The Kids Say Project: Supporting Children to Talk about their Experiences and to Engage in Decision-making

ABSTRACT

Research and policy calls for hearing the voices of children and youth in out-of-home care and involving them in decisions about their own lives. The “Kids Say” cards were designed to facilitate this engagement, particularly with Indigenous children and youth. A feasibility study explored the extent to which the Kids Say cards were acceptable to young people, and prompted discussion about their lives and what is important to them. The study involved 47 participants, aged 7 to 18 years, from three cultural groups: Aboriginal n = 20; culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) n = 10; non-Indigenous English-speaking n = 17. The cards were found to be appealing to all three groups, and to facilitate child and youth voice. Findings also did not differ significantly according to gender or age. These preliminary findings indicate the potential value of appropriate practice tools to support children and youth to share their experiences and participate in decision-making.

IMPLICATIONS

• Engaging resources, such as the Kids Say resource, are potentially valuable in supporting practitioners to encourage children and young people to share their experiences and participate in decision-making about their own care and service needs.

• Training in creating safe sharing contexts for children and young people is essential. While emphasis is often given to gathering child voices, there is a need for at least equal emphasis on respectful adult listening.

研究和政策都需要倾听弃家少年的声音，在决定其人生的时候使其参与其中。为此设计了“孩子说”卡片，以方便孩子尤其是原住民儿童的参与。本文就该卡在多大程度上能为少年所接受做了可行性研究，讨论了他们的生活以及对他们重要的事物。共有47名参与者，年龄在7到18岁之间，来自三个文化群体（20位原住民；10位不同文化及语言者；17位讲英语的非原住民）。笔者指出，该卡对这三个群体都有吸引力，便于少年发声；没有性别或年龄上的无明显差异。这些初步发现说明，适合的工具可以支持少年分享其经历并参与决策。

KEYWORDS:

• Child Voice
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People
• CALD
• Practice Tools

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks is extended to the inspiring Winangay team. Tamena Yarak from Creating Links played an essential role in connecting us with culturally and linguistically diverse children and young people. Thanks are also extended to Jonathan Ng who provided support in the editing of this paper. We are very grateful for the welcoming hearts, honesty, and sense of fun that was extended to us by the children, community members, and elders of the Tingha community. All of the children and young people who participated in this study demonstrated warmth, trust, and openness, and left us in no doubt that they have much to contribute whenever we are prepared to listen.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.