CARE EXPERIENCED PEOPLE

We know that children in care and care leavers are all different and for many of us that will be a deep-seated belief. Yet far too often this is not adequately reflected in our policy, program designs, research, training, and even our practice. We also hear from, ask, and listen to, some care experienced people more than others.

Over the years I’ve had many conversations with care experienced people. However, a couple of years ago I met up with an existing LinkedIn connection who lived locally for a coffee, after I had made contact having seen that she’d included in a LinkedIn post a reference to being in foster care as a teenager. I’d looked at her LinkedIn profile, as you do (or is that just me), and saw that we had a lot of Wellington public sector leaders as common LinkedIn connections. However, in the interests section at the bottom of her LinkedIn profile, I was surprised to see that one of the ‘influencers’ that she was following was the UK’s former Conservative Party prime minister David Cameron.  Hmmm…like most (but not all) in child welfare, my politics are left of centre. This was going to be interesting.

We didn’t actually discuss party politics then or since. However, ‘aside from’ a positive relationship with a teacher and a rare pivotal opportunity that arose from this, like a handful of those in my 2015 doctoral study, her ‘going to university from care’ story was very much about her clarity on wanting a better life for herself, and determination, hard work, sacrifice and self-reliance.

While being in foster care for a year or so is part of her story, for her it certainly does not define who she is. It is just one chapter, she has little contact with others in the child welfare system, and she does not adopt the identity or label of being either ‘a care experienced person’ (CEP) or a ‘survivor’. For me it was a surprisingly powerful conversation.

I’ve since had conversations with a couple of other highly educated professionals, this time outside of New Zealand, who were also care experienced. While there were some differences, each of their ‘university from care’ stories had strong similarities to the one above. However, what was particularly interesting about these two was that alongside their main professional roles, both had set up not-for-profit entities to promote or campaign on aspects of OOHC and had contributed significant time (and money for one and likely both of them) towards these. 

To a large extent their advocacy and campaigning work was deliberately being done from outside of, rather than from within, their respective child welfare systems. For me both of these conversations were inspirational, humbling and…confronting as they challenged some of my assumptions. While I could of course be wrong, both also talked in ways that suggested to me that their politics were right of centre. 

To be honest these conversations first left me wondering whether and how poor care experiences had shaped their politics and values and/or whether and how their politics shaped their perception of their care experience. Very arrogant of me of course until I realised that exactly the same could be asked of the care experienced who present or identify as left of centre or remain more closely engaged as adults with the child welfare system whether as advocates, consultants, program workers, social workers, lawyers, foster carers, mentors, volunteers or members of ministerial advisory boards etc. 

The first ever International Care Experienced History Month is coming up in April. With a backdrop of the US presidential elections and Brexit and addressing the growing political divisiveness and misinformation that we have seen for example in the US and the UK, the pandemic and the many different ways that it is impacting on individuals including the care experienced, and the New Zealand and other commissions and inquiries into the historic (and ongoing) abuse of children in care, I look forward to us recognising and valuing the stories and views and diversity of more care experienced people. And us really listening and even being prepared to change our minds about some things that we currently believe.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can email me at: iain@betteroutcomes.co.nz

Kia kaha (Stay Strong).

Iain