Exploring the role of personal advisors in Wales: A co-produced study with care-experienced young people

This project will develop greater understanding about the role of personal advisors (PAs) in supporting young people’s transitions out of care across Wales. PAs are a key source of support for young people leaving care, with the role enshrined in the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act (SSWBA) (2018). Despite this, little is known about how the role is carried out, or what good practice looks like.

Care leavers will co-lead the research which will:   

• Explore the experiences, practices and roles of PAs, their team managers (TMs) and senior managers (SMs), and the experiences of care leavers
• Develop an understanding of the enablers/barriers to good PA practice
• Evaluate the co-production research approach with care leavers  

Background   

Young people leaving care face additional hardships, often having a smaller support network in their lives. Consistent, supportive relationships with adults can improve transitions out of care, and PAs have been identified as a key professional who can offer this support (SSWBA, 2018). Indeed, local authorities in Wales are required to appoint a PA to each young person leaving care. However, concerns have been raised about the quality and consistency of this support. In adulthood, care leavers continue to be at risk of poverty, poor mental health, involvement in the criminal justice system, and homelessness.  With research in this area limited, this project will look to draw out the gaps in knowledge, to inform future practice in Wales.   

Plan of investigation  

The project has been steered by care-experienced young people. Plans will be developed further with care-experienced peer researchers, who will co-lead the investigation. These Work Packages (WPs) are not designed to run consecutively:

Work Package 1: Survey shared with all PA teams in Wales, to map out current delivery of the role, and connected enablers/barriers to this. TMs and SMs will also take part in focus groups and interviews, to understand the structures and strategies of provision, and a higher-level view of the role.

Work package 2: Qualitative research conducted with PAs and care leavers from two local authorities, for in-depth understanding of experiences and perceptions of daily practice.  

Work package 3: Peer researchers with experience of leaving care recruited to co-lead project activities, following research training. This co-production work will be evaluated to understand its benefits to research and peer researchers.  

The knowledge generated by this project can contribute to improving PA practices and outcomes for care leavers in Wales, the UK and internationally. Findings will be shared with research participants and stakeholders for consultation, before recommendations are written up. Accessible materials and activities will be disseminated to a wide audience, sharing key findings. The project is a starting point for further research in this area.