Welcome to the Who Cares? Scotland
Charter of Rights for young people in care. It was approved
in 1986 and was accepted (in principle) by almost every
local authority in Scotland.
While there has been some progress, many young people still
feel that their rights are not clear, or that they are
denied them. This new Charter brings the 1986 document up to
date.
It has been written by young people in care from all over
Scotland and is a clear statement of the rights that all
children and young people in care now have.
Some of these rights already exist in law. Other rights come
from the UN Convention, which is a document that the UK
Government signed in 1991. Even more specific rights are
taken from published reports, such as the Skinner Report,
and relate to the quality of life in care. The Children
(Scotland) Act 1995 is a new piece of legislation which
clearly spells out rights for young people who are ‘looked
after’ (in Care) by local authorities.
Of course, the Charter cannot cover every situation faced by
young people, and there may be a few extreme situations
where some of these rights may not apply. In every other
circumstance, these are the rights you have in foster and
residential care.
Who Cares? Scotland will strongly promote these rights for
all young people including these who may otherwise
experience discrimination because of colour, gender,
sexuality, disability or other reasons.
All rights include ‘the right not to’. Because we can do
something does not mean we have to. We are individuals, and
have the right to individual opinions.
A right is something to which you are entitled. Your rights
should be supported wherever you are placed in care. They do
not change because of where you live, or which staff are on
duty. A right is not a privilege. Privileges may be
withdrawn; rights should never be!
Who Cares? Scotland would like to
thank all the young people for their continuing support in
enabling us to be the national voice for young people in
care in Scotland.
