Children and Young People’s Services Committees follow local authority (city and county council) boundaries and plan and co-ordinate services for children and young people aged between 0 – 24 years in their geographic area. They are the strategic interagency structure that brings together the main statutory, community and voluntary providers of services for children, young people and families in the county / local authority area. Their role is to enhance interagency co-operation and to realise the five National Outcomes for children and young people, as set out in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, 2014 - 2020.
The central purpose of a Children and Young People’s Services Committee is to ensure effective interagency co-ordination and collaboration to achieve the best outcomes for all children and young people in its area.
Objectives
CYPSC bring together relevant statutory, community and voluntary organisations providing services to children and young people to maximise the reach, coverage and impact of such services through:
- Ensuring that the needs of children and young people are identified and addressed
- Planning and co-ordination of services
- Ensuring effective collaboration and interagency working
- Promoting quality, evidence-informed planning and practice
- Optimising the use of resources
- Promoting best participation practice
Participation of Children and Young People
Consultation with children and young people is an integral part of the development of Children and Young People’s Services Committees and the three-year Children and Young People’s Plans (CYPP) for the county / area that the committees develop. This is manifested through co-operative work with Comhairle na nÓg (local youth councils) and additional activities undertaken by a CYPSC and its members. It is expected that the nature and extent of participation of children and young people in CYPSC will be enhanced, strengthened and will grow, informed by the National Strategy on Children and Young People's Participation in Decision-making (Department of Children and Youth Affairs, 2015).
For more information on the work of CYPSC with children and young people please visit the Children and Young People page.