A children's standpoint : needs in out-of-home care

This article discusses research reported in 'The Needs of Children in Care' (Mason and Gibson, 2004) in which children participated in defining their needs in out-of-home care. In this study a central research presumption was that children are knowledgeable about their own needs. The methods used to facilitate the involvement in the project of children and adult stakeholders in out-of-home care are described. Also described are findings from the research which identified that of prime importance to the children were their connections with others and their agency in their own lives. These findings are compared with findings from the narratives of the adult stakeholder groups. Finally, the implications of the findings, for improving children's participation in decision-making around their needs in care are considered in the context of broad adult–child social relations in the care system