Care Experiences: Your questions answered

Why the Care Experiences Programme was initiated

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 Programme (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.

When the Care Experiences Programme began

The Care Experiences Programme (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 Programme 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:

• recruiting further members of the DCEDIY-Tusla Programme Team
• formulation of appropriate membership for the governance and advisory structures
• recruitment of members for and establishment of the project’s Steering Committee, the Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the Care Experienced Expert Panel
• background research of similar research and data projects internationally
• establishing project management structures for project initiation and implementation, among other tasks

How long the Programme will run

At present it is estimated that the Care Experiences Programme, including the longitudinal study, will run for 10 to15 years in total.

Who is responsible for running the Programme

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 Programme are available on our Programme Team page.

Agencies involved with the Programme

The Programme 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 Programme – for further information on who is involved, visit our About page.

What the Care Experiences Programme will deliver

The Programme 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 Programme 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 Programme has 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 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.

What the Care Experiences Programme steering committee does

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 Programme and its members act as ambassadors for the Programme within their respective departments or agencies. Steering Committee members provide the Programme 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.

What the Care Experiences Programme Stakeholder Advisory Group does

The Stakeholder Advisory Group, which meets four times per year, includes members from relevant agencies who provide cross-sector expert advice to the Programme team on key decisions relating to the direction of the Programme and act as ambassadors for the Programme in their respective agencies. Each member provides key insight from their relevant sector which has a beneficial and informative impact on Programme goals. For more information visit our About page.

The Care Experienced Expert Panel

The Care Experienced Expert Panel includes 12 care experienced young adults who advise the Programme Team on matters relating to the Programme. The members are a key part of the advisory structure for Programme delivery and impact. Members will advise on a number of Programme 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 Programme team in publicising outputs from the Programme , such as findings from the various research studies. More information is available at our About page.

The Expert Advisory Panel

These panels will be set up throughout the lifetime of the Care Experiences Programme 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 Programme 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.

How to become a member of the Care Experienced Expert Panel

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.

How to take part in one of the research studies

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.

Where to direct general questions about the Programme

You can reach out to the Programme Team for further information on any aspect of the project through our expression of interest form.