The Charter of Rights for Children and Young People in Care sets out the rights of children and young people who are under the guardianship of the Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection.
The Charter is based on the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child and is developed with the help of children and young people who have lived in care. Because they know what it is like, they know what is important.
Young people can use the Charter to advocate for themselves and adults can use it to talk with young people about their rights and to advocate for them.
Organisations and agencies who work with children and young people in care must make sure they uphold these rights in the work they do. Anyone formally involved with children in care, such as a social worker or a carer, must consider and ‘seek to implement to the fullest extent possible, the terms of the Charter’ as outlined in the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.
Organisations can apply to formally endorse the Charter through our endorsement process.
