By Lauren Harte

Copyright belfastlive

Children in care are being failed as Northern Ireland’s care system is in crisis. That’s the stark warning from young people with experience of living in care ahead of a Stormont event on Thursday. They are calling for urgent reform including safe homes, stronger mental health support and a single agency to oversee children’s services. Children and young people from across Northern Ireland who have lived in care are urging politicians, professionals and the public to “act now or risk another generation being let down”. Latest figures show that more than 4,000 children are now in care in Northern Ireland, the highest number in recent times. This represents a 21% increase in just four years, and the total continues to rise month by month. The rate of admission of children into care here is now higher than in both Britain and the Republic of Ireland . At an event in Parliament Buildings , VOYPIC (Voice of Young People in Care) will launch Show Us You Care: A Call to Action from Care Experienced Young People, a set of actions shaped by more than 150 young people in care and care leavers. The document sets out 12 urgent priorities, including ending profit in care, ensuring safe and stable homes, protecting sibling relationships, guaranteeing independent advocacy, providing better support for education and mental health, and creating a single children and families agency for Northern Ireland. VOYPIC has been working with children and young people in and leaving care in Northern Ireland for over 30 years. Belfast teen Jay Hyndman, 17 and a VOYPIC Young Leader, is one of those pleading with those in attendance to make impactful changes: “When you come into care, you feel like you have to grow up too fast. Everything happens so quickly, and you don’t really know what’s happening to you. “We need to feel connected to each other, and to have space where we just belong. We need to be able to understand our care experience, to break the stigma of it, and show that it isn’t something to be embarrassed about,” he adds. Rhianna Brown, a 22-year-old also from Belfast and a VOYPIC Young Rep, has lived in care. She says this call to action is about more than problems: “It’s about solutions that will actually make our lives better if people listen and act. If decisions are being made about young people in care, then we should be involved in those decisions. We want support, respect and the chance to thrive.” VOYPIC Chief Executive Alicia Toal has praised the young people’s leadership but warns that services are under severe pressure: “There are more children in care in Northern Ireland now than since the introduction of the Children Order in 1996. The system is stretched to breaking point and too many young people are being let down. This call to action is their blueprint for change. It’s time for all of us, politicians, professionals and communities, to step up.” Guest speaker Professor Ray Jones, who led the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services, reinforces the urgency for change: “Children only have one childhood and the clock is ticking. Northern Ireland’s care system is in deep difficulty, but it is fixable. What’s needed is the political will to act now.” Professor Jones led the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services between February 2022 and June 2023, producing 53 recommendations after speaking with children, young people, families and professionals. His central proposal for a single, region-wide Children and Families Authority has wide support but has not been implemented because it requires a political Executive decision. Some progress has been made, including the recruitment of new social workers, the drafting of fostering standards and improvements to transition support. However, both VOYPIC and Professor Jones warn that overall change has been slow and the system remains in crisis, with a real risk the review’s recommendations could be left to gather dust. Thursday’s launch event will be attended by MLAs from the Education, Justice and Health Committees, who will hear directly from young people about the change they want to see. Key priorities in the call to action include: a single children and families agency to end fragmented, inconsistent services; family time that works for young people, not adults’ schedules; safe, stable homes, with no more hostels for care leavers, an end to profit in care and more foster carers; independent advocacy for every child in care; real mental health support without long waits; practical support for education, work and hobbies and celebrating and challenging stereotypes about care-experienced young people. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter .