The idea of granting rights to young people is still relatively recent and one which necessitates that society view youth as a social structure worthy of it's own undeniable rights. To claim that 'the idea of rights for young people is consistent with a concern for their welfare', it may be helpful to highlight some needs which society considers paramount to the 'welfare of youth' and establish what rights young people have gained or rather been granted, which successfully reflect society's concern for them. By focussing on particular positive benefits which young people experience from the obtaining these rights, we may then demonstrate how the ideas behind and the act of granting such rights can contribute to the desired outcome of positively effecting the young person's state of welfare and sense of well being. However, to investigate this position fully it is necessary to also investigate when the current system of rights contradicts this welfare position and does not appear to benefit young people as strongly.

It was not so long ago that society viewed young people as a commodity to be 'managed' with little r

It has been established that behind the issuing of rights there is a concern for the welfare of young people however, welfare can be interpreted in a multitude of ways and is often dependent upon the situation and those involved. In order to ensure a more consistent approach to the interpretation of welfare courts must use a "Welfare Checklist" to assist them with difficult judicial decisions when deciding cases involving young people. This checklist gives courts an outline to follow which helps them evaluate individual cases by established welfare principles so that they may act in what they consider to be "The Best Interest of the Child". All though in some cases there appears to be a conflict in the what the child may wish (participation rights) such as the case of the 15 yr old who did not want a blood transfusion on religious grounds, courts do appear to make decisions based on what they feel will benefit the child best in the long term. "What we can say is that the courts, when faced with a serious conflict and one which they see as threatening the well-being of the young person, will override the views of that young person if they need to. It is the court, not the young person, that decides on the question of their welfare, on what is best for them."

with young people and improve important aspects of their welfare. As the meaning of 'welfare' can be extremely broad and subject to much interpretation, it is a particularly difficult to define however, for the sake of this discussion we shall consider welfare largely to mean the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being of the young person in question. The UNCRC seeks to address both 'liberty rights', those which grant children a sense of autonomy over their lives e.g., lifestyle choices etc. and 'welfare rights', those which focus on the physical and mental health of the child e.g., accommodation etc.

When we look at areas such as Provision and Protection separately a concern for young people's welfare seems obvious, even the names themselves conjure up images which we can associate with an assurance of well being. The laws and rights

Some common words found in the essay are:
Welfare Checklist, , Rights Child, Provision Protection, rights people, concern welfare, granting rights, idea rights people, desired outcome, 'welfare rights', heightened sense, uncrc document, care leavers, 'liberty rights', sense empowerment,
Approximate Word count = 1435
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)