National policy on children and young people

Information

Introduction

The National Children's Strategy was a ten-year plan which was published by the Government in 2000. It was the blueprint for improving the lives of children. It had three main goals:

• Children would have a voice in matters which affect them and their views would be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.
• Children's lives would be better understood; their lives would benefit from evaluation, research and information on their needs, rights and the effectiveness of services.
• Children would receive quality supports and services to promote all aspects of their development.

The National Children's Office had overall responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of the strategy. Progress reports on the implementation of the strategy were published for 2002, 2003 and 2004.

In 2005 the National Children's Office became part of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA) was set up in December 2005 to bring greater coherence to policy-making for children and played a key role in supporting the implementation of the National Children's Strategy. It was part of the Department of Health but had units from the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Education and Skills co-located with it.

The units within the OMCYA were:

• Child Welfare and Protection Policy Unit
• Childcare Directorate (formerly part of the Department of Justice and Equality)
• National Children and Young People's Strategy Unit (formerly the National Children's Office)
• Irish Youth Justice Service (part of the Department of Justice and Equality)
• Early Years Education Policy Unit (part of the Department of Education and Skills)

In June 2011, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs was established, with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs becoming a full cabinet minister. Certain units from other Departments also became part of the new Department.

National Children's Strategy Implementation Group

The 10-year social partnership agreement Towards 2016 (pdf) includes a specific focus on the needs of children and young adults. As part of the agreement, the Government gave a commitment to establishing a high-level group, which would draw together all those Government Departments and State agencies which develop policies and deliver services that affect the lives of children and young people.

The National Children's Strategy Implementation Group (NCSIG) was established in 2006. Up to the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, it was chaired by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and its membership is drawn from the relevant Government Departments, the Health Service Executive (HSE), representatives of local authorities, the education sector and other key agencies.

The key priority of the NCSIG is to ensure implementation of all the strategic plans and policy documents which have already been drawn up and published in relation to children's services in Ireland. As part of the process of achieving its goals, the NCSIG has committed to establishing a network of Children's Services Committee under each of the 34 city and/or county development boards in the country.

Children's Services Committees

All major organisations and agencies working locally on behalf of children and young people are to be represented on Children's Services Committees (CSC). The CSCs will be responsible for improving the lives of children and families at local and community level, through integrated planning, working and service delivery. They will ensure that professionals and agencies work together so that children and families receive services that are better and more accessible. In 2007 the first four CSCs were set up. It is intended that over 20 CSCs will be operational by the end of 2012.

Agenda for Children's Services

The Agenda for Children's Services (pdf) was published in 2007 by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. It sets out the strategic direction and key goals of public policy in relation to children's health and social services in Ireland. It draws together the various types of outcomes found in contemporary children's policy and presents them as a single list of 7 National Service Outcomes for Children in Ireland. These are:

• Healthy, both physically and mentally
• Supported in active learning
• Safe from accidental and intentional harm
• Economically secure
• Secure in the immediate and wider physical environment
• Part of positive networks of family, friends, neighbours and the community
• Included and participating in society

This provides a single framework for the relevant Government Departments and agencies in all policy considerations and services related to children and families.

Working Together for Children initiative

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the National Children' Strategy Implementation Group and the Children's Services Committees have been leading an initiative to develop a planning model for national and local interagency working to improve outcomes for children. This is collectively known as the Working Together for Children (pdf) initiative. The objective of the initiative is to secure better developmental outcomes for children through more effective integration of policies and services. In April 2011 a Governance Framework for the Working Together for Children Initiative was published.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs provides leadership for this initiative at national level and the Health Service Executive provides leadership at local level.