The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is celebrating the sixth International Care Day, the world’s largest celebration of children and young people with experience of being in care. This includes children and young people who are or were cared for by family members with the support of social workers; by foster carers; or children and young people from children’s homes and residential units. 

Eva Boyle, HIQA’s Acting Head of Children’s Services, said: “Care day shines a light on the experiences of children and young people with a care experience. The theme of this year’s Care Day is connectivity. We are supporting Care Day to celebrate the rights and resilience of care experienced children and young people, their stories and their achievements. We believe that every child in care deserves to be supported and to have a childhood where they can thrive.”

Currently, there are almost 6,000 children in care in Ireland. HIQA works to support children in care by promoting the safety and quality of children’s social care services through inspecting children’s residential centres, foster care services, child protection and welfare services, special care and Oberstown Children Detention Campus. 

Eva Boyle continued: “HIQA works with children and adults with experience of care to ensure they get the care they deserve. When visiting services, we speak with children, their families and other important people in their lives. To ensure that children are safe, heard, supported and their rights are being upheld.” 
HIQA staff have been attending a number of webinars and events this week to support children and young people in care. These events were organised by Empowering People in Care (EPIC) who work with and for children and young adults who are currently in care or who have experience of being in care. To find out more about Care Day visit www.careday.org/. 

Find out more about HIQA’s work in children’s services at www.hiqa.ie.  

Ends.
Further information: 
Marty Whelan, Head of Communications & Stakeholder Engagement
085 805 5202, mwhelan@hiqa.ie 

Notes to Editor:

• HIQA is currently developing two new sets of national standards to plan for and deliver high-quality child-centred services in Ireland. National standards describe what children and families using services should expect when they experience a particular social care service, and what a service should have in place to ensure children are safe and their needs are met. 
• HIQA will be holding a public consultation on Draft National Standards for Children’s Social Services in the coming weeks and would like to hear feedback from children and young people with experience in care.