I HAVE the greatest respect for Bob Holman and the work he continues to do in championing the cause of children and families in poverty. I also have the greatest of respect for those who tried their best to improve child-care practice and their attempts to provide a more ''humanised'' form of residential child care (Value of the advocates for needy children, Open Forum, May 4).

However, there is still some way to go before we can be satisfied with the quality of residential child-care in Scotland. While there were undoubtedly people who were committed to children, sadly it is also true that there was a great deal of questionable practice, some of it with devastating impact and lasting effects on the lives of people brought up in care.

Yes, the picture of life in residential care today is an improvement on what has gone before. But talk to young people with experience of life in care, and you will still hear of ''large, impersonal institutions'' - although they will use different words to describe them! You will also hear of the loneliness and desperation felt by many young people who feel that no-one in the system really cares for them, having no real say in where they live, and who they live with, and the harsh realities of moving on from care and trying to live an independent life.

You will hear of young people in care receiving virtually no education, having a less than average chance of decent employment, and a higher than average chance of ending up in the adult justice system. You will almost inevitably hear young people talk about the need for someone to help them speak out - someone who really understands what it's like to be in care.

This is the kind of independent ''advocacy'' that ''Who Cares? Scotland'' provides and which is absolutely necessary if young people in care are to be able to speak out before any ''scandals'' take place rather than after the damage has been done.

Bob Holman recalls the establishment of the 1948 Children's Act and looks back over the past 50 years. I hope that we can look to the more recent Children (Scotland) Act, 1995, which clearly sets out aspirations for the future for children and young people in care - giving them rights to be consulted about all matters affecting their care and wellbeing. It also ensures that local authorities do produce children's services plans, and it is vital that we remember that children and young people ''looked after'' by the local authority are the responsibility of the whole authority, not just the social work department.

Housing, education, leisure and recreation, protective services, to name but a few, all have a part to play in developing services which meet the needs of young people looked after by local authorities today.

The Scottish Parliament can hopefully ensure that children and young people are taken seriously, and that their experiences and opinions as ''consumers'' are taken into account at all levels of policy, planning, and practice. I would also hope that the Scottish Parliament might take the radical step of setting up an office of Children's Commissioner or Ombudsman, whose remit would include ensuring that the impact of all policy and legislation on children is monitored and reported on, and who would also take on the role of ensuring that children and young people have a powerful lobbying voice when needed.

Children in public care are not someone else's problem, they are everyone's responsibility. We need to give them a clear message that as a society we care enough to give them the best possible quality of life. I just hope that on the 50th anniversary of the Children (Scotland) Act, 1995, we are not still talking about how much we need to do to improve things!

Cathy Jamieson,

Principal Officer,

Who Cares? Scotland,

Block 4, Unit C3,

Templeton Business Centre,

Glasgow.

May 5.