This Policy and Practice Short has emerged from an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project funded by the European Union (EU). The project has become known as the PANDA project, an acronym drawn from the words participation and collaboration for action, and its focus is on promoting the participation rights of young children, aged 12 and under in child welfare and child protection.

This study reanalyzes interviews with 20 children in Ireland to explore their perspectives on participation in child protection processes involving their families. Findings show that while children often shared adult concerns, they viewed participation differently—particularly regarding risk, safety, stigma, and the need for ongoing dialogue—highlighting the importance of more child-centred approaches in practice.

An analysis of 14 national foster care policies across six European countries found that while most acknowledge children’s cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds, they provide little concrete guidance on ensuring relational and cultural continuity—particularly for children with migrant backgrounds. The study highlights four policy patterns, including prioritizing adult over peer relationships, emphasizing parental contact over extended family or transnational ties, assuming Western cultural norms, and struggling to balance immediate care needs with maintaining cultural and relational connections.

You’re invited to the upcoming webinar Including support for informal kinship care in policy on 6 November at 13:00 UTC. In this webinar, panelists will explore and demonstrate how kinship care can be included in policy and supported without formalisation.

Concerns have been raised after it emerged that the PSNI has visited children’s homes on more than 5,000 occasions in the past 12 months and made almost 300 arrests.

This case study documents the complex process undertaken by a donor partner in Ireland* to push for the transition of their partner residential care service provider in Ghana. It follows their journey through the early stages of transition and eventually leads to their decision to divest of their funding and partnership.

One year after the publication of a major report into children’s social care services in Northern Ireland, its author has warned more children will end up in care without action. Professor Ray Jones spent 18 months on the review which involved speaking to children in care, social workers and many more to understand the situation in Northern Ireland. He found that a record high of more than 4,000 children were on waiting lists for social care, with many waiting over a year.

This study examines the factors which drive the decision to provide child protection and welfare services in Ireland using social work case files and multivariable analysis.

Reframing the Trauma Lens will be a forum for conversation and discussion on the topic of Trauma Informed Care where we will deliberate on the various perspectives associated with this concept.

This scoping study explores forms of sexual exploitation of children and young people in Ireland, including those whose life experiences make them more vulnerable including being in care, going ‘missing’ or running away from home or a care placement.