merrion street

Children & Youth Affairs Minister Frances Fitzgerald today launched Empowering People in Care (EPIC), the new identity of the Irish Association of Young People in Care.  The Minister will also launch the initial findings of a study undertaken into the ‘Outcomes for young people leaving care’.

65 young people who left care were surveyed and the research indicates that:

· 26 of the 65 cited Social Welfare as their main source of income;

· 26 of the 65 surveyed had mental health needs, with counselling identified as the most common type of health service that young people needed but were not receiving;

· 13 of the 65 had experienced homelessness at sometime in the previous nine months;

· 24 of the 65 had inadequate independent living skills particulary in relation to rent and budgeting.

Launching the research findings, Minster Fitzgerald stated:

As the research launched here today highlights, the provision of an appropriate aftercare service is a vital element in seeking to achieve positive outcomes for young people leaving care and I wish to affirm that as Minster for Children and Youth Affairs I am determined to oversee the successful development of a National Aftercare Service.

The importance of having an appropriate aftercare service is reflected in the National Aftercare Policy developed by the HSE. This policy will guide and underpin the current process which is underway to establish a National Aftercare Service which will formalise and standardise the provision of aftercare services nationwide.

Read the full press release here.