Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is celebrating the 11th International Care Day. To mark the day, HIQA is developing a children and young people’s consultation project to further the participation of young people and children in social care services in its work and ensure their voices are heard. 

Care Day is the world’s largest celebration of the rights of children and young people with experience of care. This includes children and young people who were or are being cared for by family members with the support of social workers, foster carers, or children and young people from children’s homes and residential units. HIQA works to support children in care by inspecting statutory children’s residential centres, foster care services, child protection and welfare services, special care units and Oberstown Children Detention Campus. 

HIQA’s Head of Children’s Services, Eva Boyle, said:

“Care Day offers an important reminder that children and their voices should be at the heart of the services designed to support them. The theme of this year’s day, ‘The Future Starts With Us’, calls on services to ensure that children in care are supported to achieve their full potential. HIQA has a role in this through our inspections and how we engage with children and young people. A key aspect of monitoring children’s social care services is meaningfully involving children in inspections so that their voices and lived experiences are central to how services are evaluated. This is why we have commenced a Children and Young People’s Consultation Project.” 

HIQA will continue this project by consulting with children and young people who use the services within our remit to understand the most effective ways to learn about their experiences. Today, HIQA has published a Scoping Review on child engagement and youth participation in the inspection of social care services for children which will inform its project. This review is in line with Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality’s Participation of Children and Young People Action Plan 2024-2028. 

Eva Boyle continued:

“Our goal is to help services improve so that every child who needs support receives it in a way that meets their needs. Our Children and Young People’s Consultation Project will play a key part in how we do this going forward. The feedback we receive from children and young people will guide how we engage with young people in the future and help create an open, supportive environment where they can build positive futures, they are confident in.”

In the next phase of the project, HIQA will consult with children and stakeholders to identify the best ways to capture children’s views and how they would like to receive inspection feedback. Their input will inform how we continue to engage with children and young people during inspections and ensure their voices are reflected in inspection findings. 

Read HIQA’s Scoping Review here.
ENDS

Further information:
Zoe Forde, Communications Manager, zforde@hiqa.ie, 085 802 1469

Notes for Editor: 

• Under the Health Act 2007 (as amended), HIQA is responsible for regulating and monitoring the safety and quality of children’s social services in Ireland to ensure they meet national standards and relevant regulations.
• Care Day is organised by the Empowering People in Care (EPIC) Care Community and Youth Council. EPIC is an advocacy organisation for children and young people who are currently in care or who have experience of being in care. To find out more about Care Day, visit the Care Day website | Home

About HIQA

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is the independent body that promotes safety and quality in the provision of health and social care services in Ireland. 

Through its regulation, standard setting and evidence to inform decision-making functions, HIQA supports health and social care services to consistently deliver excellent standards of care and the best possible health and social care outcomes for all.