A keystone of advocacy is that it should enable people to have
as much control as possible over their own lives, so the advocacy
process must empower people, working towards people being
able to advocate for themselves.

Clients/partners should:
- Define the advocacy arrangement in their own words where
  this is possible;
- Be informed that they are in control of the advocacy process;
- Be enabled to do as much as possible in the advocacy process;
- Be encouraged to gain or develop skills during the advocacy
  process.

Advocates should:
- Work with rather than for the client/partner as much as possible;
- Work to promotes the client's/partner's expresssed needs;
- Recognise the client/partner as an expert on their own life;
- Work in a way which fosters independence;
- Avoid using jargon and feel able to challenge those who
  use do it.

The co-ordinator/manager should:
- Ensure that advocates are working in a way which fosters 
  independence;
- Be aware of the skills and abilities of their potential
  clients/partners;
- Help advocates to stay focussed on the client's/partner's 
  desires and wishes;
- Ensure they portray a positive image of their potential
  clients/partners;
- Highlight the importance of empowerment in initial training;
- Have a system by which clients/partners can influence the service;
- Record whether clients/partners feel more empowered at the end
  of the process.

The management committee/service should:
- Have a good understanding of their potential clients/partners;
- Promote a positive image of potential clients/partners to others;
- Be receptive to ideas from clients/partners on how the service
  could operate more effectively.


Demonstrating empowerment
Empowerment is a difficult thing to quantify. Despite this we
believe that it is essential that advocacy services find some
way of checking that they are working in an empowering way
and that they are making a difference to the people they serve.

Information to clients/partners
- Initial information explicitly states that clients/partners are
  free to stop
  working with an advocate at any time they choose;
- Introductory information explicitly states that the
  client/partner is always in control.

In operation
- Advocacy issues are framed in the client's/partner's terms;
- Client's/partner's views recorded at closing interview;
- Record of whether people feel more empowered at the close of
  process is kept;
- Supervision/support guards against creating dependency.

In training
- Ethos of empowerment is included in training;
- People who might use the service are involved in training
  workers.

In managing and directing the service
- People who come to advocacy services have influence on the
  way that service is delivered and run;
- There is a core belief in the abilities of people coming to the
  service.