Care Experiences: Programme descriptor and definitions

The Care Experiences Programme, is a research and data programme examining the lives of children in care, and adults who were in care as children, has commenced in response to the Ryan Report (2009) recommendation to implement longitudinal research to follow young people leaving care and transitioning to adulthood.

A Working Group, comprising officials from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and Tusla, was established in 2020 to determine the scope of the project and make recommendations to the Minister.

Minister Roderic O’Gorman accepted the recommendations of the Working Group and launched the Programme in January 2022.

The Programme is being led by DCEDIY, in collaboration with Tusla as a key partner, and a number of governance and advisory structures have been established. These include cross-departmental and public body officials, stakeholders and care experienced adults.

The Programme consists of four inter-related projects:

1. Development of the capacity of the Tusla Case Management: Child Protection, Alternative Care (TCM CPAC) system to dynamically track the individual pathways of children in care

2. A cross-sectional study of young people who left care 10 years ago

3. A longitudinal study of children in care over a 10-year period, commencing when they are aged 16 years

4. Bespoke studies about children in care and aftercare to provide timely knowledge about their circumstances

The definition of a care leaver for the purpose of the Care Experiences Programme refers to a young person or adult who has care experience as set out in the child in care definition. This includes young adults who are or were in receipt of after care services, as per the Child Care Act, 1991 and the Child Care (Amendment) Act, 2015. It also includes young adults who did not engage or were not eligible for after care service provision on leaving care at 18 years or younger.

The definition also includes young people who became homeless and were provided accommodation by Tusla under Section 5 of the Child Care Act, 1991, separated children who were not eligible or did not engage in after care services and Ukrainian nationals who were in temporary care.

The Programme will strive to include representation of care leavers across all nine characteristics of the Equality Acts: gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, membership of the Traveller community.

The definition of a child in care for the purpose of the Care Experiences Programme refers to a child who has been received into care under the Child Care Act, 1991.

The sections of the 1991 Act included in this definition relate to children residing in state care and includes:

• a child is who is in care under an interim care order (Section 17) or a care order (Section 18)
• a child who is in voluntary care with the consent of their parents (Section 4)
• a child who was removed from an emergency situation by the Gardai (Section 12) and placed on an emergency care order (Section 13)
• a child who is subject to an interim special care order or special care order (Section 23D)
• a child who is homeless and is provided suitable accommodation by Tusla (Section 5)

These definitions apply to all children regardless of placement type or location.

The Programme will strive for the inclusion of research participants in all care types under the Child Care Act, 1991 and representation across all nine characteristics of the Equality Acts: gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, membership of the Traveller community. It will also include children and young people in care who reside in detention centres within the criminal justice system.

Children residing in private family arrangements and those who are adopted (and have no prior care experience) have not been included as they are not or were not in the care of the State under the Child Care Act, 1991.