Children may enter care for a variety of reasons, including: A child may be placed on a short, medium or long term basis in:

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1 What is care? The majority of children and young people grow up in the safety of their family receiving the care and protection required. However, there are some children and young people for whom this is not the case. These children may suffer neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The state has a duty to intervene on behalf of these children. The support and intervention offered to families to ensure that children are safeguarded from harm may vary. Where these efforts fail to protect children, the state may have no alternative but to take these children into care. Such decisions are not taken lightly. Children may enter care for a variety of reasons, including: neglect; abuse; death or parental illness; family breakdown. A child may be placed on a short, medium or long term basis in: foster care with extended family or friends; foster care with non-related carers; residential care; at home with support from social services. Government policy advocates that young children should be placed in foster care. Two residential units have been developed to cater specifically for younger children. 1

2 Legislation The primary legislation regulating child care policy is the Children (Northern Ireland) Order The Order deals with the care, upbringing and protection of children. It reforms, consolidates and harmonises most of the public and private law relating to children in a single coherent statutory framework along the lines of the Children Act 1989 in England and Wales. Children Under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, a child is defined as a person under the age of 18. Definitions Looked After The term looked after children and young people is generally used to mean those looked after by the state, according to relevant national legislation which differs between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Children (NI) Order 1995 states that a 'looked after' child is one who is in the care of a Trust or who is provided with accommodation by a Trust for a continuous period if more than 24 hours. Looked after children can be placed in: - a voluntary home eg residential home - a home or institution provided by a government department or other prescribed public body; - in a foster placement - in a family placement with a relative or occasionally at home - making such other arrangements as- (i) (ii) Seem appropriate to the authority; and Comply with any regulations made by the Department 2

3 Residential care Residential care refers to care which takes place in statutory, voluntary or private children s homes. Foster care Foster care includes children fostered either with relatives or with persons who are not related to the child. Placed with family This refers to children for whom a care order exists and who are placed with their parents, a person who is not a parent but who has parental responsibility for the child or where a child is in care and there was a residence order in force with respect to him or her immediately before the care order was made, a person in whose favour the residence order was made. Care orders There are two ways children come into care. These are; Voluntary accommodation - the parents of the child have given their permission for the child to go into care Care order social services have gone to court to get a court order to bring a child into care. A Care Order lasts until the young person is aged 18 unless the court decides to end it earlier. Supervision orders Supervision orders are made when social services feel that a child or young person is not being properly cared for at home. A Supervisor will visit the child at home to make sure she or he is safe. 3

4 A supervision order usually lasts for one year. It cannot last for more than three years, will end when the young person becomes 18 and if a care order is made instead. Article 8 orders Article 8 orders are made by courts to support families. There are four types of Article 8 order:- A contact order this order names the people in a family a young person is to have contact with; A prohibited steps order this order means the parents of a child or young person may have to ask the court for permission to make certain decisions about you; A residence order this order names the person(s) a child or young person will live with; A specific issue order this order answers a specific question about how parents are to care for a child or young person. Parents, step parents and anyone who you have lived with for at least three years in the last five years can apply for an Article 8 order. If the young person is in care, the Health and Social Care Trust must give permission to the person wanting to apply for an Article 8 order. The order will normally last until the young person is aged 16. Emergency Protection Orders Emergency Protection Orders (EPO) are used to protect children or young people at risk where urgent action is needed. The Health and Social Care Trust will apply to the court for an EPO. EPOs allow Trusts to remove a child or young person from the family home in order to keep her or him safe. 4

5 An EPO lasts for eight days, however it can be extended for a futher 7 days if this is needed. Looked After Children: key statistics At 31 March 2012, there were 2644 looked after children in Northern Ireland, an increase of 5% (133) from 2011 (2511). 52% of looked after children are boys and 48% are girls 31% (825) of looked after children were 22% (582) aged 5 11; 28% (753) were aged 12-15; 22% (582) were aged 0 4 and 18% (484)were aged 16 years or older 74% of looked after children were in foster care placements, 11% were in family placements; 9% were in residential care and 7% were in other placements e.g. hospital 25% of looked after children had been in care for less than a year with 10% in care for more than 10 years 25% (653) were in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; 24% (634) in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust; 19% (512) in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust; 16% (420) in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and 16% (425) in the Western Health and Social Care Trust, and [Children s Social Care Statistics for Northern Ireland 2011/12, DHSSPSNI, Published 26 October 2012] General Trends Some general trends include: The number of looked after children has ranged from over the last 10 years. A small increase (5%) in the number of looked after children in Northern Ireland between 2011and

