Action for Children · 2024
This report by Action for Children explores the experiences of care-experienced young people and frontline staff in Northern Ireland's children's social care system, focusing on what makes a good home and the barriers to positive outcomes. Five young people and eleven staff took part in focus group discussions, sharing experiences of housing instability, financial hardship, lack of joined-up services, and poor workforce continuity. Key findings include that care leavers face acute housing shortages and a damaging income cliff-edge at age 18, while systemic workforce problems and a lack of trauma-informed practice undermine stability and trust. The report makes nine recommendations to Northern Ireland's decision-makers, covering housing supply, anti-poverty action, workforce reform, and improved transition support for 18–25-year-olds.