AMPLIFY: The Recommendations
The following is a list of recommendations about the Care System in England by young people from Care who attended the AMPLIFY consultation event. This event was designed and delivered by young people from A National Voice - the only national organisation run by and for young people from Care.
The AMPLIFY residential event took place at Leicester University in August 02 and was the largest ever gathering of young people from Care. 150 young people from Care attended the event.
The following recommendations are taken from the AMPLIFY report which was written by A National Voice and launched at the House of Commons in March 03.
Many thanks to over fifty Local Authorities around England who sponsored young people to attend AMPLIFY.
If you have any influence over the lives of young people from Care please read and act upon these recommendations.
Download the full updated Amplify Report in PDF 
format (Adobe Reader)
The full AMPLIFY Report is also available from A National Voice Manchester office: 0161 237 5577 or info@anationalvoice.org
THE RECOMMENDATIONS
PLACEMENT CHOICE
We recommend that young people are given more information about placements prior to moving and that more choice of placement is available.
Before moving to a Foster Placement (except emergency placements) young people should be able to meet the new Carers before agreeing to the placement.
Boundaries and expectations should always be made clear and agreed prior to moving to a new placement.
COMPLAINTS AND ADVOCATES
We recommend a national review of the complaints procedures and we particularly recommend the provision of full access to an advocate for all young people from Care.
OVERNIGHT STAYS / SLEEPOVERS
We recommend that a national Sleepover Strategy be implemented for all young people from Care, some Social Services have already done this.
Sleepover policies should be implemented to ensure that young people from Care feel the same as their 'non-Care' peers, in that their (corporate) parents allow them to sometimes stay over at a friend's house, while remaining safe and without months of red tape.
LEAVING CARE
We recommend that all young people are fully informed about their Leaving care entitlements prior to their 15th birthday.
A standard leaving Care Guide should be available written by Care Leavers and Advocates.
A National minimum amount of £1400 for the Leaving Care Grant should be set with appropriate weighting reflecting local costs.
Better housing options for Care Leavers should be available, as it is not suitable to place Care Leavers in bed and breakfast.
CARE STAFF AND SOCIAL WORKERS
We recommend that young people from Care participate widely in the training and recruitment of Care Staff.
We recommend that working conditions and pay be improved for all Care Staff and Foster Carers.
Young people should never be without access to a Social Worker.
We recommend and support an awareness campaign to raise the esteem of Care Staff and Social Workers which will help reduce the frequent changes of Social Workers and Care staff in the lives of young people.
We also recommend more access to mentoring, and peer mentoring schemes for young people from Care to supplement the role of carers and professionals.
ESTEEM ISSUES
We recommend that Social Services recognise, respect and reward the unique and special skills and talents of all the young people from Care in England.
New initiatives and better training should be introduced to raise general awareness of Care issues and to actively promote a positive image of young people from Care.
We recommend that anti-bullying strategies become more widespread.
Corporate parents have a duty to reduce stigma, raise esteem, safeguard and promote the wellbeing of all young people from Care.
We recommend that all young people from Care have access to other groups of young people from Care and that a 24 hour Care helpline service is established.
RACE AND CULTURE
We recommend that more policies are made which integrate the diverse needs of young people from ethnic minorities.
We recommend and support a campaign to raise awareness of the varied cultural needs of all young people within the Care System.