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Creating a culture of participation and involvement of children in decision-making is rather complex task in the field of alternative care. Due to their personal, family, and characteristics of their environment, participatory rights of children in care are more likely to be violated. Meaningful participation of children in this type of care can take many different forms: receiving and sharing information, being consulted, being actively involved in decision-making, and proposing and implementing their own ideas that match child interest and abilities. The children in alternative care can participate on at least three levels: individual, institutional, and social welfare system level. Individual participation refers to the participation of an individual child in decisions regarding the course of care, while collective participation refers to the participation of children as an interest group expressing opinions and participating in decision- making regarding the social welfare system, policies, and institutional practices. Eventhough there are numerous opportunities for children in alternative care to exercise their participation rights, research and practice show that participation in this type of care is often inadequate and incomplete or only declarative. The aim of this paper is to present current state and main challenges of meaningful participation of children in alternative care in the Republic of Croatia. In general, children have a rich experience of non-participation, they are not sufficiently involved, and informed about the care and important decisions in the process of care. Particularly problematic in terms of non- participation are unsuccessful attempts of participation that demotivates children for further participation, declarative form of beneficiary councils, as well as low quality of relations between adults and children. On the other hand, it is clear from interviews and practical work with children that they are very competent partners who clearly recognize most problematic areas in alternative care. Thus, it is the tasks of adults to learn how to make participation in alternative care broader and more meaningful. In answer to that need, within the program STEP FORWARD (program for improvement of assessment and care for youth with behavioral problems), the Youth Advisory Board in Educational Institutions, was established in Croatia. This Board is the first of its kind in Croatia with the aim to strengthen the collective participation of children in alternative care. In this presentation the process of establishment and planned activities with children will be presented. Highlighting the challenges and encouraging discussion about them, the overall goal is to encourage meaningful participation of children in alternative care. Child participation in alternative care can be a powerful tool in care quality and reforms in that field, and the responsibility of adults (experts working in the field, policymakers) is to make participation rights more accessible for every child in care. |
