EPIC, Empowering People in Care

12/10/2026

On Friday, members of the EPIC team attended the Irish Aftercare Network's national conference, Responding to Change.

The conference brought together professionals working with young people leaving care for a day of learning, discussion and networking, with contributions from speakers across children’s rights, mental health, housing, education and legal services.

A particularly powerful contribution came from Sadie Harpur, author of The Hidden World of a Foster Girl, who shared her lived experience of growing up in foster care and later becoming a respite foster carer herself. Her contribution received two standing ovations from attendees.

EPIC Advocate Edel Weldon, who is a member of the IAN committee, shared reflections from the day with the team, highlighting the value of coming together to learn from one another and reflect on how best to support young people leaving care. She mentioned that attendees reported that they felt 'more hopeful, positive, and motivated' at the end of the conference.

Well done to all involved! 👏

09/10/2026

Yesterday, EPIC Youth Council member Kai joined Róisín and Tara from our Research and Policy team to watch the Joint Committee on Children and Equality meeting 🙌

Members of the Ombudsman for Children's Youth Advisory Panel spoke to the committee about the importance of incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Irish Law 💬

Through our EPIC Youth Council, we see the value children and young people add to policy-making decisions concerning their lives first-hand, so the team were delighted to be in attendance 😊

Children’s voices deserve a seat at the table, and under international law, children have the right to have their views heard on matters that affect them.

08/10/2026

Why Wayne Stanley, CEO of EPIC is supporting

08/10/2026

We're hiring! 💼

EPIC is looking for a Finance Officer to join our team. The successful candidate will support the financial health of the organisation, including financial reporting, payroll, budgeting, governance and compliance.

Location: Dublin📍

To find out more, visit the link in our bio!

02/10/2026

EPIC's Research and Policy Manger Róisín Webb discusses one of EPIC’s key asks for Budget 2027 ⬇️

Increasing special care capacity by allocating funding to fully implement the recommendations of the External Review on Special Care, with immediate funding for additional onward and high-support placements.

Read more on these and explore our other key asks by reading our full Pre-Budget Submission - check linktree on our profile!

To help this campaign, you can share this post and let your local representatives know you support our recommendations 💜

01/10/2026

Work with us! EPIC is seeking a Youth Engagement and Participation Worker to join our team 📣

Location: Donegal 📍

The successful candidate will work to deliver a youth engagement and participation programme with children seeking international protection in Donegal.

EPIC, Empowering People in Care, believes in the value of a diverse workforce and encourages applications from people from all ethnic, cultural, religious, and social backgrounds: in particular, Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic and LGBTQI+ people. We also welcome candidates with care experience.

Learn more: https://www.epiconline.ie/news/yep-worker-donegal/

30/09/2026

EPIC Advocate Peter Lane discusses two of EPIC’s key asks for Budget 2027 ⬇️

1. Strengthen foster care
2. Support for care-experienced youth with disabilities

Read more on these and explore our other key asks by reading our full Pre-Budget Submission - check our linktree on our profile 🔗

To help this campaign, you can share this post and let your local representatives know you support our recommendations 💜

Simon Harris TD, Jack Chambers, Child and Family Agency - Tusla, Children's Rights Alliance, Department of Children, Disability and Equality

30/09/2026

“Vetting is the first line of defence in the protection of children in care. If that basic standard is not met or avoided, that would be a breach of trust that EPIC would believe it is difficult to move past." - Wayne Stanley, CEO

Read more:

“Any organisation that does not rigorously enforce Garda vetting for every adult working with children is failing in its fundamental duty of care," says Terry Dignan, of the Children's Residential and Aftercare Voluntary Association.

29/09/2026

If you've ever had an EPIC Advocate, we'd love to hear from you! 😊

Your feedback will help us to provide the best service we can to care-experienced children and young people.

The form only takes 5 minutes to complete (it depends on how much you want to share!) and the feedback is anonymous.

Visit our linktree (link on our page) to find the form 🔗

28/09/2026

Kai from EPIC’s Youth Council discuss two of EPIC’s Key Asks for Budget 2027 ⬇️

1. Ensure every child in residential care has access to independent advocacy 🗣️
- Allocate €850,000 to ensure every child in and transitioning from residential care has access to an independent advocate.

2. Improve access to mental health and therapeutic supports 🧠
- HSE funding should be provided to create a model of care that ensures access to mental health and therapeutic services for care-experienced young people until at least age 25

Read more on these and explore our other key asks by reading our full Pre-Budget Submission: https://www.epiconline.ie/library/pre-budget-submission-2027/

To help this campaign, you can share this post and let your local representatives know you support our recommendations 💜


Simon Harris TD, Jack Chambers, Child and Family Agency - Tusla, Department of Children, Disability and Equality.