Children and young people

We are working towards improving the quality of care for all children in residential settings across Ireland.

We inspect children’s residential centres, special care units and foster care settings against the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres and National Standards for Foster Care Services, produced by the Department of Health and Children (DoHC). These standards set out how children should be looked after in these social care centres.

Inspectors from the Authority visit centres to check that children are being looked after properly, in line with our standards. Children and parents can read the standards to see what should and shouldn’t be happening in places where children are being looked after.

The Authority will publish new standards for children’s services National Quality Standards for Care Services for Children and Young People.

National Children's Standards

National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres (DOHC)

We inspect children’s services against the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres, produced by the Department of Health and Children, to ensure that each child or young person has the protection and care necessary for his or her well being.

There is also a children's version  and a version for young people

 

National Standards for Special Care Units, DoHC

These standards were produced by the Department of Health and Children and cover special care units - centres where children may be detained on foot of a 'Special Care Order' as defined by the Children’s Act 2000.

The standards are based on legislation and the National Standards for Children's Residential Centres. The Authority's Social Services Inspectorate inspects against these standards every year, to ensure that each young person in the special care units has the protection and care necessary for his or her wellbeing.

National Standards for Foster Care, DoHC

These standards were produced by the Department of Health and Children in 2003 and apply to foster care services provided under the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations, 1995 and the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations, 1995.

A children's version of the standards has also been produced, called the Children's book about Foster Care.

Inspection and registration

The standards, above, are used by inspectors from the Authority when they visit to check that an appropriate standard of care is in place in children’s centres. All inspection reports following these visits are published on our website. We inspect children’s centres to ensure that the child has the protection and care necessary for his or her well being.

We inspect special care units every year to ensure that each young person in the special care unit has the protection and care necessary for his or her well being. We protect each child’s right to:

  • preserve his or her identity
  • express his or her views freely and to have them accorded due weight
  • have privacy
  • be protected from abuse.

Children Detention Schools

In 2008, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs appointed the Chief Inspector of Social Services within the Authority and named inspectors to carry out inspections of children detention schools.

Children detention schools are inspected against Standards and Criteria for Children Detention Schools produced by the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS). The Authority began inspecting children detention schools in 2008. Each children detention school is inspected annually and inspection reports are available on the Authority’s website.

More information

Please see frequently asked questions or read our standards for further information. To find out more about how the inspection process works, see our section on inspection.