by EPIC Admin | Jun 14, 2020 | Advocacy
EPIC’s Phased Return to Work – Road Map to Recovery We hope that this finds you and your family well. Through our work we know that this has been a very worrying and uncertain time for children, young people, their families, carers and those supporting them. In response to the Covid-19 crisis many services were adversely affected and face to face support was replaced with online support, which over the next number of weeks will be gradually phased out and normal operations will return. In line with our return to normal operations and government guidelines, we would like to keep you informed on how our service will continue to respond to the needs of children and young people in care and with care experience in the coming months. On this page you’ll find our ‘Road Map to Recovery’ and accompanying information that highlights the stages of our return to work and how this support will be provided. Due to the nature of participation and group dynamics, our National Youth Council will continue remotely during this time. EPIC has also set up a dedicated phone helpline which was launched on the of March 31st. The helpline is specifically for children and young people in care and with care experience to provide them with direct access to an Advocacy Officer to support them with any queries or concerns that may arise for them during this time. The line will be open 2 days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-4 pm, please call 01 9631272 Road Map to Recovery 12.06.20 View EPIC's Road Map to Recovery...
by EPIC Admin | Mar 31, 2020 | Advocacy, Living in Care
New Advocacy Phone Support Service In response to our current circumstances we are pleased to announce the launch of our dedicated Advocacy Phone Support Service, for Children in Care and Care Leavers on 01-9631272 The line will be open 2 days a week on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 2-4 pm, from Tuesday 31st of March. This service is being offered to provide those in care and with care experience direct access to an Advocacy Officer to support them with any queries or concerns that may arise for them during this time. We are mindful that calls to landlines may be expensive for children and care leavers. If you can’t call us directly, you can send us a private message on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or text us on 087-9036598 and request a call back from an Advocacy Officer. Important: NEVER leave your phone number, name or address in a public post on social media. Use a private message only. Please note that call-backs will only be made between 2-4pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 01-9631272 Open Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2pm-4pm. Can’t call us? We’ll call you! You can text us to request a call back on 087-9036598...
by EPIC Admin | Nov 21, 2019 | Advocacy, Press Releases, Publications, Research Reports
This report gives an overview of the EPIC Advocacy cases in 2018. This report gives an overview of the EPIC Advocacy cases in 2018. It presents a profile of the young people who sought advocacy support, identifies the main presenting issues and key actions taken by EPIC to address their concerns. The aim of EPIC’s advocacy work is to empower children in care and young people with care experience to have a say in issues that affect their lives. The nature of EPIC’s role can vary from providing basic information, for example, in relation to social welfare entitlements, to providing practical support, such as assisting a young person to find an educational course or accommodation. At the highest level of engagement, one of the EPIC Advocacy team may be asked by a young person to represent their views on their behalf, for example, by attending a care or aftercare review meeting. This is the tenth annual report on EPIC Advocacy cases, the first of which was in 2009. The number of Advocacy cases has increased substantially over these ten years – from 61 in 2009 to 653 in 2018. During the year 2018, there were eight Advocacy Officers in EPIC, two in each of the main regions: Dublin North East; Dublin Mid Leinster; South; and West. Therefore, on average, each EPIC Advocacy Officer dealt with 82 cases throughout the year, which has increased from an average of 73 cases in the previous year 2017, when there was a total of 589 EPIC Advocacy cases. In 2018, there were 395 Referrals to the EPIC National Advocacy Service. This number had...
by EPIC Communications | Jul 23, 2019 | 20th Anniversary, About Care, About EPIC, Advocacy, Blog-events-announcements, General, Policy, Press Releases, Statements, Youth Engagement
It’s our 20th Anniversary and we are celebrating 20 years of being EPIC by posting articles every month about EPIC. This month is an about EPIC’s Advocacy Service EPIC’s Advocacy Service Did you know that there are currently just under 6,000 Children and Young People in the care of Tusla? These Children and Young People live in a variety of different settings, most live in Foster care, while the remaining live in residential services including Special Care, Detention and Aftercare. EPIC offers advocacy support to all Children and Young people in the care of Tusla and to Young Adults in aftercare and post leaving care. In 2018, EPIC dealt with 653 advocacy cases. What does Advocacy mean? Advocacy means informing Children and Young People about their rights, empowering Children and Young People to have a voice and to speak up for themselves, to be part of decisions made about them, and to have access to an independent voice - an Advocate - who will speak on their behalf. Why is Advocacy such an important part of the work that EPIC does? Well, there are a number of reasons. Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that Children and Young People need to be: ‘Listened to and taken seriously’ In 2006 EPIC asked Children and Young People what is was that they most needed from the organisation and they told us that they wanted a service that was there for them and that ensured their voices where heard. In 2009, the Ryan Report recommended that all Children and Young People in...
