Care Leavers' Association

The Care Leavers' Association notes that: -

• The physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect of children in care was widespread in the child care system of past decades
• Such abuse continues to occur in the modern care system
• Much of the abuse that took place in the care system in past decades was not uncovered or dealt with by past abuse investigations
• There has been major long-term harm to many individuals as a result of such abuse within the care system.

We seek to: -

1. Remove the legal time and other limits that prevent care leavers from pursuing adequate redress
2. Persuade the UK government to involve care leavers in both the training of social workers about abuse in the care system and in the monitoring and inspection of the care system
3. Persuade the UK government to develop more stringent monitoring processes and procedures, with the goal of eradicating abuse within the care system
4. Persuade the UK Parliament to set up a Parliamentary Commission of inquiry to investigate past abuse in the care system
5. Persuade the UK government to follow the lead of other governments and apologise to those abused in care
6. Support those individuals and organisations who are actively engaged in challenging past and present abuse within the care system
7. Persuade the UK government to provide sufficient resources and guidance to ensure the proper investigation of past and present abuse within the care system
8. Persuade the UK government to extend child protection legislation and the Children Act to apply to the abuse of children in care
9. Persuade the UK government to provide sufficient funding and resources for the long-term support and/or counselling of care leavers who have experienced abuse within the care system across the statutory and voluntary sector and for this support to be widely advertised.

Agreed by the CLA Executive Committee March 2009