Representation, Rights and Advocacy Service

Tender description

<p>Kent County Council (KCC) is looking for an organisation or a consortium of organisations to deliver a Representation, Rights and Advocacy Service, that includes individual elements that are a recurring statutory requirement for KCC, as defined by the Children&rsquo;s Act 1989.</p> <p>The aim will be to provide a dedicated service that offers robust, consistent and sustainable support to children and young people.</p> <p>The service model will bring together six interconnected elements of support which include:</p> <ol> <li><strong>Advocacy </strong>for Children in Care and for Care Leavers aged 16 &ndash; 24.</li> <li><strong>Independent Visitors</strong> for Children in Care aged 8 &ndash; 18 years.</li> <li><strong>Independent Persons</strong> for Stage 2 complaints under the Children Act 1989.</li> <li><strong>Appropriate Adults</strong> for young people aged 10 - 17 years detained at police custody suites who require support.</li> <li><strong>Accompanying Adults</strong> for the purpose of age assessment interviews for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, Children Act 1989.</li> <li>In addition, and in support to the Independent Visitors Service, funding will be provided for 10 places for a <strong>Leaving Care Mentoring Service. </strong>This additional funding is for young people who turn 18 and who choose to retain the support of the Independent Visitor as a Mentor. The Leaving Care Mentoring Service is not a statutory requirement under the Children&rsquo;s Act.</li> </ol> <p>The financial envelope for the Representation, Rights and Advocacy Service is &pound;258,800 per annum.</p> <p>The contract will run for three years from 1/10/2022, with the option to extend for a further two years on a one-plus-one basis.</p> <p>Kent County Council is committed to ensuring fairness, openness, and transparency and to following EU procurement regulations.</p> Keywords: Rights, Representation, Advocacy