Principles and purpose of advocacy

“Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain services they need. Advocates and advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people they support and take their side. Advocacy promotes social inclusion, equality and social justice.”

Action for Advocacy

• Advocacy should be seamless for people who qualify so that they can benefit from the support of one advocate for their whole experience of treatment and/or care and/or safeguarding work.
• Advocacy is issue/decision specific.
• The CIIAS will encourage empowerment of the individual and the development of self-advocacy skills.
• The CIIAS will ensure that it is independent from all service providers.
• The CIIAS will not provide befriending, ongoing peer support, counselling, advice, legal representation, or any other form of intervention, which creates dependency.

Further details can be found in the Camden and Islington Integrated Advocacy Service Local Operating Procedure (LOP).  The following appendices to the LOP also provide supplementary information on:

Local Operation Procedure Timescales

Non-statutory Advocacy Pathway

Supporting Parents in Child Protection Cases