Residential care is the best option for a small minority of children in need of alternative care. Standards to regulate the use and provision of residential care are vital to provision of residential care services that protect children from harm, respect their rights, and promote their growth and development.
This extensive (322-page) guidance document builds upon “An Introduction to the Children (NI) Order 1995,” published by the Department of Health and Social Services and the Office of Law Reform. It was designed to explain and reaffirm the requirements and regulations specified in the Children Order. This particular document includes Volume 4 of the guidance, which focuses specifically on standards for the use and provision of residential care.
The Children Order legislation as well as this follow up guidance are fundamentally based on key principles in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the paramouncy of the child's best interests, the priority for family-based care, family support, and parental responsibility, and the importance of child partcipation. Adherence to these principles is addressed throughout the document.
The standards are broken into 16 distinct chapters. Each chapter includes a detailed outline of relevant issues. The chapters are divided as follows:
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General introduction
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Staffing of children's homes
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Organization of children's homes
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Good order and discipline
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Records to be kept by children's homes
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Registration, inspection, monitoring and visiting
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Welfare of children accomodated in establishments
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Child abuse in children's homes
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Placement of children and making care plans
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Review of children's cases
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Contract between children and parents, etc
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Representation and complaints procedures
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Independent visitors
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Aftercare: Advice and assistance
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Secure accomodation
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Refuges for children at risk
©Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
