The Kent and Medway Independent Visitors Service provides volunteers to befriend young people in care who have little or no meaningful contact with their parents, in line with the Children Act 1989. |
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The service is provided by The Young Lives Foundation (YLF) under an agreement with Kent and Medway Social Services, but remains independent from them. |
The service is also available to any eligible young person in care placed into Kent or Medway by another authority. |
Independent Visitors are independent of the care system and their role is to visit, advise and befriend the young people allocated to them, taking a long-term interest in their welfare and development. This is achieved through regular contact by telephone with visits and outings twice a month. Independent visitors may also attend young people's review meetings. |
All prospective volunteers are required to complete an application form and attend an initial interview with the managers of the service. Three references are required plus a letter from the prospective volunteer's GP. |
All volunteers must complete the training course (see volunteers/training) and obtain a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau before being allocated to a young person. |
Social workers wishing to refer a young person to the service should contact the co-ordinator Stephen Gray. Please see the following page titled 'How to get an IV'. |
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