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7 June 2016
Ten years on and South Australia’s Charter of Rights for Children and Young People in Care is getting new face.
And endorsing agencies are getting the chance to renew their commitment to the Charter and to children’s rights.
From May 2016 the 68 agencies that have endorsed the Charter can revisit their commitment via a revised online endorsement tool.
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‘During 2015, we asked children and young people about what they would like to see in the Charter,’ said Guardian Amanda Shaw.
‘They made some small but significant changes.
‘They also made many suggestions about the content and design of the Charter materials but he actual changes to the wording of the Charter are minor.
‘Organisations can review whether the Charter is still relevant to them,’ she said.
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Charter Coordinator Nicole Pilkington is managing the transition to the revised Charter and re-endorsement.
‘We are aware that endorsement of the Charter is a condition in the funding agreements of many agencies.
‘We are making the process as simple as possible and have spoken with State Government funding bodies to make sure that funded organisations have enough time to re-endorse.
‘We will be updating contact details and lists of Charter Champions too.
‘This will make sure that we can get the new materials to agencies and the hands of the young people as soon as possible.
‘Endorsing agencies can expect to hear from us in May or can go directly to the website to use the endorsement tool.
‘Agencies that no longer wish to endorse the Charter can simply do nothing and their endorsement will lapse on 30 June 2016,’ she said.
‘Some agencies wanted to apply in December to March when endorsement was not available.so we are contacting them to re-commence their endorsement process,’ said Nicole.
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The vital work of Charter Champions will still be central.
The Guardian’s Office will contact all Charter Champions about their roles and Charter materials after endorsement finishes in June.[spacer height=”20px”]
This item originally appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Guardian’s Newsletter.[spacer height=”20px”]
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