In the UK today, there are over 67,000 children and young people reliant on the state for their care and wellbeing, with 360,000 more needing some level of support from children's services. Coram Voice provides children with a professional adult who will listen to them, establish their wishes, opinions and fears, and work with the child and the system to ensure the child's voice is heard
For 2012-2013, we pledged to do more to suport vulnerable children and young people, both on an individual level and on a wider scale to improve the journey of a child through the care system.
Key Achievements
- In 2012-2013, Coram Voice helped 2,617 children and young people to overcome problems and access support and benefits to which they were entitled, advocated for another 3,389 in young offender institutions, and became the contracted advocacy provider for over 24,000 children.
- Developed a new initiative to help homeless young people, which supported 33 to have somewhere safe to live by challenging decisions that were denying them a home. We also stepped up our advocacy for children and young peoplewith mental health problems.
- Produced a widely promoted report calling for enhanced provision of independent advocacy, and saw our views reflected by DfE, Ofsted and others. We also trained 337 professionals working with children.
- Involved children and young people in recruiting staff, delivering training, winning contracts and developing strategies.
- Defined our vision, mission and strategy for the next three years, and began work on an exciting amalgamation project with Coram to ensure that we can provide the highest quality services to many more children and young people.