This paper focusses on the role of the Northern Ireland (NI) Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) as an Independent Children’s Rights Institution and as an Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Department of Communities (the Department).
It outlines some of the tensions between these two statuses, and the steps NICCY has taken over recent years to ensure effectiveness and value for money in times of budgetary constraint. Finally, we provide a brief overview of our work, focussing on two areas that relate to the work of the Department and the Committee, on homelessness and child poverty.