We have a new Charter of Rights for Children and Young People in Care! The revised Charter has just been approved and will replace the existing rights that sets out what children and young people can expect and experience while they are in care.
The nine new rights reflect what children and young people said was important to them, and they are…
- I have the right to be safe and well cared for
- I have the right to be listened to and have a say in decisions that affect me
- I have the right to be myself and to be treated with respect
- I have the right to connect with my culture
- I have the right to have contact with people who matter to me
- I have the right to good health, fun and play
- I have the right to privacy
- I have the right to a good education
- I have the right to get the support I need so I’m ready to leave care and feel good about my future.
The Charter also provides explanations about what each of the rights mean – based on what young people told us – and includes contact details for children and young people if they don’t think their rights are being respected and they need someone to talk to or make a complaint.
Read the Charter of Rights in full.
You can also read the full report about the review process and consultation feedback from the review participants that was provided to the Minister for Child Protection in January this year.
We are so grateful to the wonderful children and young people who worked with us to help create the revised Charter. A big thank you to everyone who supported and participated in the review process.
We will continue to consult with children and young people in the coming months to create a new set of resource materials, so stay tuned.
Endorsing the revised Charter
If your organisation currently endorses the Charter you will need to reapply to endorse the revised Charter and nominate Charter Champions for each of your organisation’s sites. We will be in contact with endorsing organisations in the coming weeks to begin this process.
If your organisation does not yet endorse the Charter and you would like more information about what it means to endorse the Charter, please contact Mardy McDonald at Mardy.McDonald2@sa.gov.au.
