On an inspection, we check that the service provider, who runs the service, is meeting the national standards or the relevant regulations. The standards explain what children and their families should expect from services that support them and regulations set out the rules that a service has to follow.

We do a lot of things when we visit a service to inspect it. This includes:

• Reading children’s files to understand how they are being cared for
• Checking what is working well for children
• Looking for areas where the service could do better
• Looking at complaints made about the service by children to see if has fixed the issues
• Talking to children and young people
• Speaking with families and other people who are important in their lives. This includes carers, staff, social workers and guardians ad litem (these are people who represent a child’s views)

Families who use the child protection and welfare service often need some extra support to help keep children safe and help them do well in life. We visit these services to see if families are getting the help that they need. 

During our visits, we talk with children, their parents and families, social workers and other people who help care for them.  We do this to see how they are getting on and if they are getting the help and support that they need.

We inspect Tusla’s child protection and welfare services to make sure they meet national standards and other required guidelines. 

Download the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2012) (PDF, 1.1MB)
View the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017) (external website)

When children are not able to live with their own parents, they may go to live with another family, who become their foster carers. This is called foster care. 

We visit social work departments and meet social workers and their managers. These people  are responsible for children in care and supporting foster carers. Social workers have to make sure that foster carers are able to look after children well and that they get the support they need. 

We do not register or inspect individual foster carers. Instead, we inspect the organisations that hire, assess and support foster carers. This includes Tusla and non-statutory fostering agencies.

We inspect Tusla and non-statutory foster care services to check that they meet national standards and legal requirements. We also look at how well these services carry out their legal duties and follow guidelines which are designed to protect and support children. 

Download the National Standards for Foster Care (2003) (PDF, 1.1MB)

View Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017) (external website)

Residential care is when children and young people who cannot live with their own family instead live in a house in a community and are cared for by social care workers. 

We inspect Tusla’s statutory children’s residential centres and also Tusla Emergency Centres to check that they meet the national standards. We also look at how these centres carry out their legal responsibilities and how well they follow the Children First (2017) guidelines. 

Download the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres (2018) (PDF, 11.4MB) 

View Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017) (external website)
 

Sometimes, foster carers, residential care staff or families are not able to keep a child safe. When this happens, a child may need special care so they can get extra help and support.

Special care is provided in a secure building where the outside doors are locked to keep children safe. Children who live in special care attend school on the same site.

Special care units are called designated centres under the law, Health Act 2007 (as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011).  We register and inspect Tusla’s special care units and we are responsible for checking that children living in special care are safe and getting good-quality care.

We also check how well services follow the Children First (2017) guidelines, which are designed to protect and support children.

These laws, regulations and national standards include:

• View the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Children in Special Care Units) Regulations 2017 (as amended) (external website)
• View the Health Act 2007 (Registration of Designated Centres) (Special Care Units) Regulations 2017 (external website)
• Download the National Standards for Special Care Units: November 2014 (PDF, 1.8MB)

Young people under the age of 18 years can be sent to Oberstown Children Detention Campus by the courts. When a judge makes a decision that a child has broken the law, they  can decide to place them in detention for a period of time. Children may also be placed on a remand order in Oberstown while they are awaiting a further court case. 

Oberstown Detention Campus is a secure place with locked doors and children who live receive care, education, training and other programmes. The aim is to help them return to the community and build a positive future.

The campus is funded by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and is run by a board of management.

We inspect Oberstown Children Detention Campus to check how well it respects and promotes children’s rights against the Oberstown Children's Rights Policy Framework. This explains:

• The rights young people have
• The standard of care they should expect
• The responsibilities of the director and the board of management.

Download the Oberstown Children’s Rights Policy Framework (PDF, 590KB)lfil these