National Confidential Forum - A consultation on the creation of a Forum for Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse in Residential Care

Who should be eligible to take part in the Forum?

20. An important issue in the development of the Forum is whether only those who define themselves as survivors should be eligible to take part. The Time to be Heard Report recommended (at Recommendation 1) that the Forum should be there for all adults who were cared for away from home. The report recommended accepting applications from anyone who spent time in residential care as a child but adopting a different approach depending on whether the experiences were presented as good or bad. The Report suggested that those who wished to present their good experiences could do so initially in written or recorded form. These accounts would then be considered by the National Confidential Forum and a decision made about whether to invite the participant to an oral hearing.

Q4. Do you agree or disagree that all adults who were placed in residential care by the State should be eligible to take part in the Forum?

Q5. Do you agree or disagree that the process should be the same for all participants, regardless of whether they regard themselves as survivors of abuse in residential childcare?

21. Another key issue is the type of child care that the Forum should cover. The TTBH Report proposed that the following types of childcare provision should be included: residential schools and children's homes, residential educational provision for children with special needs, long-stay hospital provision for children with acute medical and/or mental health needs, secure accommodation, boarding departments of schools, and private homes through boarding-out and foster care arrangements.

22. An important aspect of the work of the Forum will be to reflect the harm done to children who were placed in care for their own protection. It is generally accepted that the State has particular - and greater - responsibility for children who are placed in some form of care because there are concerns about their welfare and the State has intervened to protect them. In contrast it can be said that the State does not generally have the same responsibility for children where private arrangements for their care have been made by relatives or guardians.

23. TTBH only included general residential child care and did not cover children who were fostered or who were in institutions dealing with particular types of need (such as long-stay hospitals). Therefore it is not possible to say with the same certainty that an opportunity to be heard would have the same benefits for children who were not in institutions similar to Quarriers.

24. For these reasons it may be appropriate for the National Confidential Forum to focus on adults who spent time in residential care as children or at least start by prioritising such people.

Q6. Do you agree or disagree that people who were in the following types of care should be included:

• residential schools and children's homes
• residential educational provision for children with special needs
• long-stay hospital provision for children with acute medical and/or mental health needs
• secure accommodation