Empowering voices: Parental advocacy and experts-by-experience in child protection and child welfare

arental Advocacy in the UK and Ireland: Empowering Voices in Child Protection Social Work Speaker: Dr Clive Diaz Abstract: This session presents findings from research on parental advocacy services across England, Wales, and Ireland. Drawing on observations of practice , interviews, focus groups and workshops with parents, social workers, parent advocates and senior leaders, the research explores how parental advocacy is implemented and the impact it has on child protection practice. The findings highlight how parental advocacy can help parents participate more effectively in meetings, challenge information they disagree with and navigate complex child protection processes and meetings. The session compares professional advocacy models in Wales and Ireland with peer advocacy approaches in England, examining the strengths and challenges of each. It also considers the conditions needed for effective advocacy, including role clarity, supervision, training and organisational support. Key takeaways: A deeper understanding of how parental advocacy can improve parents’ opportunities to participate in child protection processes. Insights into the advantages and challenges of professional and peer advocacy models. Practical lessons for implementing and sustaining effective parental advocacy services within children’s social care. Epistemic Injustice Challenged and Reproduced in Experts-by-Experience Activities in Social Work and Child Welfare Speaker: Tanja Koskinen Abstract: Experts-by-experience (EBE) activities have become an increasingly important part of social work and child welfare. EBE expertise is grounded in lived experience and contributes to service development, decision-making, and professional practice. In Finland, EBE activities involving young people and parents in child welfare have developed significantly over the past two decades, yet there is still limited research on how experiential knowledge is recognised as credible and legitimate within these activities. This matters because EBE activities are often expected to strengthen participation and ensure that lived experience informs services, policy, and practice. Drawing on preliminary findings from an ongoing doctoral study, this presentation explores how EBE activities can both challenge and reproduce epistemic injustice. While these activities may create opportunities for recognising and amplifying lived experience, they can also reinforce epistemic hierarchies. The presentation highlights the conditions under which lived experience is recognised as legitimate knowledge in social work and child welfare EBE activities and discusses what this means for epistemic justice, participation, and the meaningful involvement of EBEs.