Child Maintenance, Children & Young People: The power of partnerships. Part 3: What’s Next…

On the 6th of October we held the official launch of Scotland’s first child maintenance information resource for children and young people. What started as an idea on a “Park It” list has grown into something real, and more importantly, something shaped by the very voices it was created for.

Seeing the young people take ownership of the project has been the most rewarding part. They debated, questioned, challenged, and pushed us to think differently. The final resource is bolder, clearer, and more relevant than anything we adults could have produced alone. It’s not just information, it’s their information.

The launch felt quite symbolic; child maintenance conversations so often happen around children, not with them. This project flipped that, taking a child’s rights approach by giving young people space to be informed and to lead.

What is the ‘resource’?

The young people developed a leaflet - ‘What is child maintenance and how does it affect me?’  with a QR code to more information online.

Download a copy here: Child Maintenance Explained - Young Persons Leaflet with Fife Young Carers

And now, the exciting part begins.

During the launch, the young people were asked what their hopes were for the future of the resource, and they gave a clear goal.

That as many children and young people as far and wide as possible have access to information about child maintenance. 

And that goal is exactly what will start the discussions for the next steps.  At the heart of child maintenance is the child, and until this point, there has been a huge gap in including children and young people in the conversation. The first level of information now exists but there is more to do, wider work needed for 12-year-olds and above who can make their own claim in Scotland, getting the information out there, and so much more. We know that system change is always a continuous improvement process of planning – doing - checking and acting. So, together with the young people, we will revisit the planning process to ensure the leaflet reaches a wide audience.