Guidance Providing Effective Advocacy Services for Children and Young People Making a Complaint under the Children Act 1989 Get it Sorted Providing Effective Advocacy Services for Children and Young People Making a Complaint under the Children Act 1989 The Advocacy Services and Representations Procedure (Children) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 Ministerial Foreword By Margaret Hodge MP Minister for Children, Young People and Families Listening to children and young people lies at the very heart of the Government’s reform programme to improve outcomes for every child. This is especially important for those times when children have a problem, concern or want to make a complaint. Advocacy helps to safeguard children and young people, and protect them from harm and neglect. This section 7 guidance is for children’s services leads, team managers, complaints officers, practitioners, advocates and children’s rights and participation officers. It is designed to provide all children’s services staff with an understanding of the new duties in relation to advocacy for children and young people making or thinking about making a complaint under the Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Adoption and Children Act 2002. But it goes further than that. Ultimately, it is about making sure that vulnerable children and young people everywhere get the help they need, when they need it, however large or small their concern. In short, making sure that someone is always ready to listen and act quickly to help. I would also like to thank each and every contributor to the wide-ranging consultation that preceded this guidance. As Every Child Matters: Next Steps clearly demonstrates, a dialogue with government is an integral part of the shift in how we all work for children – moving from reactive to