These Standards are based on the relevant legislation, regulation and guidance and best practice derived from evidence based research and professional experience from Ireland and abroad.

This 15-month project aimed to map the number and characteristics of children under three placed in European institutions for more than three months without a parent as this information was previously unknown.

Provides an overview of social service provision in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and provides information on ways to move resources away from institutional care, and into community-based social services. Contains specific examples from Latvia, Iceland, Sweden, Romania and other transitioning countries.

Contains practical tools and policy guidance for family and child welfare policy makers and practitioners. Relevant topics include gatekeeping, redirecting resources into preventive and family based services, and standards of care.

This publication provides an account of historical processes in Spain and Italy which have led to a transformation of social child protection policies and an abandonment of the most widely-used mechanism of social exclusion, namely institutionalization.

Comprehensive guidance on interviewing children as part of an asylum interview. Contains theory and practice guidance on how to set up an interview and ask questions in a child-friendly manner. Explains how to enable children to recall memories and how to interview children in distress.

A set of standards for ensuring the welfare protection of children in residential special schools. It includes standards and outcomes relating to children’s rights, protection, and care, as well as staffing, organization and management.

A set of standards for ensuring welfare protection at boarding schools. It includes standards and outcomes that outline a school’s welfare policies and procedures, organization and management, welfare support to boarders, staffing, and premises.

A set of standards for ensuring positive welfare, health and education in children’s homes. It includes standards and outcomes on planning for care, quality of care, complaints and protection, care and control, environment, staffing, management and administration, and specialist provision.
 

A set of standards for the delivery of a national fostering service. It includes standards for the management of the service, the delivery of care, reunification with birth families, and working with caregivers.