Key information
- The job of an advocate is to hear what matters to you, and make sure adults listen to you
- It’s important for you to be listened to, and that adults are involving you in decisions about your life.
- Remember, you have rights. Visit the Your rights page.
About advocacy
An advocate listens to what matters to you, and makes sure adults listen to you.
An advocate can also help you to understand how the Child Safety Service works in Tasmania.
Hearing your ideas on how the Child Safety Service can work better for children is important. This is called systemic advocacy and it is about improving the way services work to meet your needs.
Meet your advocates
Sonya, Anna and Georgie are advocates for children and young people in care in Tasmania.
Sonya loves board games, bushwalking, the beach and singing loudly in her car… and her job!
Anna loves her old golden retriever named Benji, playing UNO, taking photos of the sunset, and meeting awesome children and young people.
Georgie loves travelling and exploring new places, spending time with animals and helping young people reach their potential.
Their job is to:
- make sure you are part of decisions about you
- help you to understand your rights in care
- listen to you if your rights are not being upheld
- support you to speak up, or speak up for you
- help you to understand how the Child Safety Service works
- listen to your ideas about how Child Safety Service can work better for you
- give advice to the bosses of Child Safety Service about how the service can best meet your needs.
Youth Voice Survey
Created by young people with a care experience for young people, the Youth Voice Survey is for 12-17 year olds in out of home care to have a say. The young person can share their views with their Care Team and be included in developing their Care Plan. It is also a good way for adults to check that a young person is doing ok.
If you are a young person aged 12-17 currently in care and want to do the survey:
- Ask your Child Safety Officer or another adult in your Care Team to help you access the survey.
OR - You can go directly to the Youth Voice Survey now if you are keen to do it on your own, or already have a trusted adult with you that can help you.
FAQs
What is the Youth Voice Survey about?
Created by young people with care experiences for young people aged 12-17 currently in care, the Youth Voice Survey is about being included in decisions and plans about you.
The survey is in 7 sections, all about the areas of your life, wellbeing, and experiences of being in care.
Each section starts with an intro that tells you what the section is about.
Do I have to do the survey if I’m aged 12-17 and in out of home care?
The survey is voluntary, which means you can choose to give your consent or not.
You can choose to do the survey on your own, or with support from an adult of your choice.
If you do not want to do the survey, that is OK. Your Care Team will work with you to hear how you want to share your views.
What are the benefits of the survey?
The survey provides choice for you to share your views and bring influence into your Care Team and Care Plan.
It provides an opportunity to have a conversation with an adult you trust, and safely explore things that may need to be actioned by your Care Team.
The survey will help develop your Care Plan by identifying what you need. This helps your Child Safety Officer and Care Team prioritise how they meet your needs.
Survey responses will also provide the Department for Education, Children and Young People with information that will help make changes in Child Safety to improve the experiences children and young people have in care.
Who will see my survey answers?
Your Child Safety Officer and Care Team will see your answers, as well as the Child Advocate team.
But if there is anyone you do not want to share your answers with, you can let the Child Advocate team know at the end of the survey.
If you did the survey on your own, you can choose who in your Care Team you would like to talk over your answers with.
If your answers show that you or someone else might be unsafe, the Child Advocate team will find someone to help as soon as possible.
Will I get a copy of my survey answers?
Yes, you can. You can choose if you want a copy of your answers once you’ve submitted them. They can be sent to you via email or post.
How long will the survey take?
It will take you about 20 minutes to complete the survey. It could take longer if you do it with support from an adult and talk about your answers as you go.
Answers will only be saved once you’ve submitted the survey.
Do I have to answer all of the survey questions?
No, if you do not want to answer a question, select “pass”.
If you want to give more information, you can write in the “tell us more” box at the end of each section within the survey.
You can stop doing the survey at any time without having to give a reason. It’s important to note that any responses that have been completed will be lost if the survey is not submitted.
How often can I do the survey?
You can complete the survey online twice a year (once every 6 months). If you want to do it less, you can do it once a year.
I have a question that isn’t answered above…
If you have any questions about the survey you can email the Child Advocate at child.advocate@decyp.tas.gov.au or call/text 0419 970 181.
Contact us
Connect with us in a way that is most comfortable for you. This might mean talking more than once.
Depending on your safety, we will keep your information confidential if you want to. We will only share information with other people that you want it shared with.
Contact your advocates, Sonya, Anna and Georgie, by:
- phone or text 0419 970 181
- free call 1800 549 725
- email child.advocate@decyp.tas.gov.au
- Facebook message child.advocate.tas.