Exploring the lives of children
in care in Ireland
AOIFE GAVIN
AOIFE.GAVIN@NUIGALWAY.IE
HEALTH PROMOTION RESEARCH CENTRE
www.nuigalway.ie/hbsc
NUI GALWAY
Background
 Historical perspective of children in care in Ireland
(industrial schools, reformatory schools, state and private orphanages)
 Policy and Legislation:
 Child Care Act, 1991
 Children Act, 2001
 Children's First Guidelines (2011)
 National Children's Strategy (2000)
 The Health Act, 2007
Context
 Children in Ireland – 1,056,947 (CSO, 2006)
 Children in care in Ireland - 6,137 (Dec.2011)
 418 residential homes
 5290 foster care
 169 other care placements (i.e. asylum seekers)
 102 detention centres
 158 State funded agencies on basis of disability
(McEvoy & Smith, 2011)
 “Children in care” include children who are in voluntary care
and those who are in care under care orders
 Children in care in Ireland have increased by 27% in the last
decade (McNicholas, et al., 2012)
Why explore their lives?
 2nd goal of National Children’s Strategy

“Children’s lives will be better understood; their lives will benefit from
evaluation, research and information on their needs, rights and the
effectiveness of services”
 Looked after children frequently present with complex health
and educational needs and often face many obstacles in
accessing services (McNicholas, 2012)
 Meltzer (2003) – 45% of CIC had mental health problems and
experienced significant health and educational inequalities
 Limited research in Ireland to date exploring the lived
experience of children in care
Aim
The purpose of this research is to explore the lives of
children living in care in Ireland utilising the Health
Behaviour in School-aged Children (2010) data in
relation to the National Well-being Indicators
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC)
 The study aims to gain new insight into, and increase
our understanding of young people’s health and wellbeing, health behaviours and their social context
 The findings are used to inform and influence
children’s policy and practice and national and
international levels
 The target age groups are 11, 13 and 15 years old
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children
Children’s lives
SES:
Gender
Age
Social
Class
Ethnicity
Contexts:
Family
School
Peers
Risk
behaviours:
Drinking, smoking...
Health
enhancing
behaviours:
Physical activity,
leisure activity...
Health
outcomes:
Well being
Life satisfaction
Self rated health
........
State of the Nations Children Report (SONC, 2010)
 Subset of well-being indicators
 Children’s relationships
 Children’s outcomes
 social, emotional and behavioural outcomes
 Formal and informal supports
Methods
 Data based on the 2010 survey
 Nationally representative sample of
children aged 10-18 (n=16,060)
 Recruited through schools –
questionnaires completed
anonymously in class
 Response rates – schools (67%);
pupil (85%)
Identifying children living in care
Please answer this question for the home where you
live all or most of the time and tick the people who
live there.
The response options were: mother; father;
stepmother; stepfather; grandmother; grandfather; I
live in a foster home or children’s home; I live
somewhere else with someone else
Demographic Profile of the Sample
A total of 129 young people self-identified as living in care (60.8% boys; 39.2% girls).
Number of children in care by NUTS Area
SONC Indicators: Relationships
Indicator
Children in care (%)
SONC (%)
Ease of communication
(mother)
72
79
Ease of communication
(father)
65
62
3 or more friends of same
gender
77
89
Have a pet
83
75
Been bullied
46
24
*n.b.: statistical analysis was not carried out to compare the groups
Social, Emotional and Behavioural Outcomes
Indicator
Children in care (%)
SONC (%)
Participate in making
school rules
48
32
Smoking – every day
23
5
Been drunk (last 30 days)
37
18
Cannabis use (lifetime)
27
11
Happy with way you are
57
53
Happy with life
80
91
Breakfast 5+ days a week
70
78
*n.b.: statistical analysis was not carried out to compare the groups
Formal and Informal Supports
Indicator
Children in care (%)
SONC (%)
Feel safe in local area
75
91
Good place to spend free
time
62
51
* n.b.: statistical analysis was not carried out to compare the groups
Implications
 In general, children in care report experiencing more
negative health and well-being outcomes across most
indicators presented.
 Overall, children in care are among the most
vulnerable in our society and we should continue to
highlight and address ways to improve their health
and well-being.
 Future work required to better understand the lives
of children in care.
#1-8-7
Acknowledgements
 Children, Parents, Schools
 Professor Candace Currie, International Coordinator, St.




Andrews University
Professor Oddrun Samdal, Data Bank Manager, University
of Bergen
HBSC network of researchers
Department of Health
Department of Children and Youth Affairs
Thank you!
www.nuigalway.ie/hbsc
www.hbsc.org