by EPIC Admin | Oct 10, 2018 | Advocacy, Publications, Research Reports
This report gives an overview of EPIC Advocacy cases in 2017. It presents a profile of the young people who sought advocacy support, identifies the main presenting issues and key actions taken by EPIC to address their concerns. The aim of EPIC’s advocacy work is to empower children in care and young people with care experience to have a say in issues that affect their lives. The nature of EPIC’s role can vary from providing basic information, for example, in relation to social welfare entitlements, to providing practical support, such as assisting a young person to find an education course or appropriate accommodation. At the highest level of engagement, one of the EPIC Advocacy team may be asked by a young person to represent their views on their behalf, for example, by attending a care or aftercare review meeting. This is the ninth annual report on EPIC Advocacy cases, the first of which was in 2009. The number of Advocacy cases has increased substantially over these eight years – from 61 in 2009 to 589 in 2017. During the year 2017, there were eight Advocacy Officers in EPIC, two in each of the main regions: Dublin North East; Dublin Mid Leinster; South; and West. Therefore, on average, each EPIC Advocacy Officer dealt with 73 cases throughout the year, which has increased from an average of 63 cases in the previous year 2016, when there was a total of 500 EPIC Advocacy cases. In 2017, there were 434 Referrals to the EPIC National Advocacy Service. Compared to the previous year 2016, when there were 370 Referrals, this has increased by...
by EPIC Admin | Jul 7, 2015 | Advocacy, Research Reports
Full Report> Report on EPIC Advocacy Cases 2013 (PDF) This report gives an overview of the EPIC Advocacy cases in 2013. It presents a profile of the young people who sought advocacy support, identifies the main presenting issues and key actions taken by EPIC to address their concerns. The aim of EPIC’s advocacy work is to empower children in care and young people with care experience to have a say in issues that significantly affect their lives. The nature of EPIC’s role can vary from providing basic information, for example, in relation to social welfare entitlements, to providing practical support, such as assisting a young person to find an education course or appropriate accommodation. At the highest level of engagement, one of the EPIC Advocacy team may be asked by a young person to represent their views on their behalf, for example, by attending a care or aftercare review meeting. This is the fifth annual report on EPIC Advocacy cases, the first of which was in 2009. The number of Advocacy cases has increased substantially over these five years – from 61 in 2009 to 241 in 2013. In October 2012, EPIC employed five additional staff members including a National Advocacy Service Manager and four Advocacy Officers (two for the Dublin Mid-Leinster region and two for the Southern region). This has increased EPIC’s capacity to take on new Advocacy cases, which has certainly contributed to the rise of Advocacy cases. Nevertheless, there has been a real increase in the number of referrals being made to EPIC and an ever increasing demand for advocacy support. The data presented in this report...
by EPIC Admin | Jul 10, 2012 | Advocacy, Publications, Research Reports
Full Report> Report on EPIC Advocacy Cases 2012 This report presents detailed information on the characteristics of young people who engaged with EPIC’s Advocacy Service in 2012. 2012 has witnessed a levelling-off of advocacy cases where there were 123 advocacy cases on a par to 2011. However, as identified in this report, the duration of advocacy cases has increased for example, 22% of advocacy cases lasted for over six months in 2012 compared to just 9% in 2011. In late October 2012, EPIC employed 5 additional staff members including: 1 National Advocacy Service Manager, 2 new Advocacy Officers for the HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster region and 2 new Advocacy Officers for the HSE South region. During this period (late October-December 2012), there were 29 referrals recorded. The aim of EPIC’s advocacy work is to empower children and care leavers to have a say and be heard in issues that significantly affect their lives. The nature of the Advocacy role can comprise varying levels of involvement by EPIC. At the most basic level, it may involve finding out information requested by the young person, for example, in relation to welfare rights, housing rights or regarding aftercare options available. A young person may also contact EPIC looking for practical or emotional support, for example, a young adult may need assistance in finding suitable accommodation. At the highest level of engagement, one of the EPIC Advocacy team may be required to advocate, or represent the young person’s views with them or on their behalf, for example, by attending a care/ aftercare review meeting or a court hearing. The data in this report focuses on...