6 [Delegated Statutory Functions (including Corporate Parenting Report) Statistical Report, Health and Social Care Board, 31 March 2012] Care leavers: Key statistics At 31 March 2012, there were a total of 1268 care leavers [Delegated Statutory Functions (including Corporate Parenting Report) Statistical Report, Health and Social Care Board, 31 March 2012] 666 (53%) care leavers were aged [Delegated Statutory Functions (including Corporate Parenting Report) Statistical Report, Health and Social Care Board, 31 March 2012] 31% of care leavers left care with no qualifications compared with 2% of general school leavers [Northern Ireland Care Leavers Aged Statistical Bulletin 2011/12, Published 8 March 2013] 5% of care leavers were in employment and 62% were in education or training [Northern Ireland Care Leavers Aged Statistical Bulletin 2011/12, DHSSPSNI, Published 8 March 2013] Outcomes for care experienced young people It has generally been recognised that, across a range of measures, long term outcomes for care experienced children and young people are not good. According to the DHSSPSNI, in 2009/10, compared to the general population, young people leaving care are: Approximately 20 times more likely to leave school with no qualifications; Two times more likely to be unemployed; Significantly less likely (58% compared to 90%) to be in education, employment or training Three times more likely to be coping with a disability 6

7 It is important to highlight, however, that figures such as these typically compare children with a care experience to the general population average, rather than children from the same background but who have not experienced care. These poor outcomes are usually associated with being in care rather than taking account of the reasons a child had to be taken into care in the first place. Strategic context UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 2000, children and young people should have a voice and a role in the development of any policies or legislation that directly affects them. Particular emphasis is being given to ensuring that Article 12 under the Convention, which is the child s right to express their views in all matters affecting them and in particular for the child to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting them. Government policy - Care Matters In November 2009, the Northern Ireland Executive publicly endorsed Care Matters in Northern Ireland. This provides a strategic vision for wide-ranging improvements in services to children and young people in and on the edge of care. It is a cross departmental initiative and all other departments involved are expected to bring forward proposals to implement the strategy in full. It is linked to a range of Public Service Agreement (PSA) and Priorities for Action (PFA) targets designed to improve outcomes for young people in the care system. Several initiatives are being taken forward in partnership with other departments and the voluntary sector. 7

8 Care Matters NI identified six main areas for change to improve outcomes for looked after children (LAC) in Northern Ireland: Strengthening support to families and children at risk of being taken into care while ensuring that children are properly protected; Ensuring that children who come into care are in appropriate and stable placements; Ensuring that HSC Trusts have the necessary arrangements in place to act as corporate parents for children in care; Improving educational opportunities for care-experienced young people; Providing children in care with opportunities to enjoy social and developmental activities; and Strengthening support to young people leaving care, as they make the transition to adulthood. The strategy has resulted in a number of key initiatives including; The GEM Scheme, a range of protocols between the DHSSPS and other key agencies e.g. NIHE, Careers Service, family group conferencing and a renewed emphasis on kinship care. Children s Strategy Our Children Our Pledge Care Matters dovetails with the overarching OFMDFM Children s Strategy (2006). This Strategy identifies six outcomes and indicators to help benchmark progress over the next ten years. The outcomes are that children and young people should be: Healthy; Enjoying, learning and achieving; Living in safety and with stability; 8

9 Experience economic and environmental well-being; Contributing positively to community and society; and Living in a society, which respects their rights. Families Matter: Supporting Families in Northern Ireland Families Matter complements the aim of Care Matters Northern Ireland which focuses on providing support for families in crisis. The provision of early intervention and prevention through Families Matter will impact positively on those who might otherwise require higher needs based intervention. Through this strategy and the initiatives addressing higher level needs within Care Matters NI, the full range of effective family support will be provided and it is therefore imperative that in order to achieve better outcomes for families and reduce pressure on acute services, equal priority is given to both strategies when commissioning services and that this is reflected in the allocation of resources Key themes of the strategy: Information for parents and service planners; Access; Supporting families and parents; and Working together for families and communities. May