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  • Social Care Policy

    All professional aspects on how social care is delivered in Northern Ireland including social work strategy, child protection, NSMC, early authoritative interventions

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    Adult care services

    • Advance Care Planning Seeds Grants Up to £2000 available
    • Reform Blog – ‘Society is changing – care and support needs to change with it’
    • Reform Blog – ‘In partnership: why the voice of Carers is so important'

    Care at home - community care

    • DoH Community Care, Older People & Carers Officer
    • Community care

    Children and Young People Care Services and policies

    • Regional Care and Justice Programme
    • The Early Intervention Transformation Programme
    • Family policy

    Safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk of harm from abuse, exploitation and neglect

    • Domestic and Sexual Violence
    • Regional Child Protection Procedures
    • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups - Disclosure and Barring Service

    Social Care Reform

    The Department of Health is overseeing the reform of Adult and Children’s Social Care in Northern Ireland. An Adult Social Care Collaborative Forum and a Children’s Social Care Services Strategic Reform Programme have been established to lead the reform work. Both the Forum and the Reform Programme report to the HSC Performance and Transformation Executive Board (PTEB) chaired by the Permanent Secretary.

    • Reform of Adult Social Care
    • Reform of Children's Social Care

    Social care statistics

    Social care refers to the wide range of services designed to support people in maintaining their independence, enable them to play a fuller part in society, protect them in vulnerable situations and manage complex relationships.

    • Community audiology
    • Patient education programmes
    • Children's services statistics

    Social services policy and Circulars

    • DoH Office of Social Services Publications
    • Family and Children Policy Directorate - Intercountry Adoption Privacy Notice
    • PSS Development and Training Strategy 2006 - 2016

    Related to Social Care Policy

    Most recent publications

    • Quarterly direct payments statistics March 2025

      Published 14 May 2025
    • Quarterly child protection statistics for Northern Ireland January - March 2025

      Published 13 May 2025
    See all publications in this topic

    Most recent consultations

    • Consultation on Proposals to amend the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care for Children Under Age 12

      Published 24 March 2025 Closes 20 June 2025
    • Consultation on Recommendations of Independent Review of Children's Social Care Services in Northern Ireland

      Published 4 September 2023 Consultation closed
    See all consultations in this topic

    Most recent news items

    • Consultation opens on key childcare issues

      Published 24 March 2025
    • Health Minister publishes 10-year Social Care Workforce Strategy

      Published 12 December 2024
    See all news in this topic

    Access to information

    How to request information from the Department of Health including Freedom of Information, information about yourself and the type of information we commit to publish on a regular basis.

    Find out more about accessing Department of Health information

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