Casework
As well as the other things that we do, we have powers that we can use if we need to, to help children and young people. Some examples of these are as follows:
We help the Commissioner keep under review the law and practice relating to the rights and welfare of children and young people.
We also help the Commissioner keep under review how good and how effective services provided for children and young people are.
In certain cases we can assist a child or young person in making a complaint to a public authority that their rights have been infringed or their interests have been adversely affected.
In certain cases we can investigate a complaint by a child or young person against a public authority.
The Casework Team have dealt with over 2,000 individual cases, about hundreds of different issues which affect children and young people. We have been contacted by telephone, letter, e-mail or personal visit to the NICCY offices by young people, parents, carers and people who work with children and young people in many fields.
We provide Help, Advice, Support and Signposting, whatever is best.
For more information or to contact a member of the Legal and Casework team click here.
We have also provided a helpful list of organisations who you may wish to contact, you can view these here.
Feedback
We always try to help resolve a young person's problem or a complaint in a positive and constructive way. Each case is confidential. You can read some of the feedback we have received about our work here.
Questions and Answers
Who can I complain about?
You can complain about:
- A public organisation such as a government department or an organisation that receives its funding from the state (a list of the organisations that we can look into is in the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Northern Ireland) Order 2003)
- You can contact us in writing, by e-mail or by phone. Our office is open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm. We will send you a letter to say we have received your complaint. The team will look at the complaint to see if we can help.
If we can't help we will point you in the direction of another organisation that can help.
Sending your complaints
When you send a written complaint, you need to include as much information as possible including:
- A brief explanation of the complaint;
- Any steps you have already taken about it;
- Your contact details;
- The contact details of the organisation you are complaining about, if possible; and
- Other useful or relevant contact details such as the name of your social worker, principal of the school and so on.
If you know somebody else who needs help?
If you know of somebody who needs help from our Office but would not be comfortable writing their complaint, please talk to a member of the Legal and Casework team and we will arrange a suitable way to communicate with them.
The Legal and Casework cannot deal with a complaint if:
- It is about an organisation other than a public organisation, school or hospital or any organisation not specified in the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
- It does not relate to the rights or best interests of a child or young person up to age 18 or 21 in certain cases
If we cannot help, we will try and point you in the direction of someone who can.