be run to minimise the opportunity for harm
* Children should be treated with respect
* The project should incorporate procedures that are transparent and open to scrutiny by all
* The project should establish effective professional relationships with partner agencies and individual carers within the confines on confidentiality and the role of the advocate
* The project will ensure that the child has the opportunity to fully utilise the advocate within the normal roles of an advocacy relationship.
* The project will ensure the rigorous implementation of this policy especially with regard to:
        - Recruitment procedures
       - Appropriate police checks of all staff that come into contact with children
       - Training in all issues raised within this policy
       - Supervision of staff
       - Support of staff
      - Monitoring (including from the child’s perspective) of all relationships
      - Safety guidelines for the staff
      - Safety guidelines for the child

Recruitment
Procedures to operate within the principles of an effective equal opportunities policy.
Selection procedure must ensure that the most qualified person gets the job.
At least three people are involved in the recruitment process, one of which must be an executive member and one a manager of Asist.
Job specification, application and interview questions must examine the candidate’s suitability to offer a service to children and have a strong commitment to safety and empowerment.

Checks
Members of staff have been checked for relevant convictions through the “Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure” service and they will not be offered the position without a positive check being received.
Two positive references are obtained, one of which must be from the most recent employer or, if not obtainable, from an appropriate professional source.
Where Asist has any doubts about the checks or references the principle of most caution should be invoked and further checks etc should be made.
A probationary period will be enforced for all posts.

Training
The induction process, which all new staff must attend, will incorporate and emphasise:
- Child protection issues
- Personal protection issues
- Safe working practices
- Vulnerability and abuse and what it means
- Avoidance of misinterpretation

This will be additional to the normal induction that includes:
- Confidentiality
- Empowerment
- Rights
- Why advocacy?
- Best practice
- Support
- Monitoring
- Supervision
- Relations with other agencies and carers

Supervision of staff
Supervision of staff is a key issue in determining good practice.
Supervision will take place with the “Human Resources Manager” on at least a monthly basis (initially weekly)
It will include:
- Practice issues
- Safety issues
- Compliance with policy
- Adherence to targets within the staff member’s individual action plan

Support
Feeling safe as an employee and as an advocate is a major component in ensuring good practice.  Staff will be supported within Asist through:
- Open door consultation with managers – especially on practice issues
- Informal relations with other advocates
- Attendance at bi weekly staff meeting where policy issues are a permanent agenda item

Monitoring
Listening to children is what advocacy is all about.  Ensuring that our own service is measured by the children we serve is paramount and will constitute the standard by which the service is measured.
Each child will be offered an anonymous questionnaire (with reply paid envelope), which will ask them how they thought we provided a service.  The management of Asist will conduct the monitoring process.  The ongoing (statistical) results of the monitoring will be open to all.  This monitoring will form a pivotal aspect of the general monitoring demanded by funding agencies.

Safety guidelines for the staff
Although the safety of the child is the paramount issue in this document it is core to implementing it that staff are safe too.  All staff will adhere to the Asist “personal safety policy”.

Safety guidelines for the child
No matter how rigorous your selection, supervision etc the potential for abuse always exists and it is within the practice of individual advocates that this might take place.  Ensuring good practice of each relationship will further protect the child from abuse of any kind.  The very “one to one” nature of advocacy will impress on us the heightened need to ensure these guidelines are rigorous, enforceable and are implemented.
Although some of the points in this section are not immediately relevant to the safety of the child they are all necessary to ensure that a “safe” environment in the widest sense is created for each relationship.
Information to the child:
Information is power.  The child must be informed and the advocate should ensure that the child understands as best they are able, what an advocacy relationship entails – what is obtainable and what is not.
Information to the carer(s):
A child lives within many other networks who need to know the advocates role and what it aims to achieve.
(Both of the above will work within the Asist Users Guide, adapted for use with children)
Empowering the child – they take control:
Advocacy is all about a child taking control of their own views and being able to have them expressed.  The advocate must ensure that the child understands the nature of the advocacy relationship and that it is their wishes and views that are paramount.  The context of this is within the confidentiality procedure outlined below.
Confidentiality:
Asist’s policy will determine when information may be disclosed against the wishes of the child.  Confidentiality will be maintained unless:
- The advocate reasonably believes that the child is in imminent danger – from themselves or from others
- The advocate reasonably believes that the child is going to be a danger to others
- The child is about to commit a criminal act
- There is a legal imperative to disclose
Professional co-operation with other agencies/carers:
Co-operation with other agencies needs to be maintained.  Within the instructions of the child, agencies should be consulted and listened to and informed of developments.
Keeping relationship open. Letting people know what’s going on:
Secrecy leads to misinterpretations of action.  Advocates must not collude or be seen to collude with agencies.  The relationship is determined by the child. 
Children are vulnerable and often need the co-operation of agencies.  Maintaining a working “professional” relationship even in times of conflict is in the best interests of the child.
Recognising the legal restraints on some relationships:
Advocates must be aware of any legal information that is relevant to the child which may affect the advocacy relationship and its parameters. 
Being alone:
Advocacy is a one to one relationship where privacy is paramount and where trust can be promoted.  Advocates should ensure that they meet children within a “public” space i.e. where other responsible people are on the premises.  Advocates should not meet a child in an unoccupied space.  Others should know where you are.  Others should be made aware of the necessity for one to one meetings (see above).
The child has to be comfortable, so it is necessary to ensure that the advocate maintains appropriate spacing and positioning whenever meetings are in progress.
Being aware of interpretation of the child and others:
Misinterpretation of actions are easily made and advocates have a duty to minimise this through thinking how actions may be interpreted.  Misinterpretation can lead to a breakdown of trust between the advocate and other people, especially the child.
Physical contact:
Except in an emergency advocates should make no physical contact with the child, especially in a private environment.
Staying within the role of an advocate:
As a human, the temptation to empathise with the child’s problems is tempting.  The advocate must retain a professional detachment from making judgements and refrain from offering to do things that are not strictly part of the advocacy role.  Role confusion could undermine trust and the ability of the advocate to work appropriately
Record keeping:
Advocates must maintain scrupulous records of all meetings, agreements with the child and other agencies.  These are open documents to the child and must reflect the relationship and where it is going to the child’s satisfaction.  These documents come under the remit of the confidentiality policy and data protection.
Information sharing (within confidentiality)
Advocacy and the wellbeing of the child is wrapped up within complex relationships that go well beyond the relationship the advocate has with the child.  In order to perform effectively the advocate needs to work closely and in a professional manner with other agencies and to maintain a high level of information sharing (with permission).