http://hdl.handle.net/10147/136334 Tue, 21 May 2013 18:05:36 GMT 2013-05-21T18:05:36Z http://www.lenus.ie:80/hse/retrieve/296720/DCYA.gif http://hdl.handle.net/10147/136334 http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252417 Title: Overview of inventory of data sources on children’s lives Authors: Brooks, Anne-Marie; Geraghty, Ruth; Fitzgerald, Sarah; Roche, Gillian Description: This Overview sets out the context in which the inventory of data sources was initially compiled, its role in the development of the National Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives, 2011-2016 (DCYA, 2011a), some analyses undertaken on the inventory to date and an overview of the structure and format of the online meta-data summaries. The summaries themselves are available electronically only, but a print-ready format can be generated from the online resource. Due to the likely need for frequent updates and revisions, hard copies of the summaries were not produced. Context The initial impetus for the development of an inventory of data sources arose during the development of the National Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives, 2011-2016 (DCYA, 2011a). This strategy originated in cross-Government initiatives towards more strategic approaches to data and statistics, led by the National Statistics Board (NSB, 2003a and 2003b). However, the approach taken went further – in focusing on research as well as on data, and by taking account of information and knowledge concerning children’s lives on a ‘whole of Government’ basis. The development process for the strategy was aligned as closely as possible with the Best Practice Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of formal Data/Statistics Strategies in Government Departments set out by the NSB (2004). In relation to data sources to meet policy information needs, these guidelines state that: Departments should identify the data holdings available internally (including agencies and other bodies acting on behalf of the Department) that could contribute to meeting the Department’s policy data needs. [Guideline 5] Departments should identify the external data holdings that could contribute to meeting the Department’s unmet policy data needs. [Guideline 6] Therefore, an inventory of both internal and external data sources was an essential component of the evidence base for the National Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives. The original inventory was compiled in 2008 and was drawn from both administrative and survey-based datasets that were identified as relevant to the lives of children in Ireland. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252417 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252395 Title: Report of the task force on the Child and Family support Agency Authors: Department of Children and Youth Affairs Description: Numerous investigation reports have documented how fragmented services have failed to meet the needs of children. It is crucial that certain services for children are now realigned from across a number of agencies into a single comprehensive, integrated and accountable agency for children and families, the Child and Family Support Agency (CFSA). The Task Force’s vision for the Child and Family Support Agency is that it will, under the direction of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, provide leadership to relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies, to ensure that the conditions needed for children’s well being and development are fulfilled. The Task Force’s ‘vision for a quality Irish childhood’ is relevant to and intended to encompass all organisations, agencies and sectors that provide services to children, young people and their families. Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252395 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252234 Title: Life as a child and young person in Ireland - report of a national consultation Authors: Coyne, Imelda; Dempsey, Orla; Comiskey, Catherine; O'Donnell, Anne Description: This report, Life as a Child and Young Person in Ireland: Report of a National Consultation, documents the views of 66,705 children and young people. This national consultation was conducted to inform development of the Children and Young People’s Policy Framework by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which will set out the key policy objectives for the next five years. During 2010, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) (formerly the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, OMCYA) developed the concept and methodology for a children and young people’s consultation. It was agreed that children and young people in every school and Youthreach centre in the country would be invited to complete short questionnaires containing three open questions. The questions for the primary school children were devised at a consultation with 7-12 year-olds conducted by the OMCYA in November 2010. The three questions devised by children for the primary school children were: 1. What’s the best thing about being a child in Ireland? 2. What’s the worst thing about being a child in Ireland? 3. What one thing would you change in Ireland for children to be happy? Questions for young people were formulated by the OMCYA’s Children and Young People’s Forum (CYPF) in 2010. The CYPF consists of 35 young people, aged 12-18, from all parts of the country. They are nominated to the CYPF through Comhairle na nÓg and organisations representing seldom-heard children/young people. The three questions for second-level young people were: 1. What do you think is good about being a young person living in Ireland? 2. What do you dislike about being a young person in Ireland? 3. If you were leader of the country, what one thing would you change for young people? An Oversight Committee was established in November 2010 to work in partnership with the DCYA on developing and implementing the consultation process. This committee was comprised of representatives from the DCYA, the Department of Education and Skills, the two national associations of school principals, second-level teachers, primary school teachers, national parent associations, the student council co-ordinator (second-level), children and young people from the DCYA Children and Young People’s Forum, and other key stakeholders. These stakeholders played a critical role in advising on the most effective way to conduct the consultation process. It was decided that the consultation process would be managed by experts in seeking the views of children and young people, and conducting analysis of such findings. Accordingly, in January 2011, a consultation team, led by Professor Imelda Coyne and Professor Catherine Comiskey from the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College Dublin, was contracted to manage and run the national consultation in cooperation with the DCYA. The consultation was underpinned by Article 12 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (UN, 1989), which entails respecting children’s views and using child-centred research methods. In keeping with the spirit of the UNCRC, the DCYA decided that the consultation should provide an opportunity for the maximum number of children and young people in the country to express their views. This was achieved by targeting all children and young people enrolled in the Irish education system. This is the second time that a consultation has been conducted to inform a National Children’s Strategy or Policy Framework in Ireland. The first public consultation was carried out in 1999 to inform Our Children – Their Lives: National Children’s Strategy 2000-2010, during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ era in Ireland – an age of economic boom, prosperity, high employment and infinite opportunity. In contrast, the present consultation took place in 2011 and was conducted in an age of austerity, rising unemployment and emigration, and increased uncertainty as to what the future holds for many families. Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/252234 2012-11-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10147/248973 Title: How we see it - report of a survey on young people's body image Authors: O'Connell, Angela; Martin, Shirley; Department of Children and Youth Affairs; Comhairle na nÓg; Dáil na nÓg Description: The Dáil na nÓg How we see it: Survey on Young People’s Body Image marks an important milestone in researching one of the key concerns of young people in Ireland. This innovative, peer-led research project set out to gather information about the sorts of things that affect young people’s body image in Ireland today. The research was conceived and designed, and the questionnaire administered by young people from the Dáil na nÓg Council, with the support of the Citizen Participation Unit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) and a research team from University College Cork. The importance of body image in influencing mental health among teenagers emerged as one of the key recommendations from Dáil na nÓg 2010. In following up on this recommendation, the young people from the Dáil na nÓg Council examined the State of the Nation’s Children: Ireland 2010 report and discovered that there is no publicly reported national data on teenagers’ body image. They decided to develop a survey to ask young people how they perceived their body image. After receiving training in research methods and ethics, the members of the Dáil na nÓg Council administered the Body Image Survey to more than 2,000 young people from all around Ireland at the 2011 Comhairle na nÓg Annual General Meetings (AGMs). In total, 2,156 young people, aged 10-21 years, completed the survey. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10147/248973 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z