What is Child Advocacy?

"Advocacy is not a skill, nor is it an intervention strategy or practice tool.

Advocacy is a lifestyle."

To be an effective Advocate, the principles and values of Advocacy necessarily

permeate everything you do. They are integral to your sense of self, your
identity and how you conduct your life.

The primary goal of child advocacy is to elevate the voice of youth. This means
more than empowering youth to speak out on their own behalf. It means more
than faithfully replaying their words. The standard to aspire to is articulated in
an African proverb: "Don't speak about us, without us." It means speaking
together with youth about youth.

Advocacy is often described as a process of empowerment, giving power to

others. Advocacy can be more appropriately viewed as assisting children and
youth in finding their own power from within and teaching them to use it
effectively.

"Advocacy is the catalyst for change, not the change agent"

An advocacy initiative targets, provokes, and influences change. An advocate

may create a climate for change and bring decision makers to a position of
having to act. But it is conflictual for that advocate to then participate in or
direct the change process. Change in policy or practice must be developed by
those responsible for its implementation, such as governments or service
providers.
MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental illnesses in parents represent a risk for children in the family. These
children have a higher risk for developing mental illnesses than other children.
When both parents are mentally ill, the chance is even greater that the child might
become mentally ill.

The risk is particularly strong when a parent has one or more of the following:
Bipolar Disorder, an anxiety disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, alcoholism or other
drug abuse, or depression. Risk can be inherited from parents, through the genes.

An inconsistent, unpredictable family environment also contributes to psychiatric

illness in children. Mental illness of a parent can put stress on the marriage and
affect the parenting abilities of the couple, which in turn can harm the child.

Some protective factors that can decrease the risk to children include:
 Knowledge that their parent(s) is ill and that they are not to blame

Help and support from family members

A stable home environment

Psychotherapy for the child and the parent(s)

A sense of being loved by the ill parent

A naturally stable personality in the child

Positive self esteem

Inner strength and good coping skills in the child

A strong relationship with a healthy adult

Friendships, positive peer relationships

Interest in and success at school

Healthy interests outside the home for the child

Help from outside the family to improve the family environment (for
example, marital psychotherapy or parenting classes)

Unfortunately, families, professionals, and society often pay most attention to the
mentally ill parent, and ignore the children in the family. Providing more attention
and support to the children of a psychiatrically ill parent is an important
consideration when treating the parent.

ORGANIZATIONS-

The Family Outreach and Response organization offers recovery-oriented

mental health support services to families.

The Family Association for Mental Health Everywhere (FAME) offers support
to families where any mental illness is an issue by providing education, resources
and coping strategies.
The Mood Disorders Association of Ontario and its chapters across Ontario
provide a range of peer-based, self-help support groups. Some groups are for the
person with the mental illness alone, others include the person with the mental
illness and his or her family members.

Parents for Childrens Mental Health (PCMH) is dedicated to improving the

lives of families and the services for child and youth mental health. PCMH
links families to important networks within their communities to ensure they get
the care they need and the support of families who can relate and support them.

The Schizophrenia Society and its many local chapters offer self-help support
groups for family members of individuals with schizophrenia.

The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a free, 12-week course for

family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses.

The Government of Canada offers various forms of assistance for caregivers.

Service Canada has established a list to help you prepare for this role.

Provide a nurturing environment

While life at home may be chaotic and disorganized, life at school is nurturing and
predictable. Young children resonate with the emotions expressed by those around
them. They are comforted by a calm demeanor and reassuring tone of voice. An
important component of this task is to create predictability through routines. The
use of a high-quality childcare program is often recommended by child protection
agencies to provide respite for a caregiver but also to provide daily contact for the
children with community professionals.

Strategies to support children's adjustment

o if faced with severe separation anxiety at drop off, keep the child with you
and do not push them to find an activity until they are comfortable

o help the child find and master a simple activity, to give the child a sense of
control

o validate feelings and set clear limits when aggressive play is seen (e.g., "I
know you are angry but it is not okay to hit")
 o model and teach problem-solving and age-appropriate conflict resolution

o to engage a child in group activities, keep the activity short, sit the child
close to an adult, praise all attempts to participate, and discuss topics of
interest to the child

o prepare children for transitions in the day by, for example, cuing them of
upcoming changes or making a chart with pictures of the day's activities

o do not force a sleep-avoidant child to take a nap, or have them start the nap
after others have settled

o if there is another staff member with you, you might let a child stay awake
during nap time

http://www.lfcc.on.ca/newlens_strategies.html