Publication
Care Experiences: Your questions answered
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, commonly called the Ryan Report, was published in 2009. The report investigated the extent and effects of the abuse of children in state care from 1936 onwards. Action 65 of the Ryan Report Implementation Plan called for a longitudinal study to follow young people leaving care over a 10-year period to understand the experiences and challenges of transitioning out of care into adulthood.
Since then, the DCEDIY gave consideration to how best to implement this recommendation, which included commissioning research to inform deliberations. In 2020, officials from Tusla and the DCEDIY formed a working group to determine the best way to answer this recommendation. This group then reported their proposed approach to Minister O’Gorman. The Minister then officially launched the Care Experiences project (then named 'A research and data project examining the lives of children in care and those who were in care as children') in January 2022.
The Care Experiences project (then named 'A Research and Data Project examining the lives of children in care and those who were in care as children') was officially launched in January 2022 by Minister Roderic O’Gorman.
The original DCEDIY Project Team was formed in March 2022, when work commenced on establishing project structures, methods for implementation and the facilitation of inter-departmental and multi-agency collaboration. Some of these tasks included:
At present it is estimated that the Care Experiences project, including the longitudinal study, will run for 10 to15 years in total.
The Care Experiences project is run by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and is operated in collaboration with Tusla - Child and Family Agency. Details on the team currently leading the project are available on our Project Team page.
The project is delivered by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) with collaboration from Tusla. Other government departments and agencies are involved through the various governance structures attached to the project – for further information on who is involved, visit our About page.
The project aims to generate new knowledge on the lives of children in care, young people in aftercare, and adults who were in care as children through a combination of primary research and also through the use of strengthened administrative data collection and analysis. The aim of the Care Experiences project is to examine the factors which support or undermine the wellbeing of these children and young people, in order to inform effective and responsive policy-making and service development.
The project has four inter-related elements:
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 study on a representative cohort of young people who left care 10 to 12 years ago on their long-term experiences and outcomes, the factors associated and the lessons arising
3. A longitudinal study over a 10 to 15 year period of young people leaving care. Recruitment into the study will begin when the young person turns 16 years old, when aftercare planning commences
4. Bespoke cross-sectional mixed methods research about children in the care system and care experienced adults
For more information, visit our Publications and media section.
The Steering Committee, which meets at least four times a year, includes a number of key officials from the relevant government departments and also two members from the Central Statistics Office, the HSE and Tusla. The committee is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of the project and its members act as ambassadors for the project within their respective departments or agencies. Steering Committee members provide the Project Team with high-level advice and knowledge for the successful delivery of project outputs. Members rotate, as required, every two years. More information is available on our About page.
The Stakeholder Advisory Group, which meets four times per year, includes members from relevant agencies who provide cross-sector expert advice to the project team on key decisions relating to the direction of the project and act as ambassadors for the project in their respective agencies. Each member provides key insight from their relevant sector which has a beneficial and informative impact on project goals. For more information visit our About page.
The Care Experienced Expert Panel includes 12 care experienced young adults who advise the Project Team on matters relating to the project. The members are a key part of the advisory structure for project delivery and impact. Members will advise on a number of project components, including the relevance of specific project studies to the lived experience of being in care, and transitioning from care into independent adulthood. Panel members will also advise and assist the project team in publicising outputs from the project, such as findings from the various research studies. More information is available at our About page.
These panels will be set up throughout the lifetime of the Care Experiences project as the need arises for specific expertise on a particular matter or challenge. Members of this panel will be subject matter experts and recruited to advise or assist the Project Team in delivery of a time specific project requirement. Frequency of meetings and membership will therefore change based on the needs of the project. For more information visit our About page.
Membership of the Care Experienced Expert Panel is renewed every two years, and a new panel will be formed in autumn 2025. In the meantime, if you would like further details on CEEP membership you can fill out the expression of interest form.
At present the research studies are still in the planning stage. Once the research team are ready to recruit participants we will publish the necessary information to this website. In the meantime if you wish to be added to a mailing list for updates on research participation, please fill out the expression of interest form.
You can reach out to the Project Team for further information on any aspect of the project through our expression of interest form.