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Department of Children and Youth Affairs DCYA Funding Opportunities

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DCYA is not in a position to operate a National Lottery Scheme in 2015

National Lottery Scheme 2014

A list of organisations funded during 2014

Youth Capital Funding Scheme 2014/2015

The Government has allocated funding to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for a Capital Funding Scheme. Under the scheme staff led youth projects and some youth organisations funded by the Department may apply for grants to undertake small to medium capital projects in 2014 and 2015.

The is open to applications from Department of Children and Youth Affairs funded projects under the Special Projects for Youth Scheme (SPY), Youth Information Centres (YICs), Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund (YPFSF) and Local Drugs Task Force (LDTF) (21 mainstreamed projects). As a once-off exceptional measure the scheme is also open to a number of national youth organisations.

Further details can be found on the Youth Capital Funding Scheme 2014/2015 page of the Departments website.

DCYA Research Scholarship Programme

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) Growing Up in Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship in partnership with the Irish Research Council

The Research and Evaluation Unit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in partnership with the Irish Research Council, invites applications for the DCYA Growing Up in Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship. This scholarship is administered by the Irish Research Council as part of the Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme under their strategic partner themes.

Further information.

Childcare Capital Programme 2013

The Department of Children & Youth Affairs (DCYA) wishes to maintain progress in improving and reinforcing quality of early childhood care and education services provided to children. A range of capital investment programmes have supported this progress to date including the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme; the National Childcare Investment Programme and the Childcare Capital Programme 2012. DCYA has secured €2,750,000 for a Childcare Capital Programme 2013.

Objectives of Childcare Capital Programme 2013:

  • To improve the quality of service to children
  • To provide for critical works that ensure that childcare facilities are ‘fit for purpose’

The 2013 funding scheme covers four strands:

  • small grants to purchase equipment or carry out small maintenance work
  • grants to improve accessibility of services for children with disabilities
  • grants to provide natural outdoor spaces that promote active outdoor play and
  • grants towards critical works to ensure that buildings are fit for purpose under the childcare regulations (open to community/not for profit  services only).

The scheme will be administered by Pobal on behalf of the DCYA and the scheme will be administered online.  Full details of the Programme and instructions are available on the Pobal website.

The applciation process is now closed (as of Tuesday 30th April 2013).

 

Youth Café Capital Funding Programme 2013

Funding of up to €1 million is available from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for fit-out, refurbishment works or building enhancement projects for the startup of new Youth Cafés. One of the core functions of a youth café is that it offers support to young people, ranging from practical support to advice through their participation in activities that are of interest to them and that are varied and on offer at times that suit their normal activities. In awarding funding, the Department will endeavour to ensure that there is a geographical spread of youth cafés from the funding commensurate to existing provision in the area.

“Youth Cafés in Ireland: A Best Practice Guide” which was launched in April 2010 by the Office for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The document contextualises the youth café model in Ireland and is an important towards informing your application. Applicants should also read the toolkit devised on behalf of the DCYA in relation to setting up a youth café.

Pobal is assisting the Department of Children & Youth Affairs in managing the Youth Café Programme 2013.

The Application Guidelines aims to explain the purpose and process of the Youth Café Programme 2013 and to assist applicants in making a valid application under the programme.

The application process is now closed (as of 12th April 2013).

More information on Pobal website

 

Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme

The programme supports disadvantaged parents and provides support for parents in low paid employment and training or education by enabling qualifying parents to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating services
Who can apply?

Programme is restricted to Community/Not-for-profit childcare Services

Application process

Service are eligible to apply through the City/County Childcare Committees initially and approvals are granted by Pobal and Department of Children and Youth Affairs however no new applications are being accepted at this time.

 

Further Details 
Further details can be found here.

 

Childcare Education and Training (CETS) programme

The programme supports parents on certain eligible FÁS and VEC courses by providing subsidised childcare places.

Who can apply?

Both Private and Community Based/not for profit childcare services

Application process

Service are eligible to apply through the City/County Childcare Committees initially and approvals are granted by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The deadline for applications for entry or re-entry to the CETS Programme for the academic year will normally be 30th March of that year.

Further Details 
Further details can be found here.

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme

The ECCE programme is designed to give children access to a free pre-school year of appropriate programme-based activities in the year before they start primary school.

Who can apply?
The programme is available to both private and community based / not for profit pre-school services.

Application process?
Services are eligible to apply through the City/County Childcare Committees around February / March of each year in advance of the September pre-school year.

Application process
The deadline for applications for entry or re-entry to the ECCE Programme for the academic year will normally be 30th March, prior to the commencement of the pre-school year. No new service applications are accepted at this time.

Minister Reilly publishes Adoption Information and Tracing legislation

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27th July 2015
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr. James Reilly has today published the General Scheme and Heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill. The bill was considered at Cabinet last Wednesday and the government has agreed to refer the bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for pre-legislative scrutiny.
The new legislation, which will provide a statutory basis for the provision of information related to adoption, will be both prospective and retrospective. Efforts have been on-going for many years related to the provision of a statutory entitlement to identity information and this new legislation represents a key step forward.
Speaking at the launch Minister Reilly said “Today marks a major breakthrough in dealing with the complex challenge of providing a statutory entitlement to identity information for adopted persons. The Bill will give an adopted person aged 18 years or over, who was adopted prior to commencement of the Bill, a statutory entitlement to the information required to apply for his or her birth certificate, following a request to the Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.
The Minister stated “In drafting the legislation we faced a particular challenge in the attempt to reconcile an adopted person’s request for information about his or her identity with the right to privacy of his or her birth parent.  We recognised that adopted persons are a unique part of this process and the information that they are seeking is about their own identity. A birth certificate is an important piece of identifying information that is shared by an adopted person and his/her birth parents. We are distinguishing it from other identifying information which can be more readily characterised as belonging to one or the other.”
The new proposal includes a contact preference mechanism that will operate alongside a undertaking by adopted persons not to contact his/her birth parents. In addition there will be an offer of guidance and support from Tusla social workers to both adopted persons and birth parents.
There will be an initial period of one year after commencement of the Bill for an awareness campaign, to publicise the provisions of the Bill and to allow birth parents to indicate on the Register if they want “No contact at present” or otherwise, before the adopted person will have a statutory entitlement to their birth certificate under these provisions.

The Minister emphasised
“While this Bill is about providing a right to information it is critical that birth parents’ constitutional right to privacy is protected. I believe that by allowing birth parents an opportunity to specify the extent of contact, if any, in addition to the other safeguards to be put in place will ensure that this important right is protected.”
The Bill also provides for a copy of a birth certificate, an adoption order and other information to be provided to an adopted person whose adoption was effected after the commencement of this Bill, following application by that person.  It provides for the sharing of information about a child who was adopted, between birth parents and adoptive parents, where both parties agree. In addition, it provides for information to be given to an adopted person whose adoption is registered in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions.
The Bill provides that persons who were the subject of “informal adoptions” and “wrongful registrations”, and birth parents of these persons, may avail themselves of information and tracing services and be provided with information, where such information is available.

The Bill provides for the establishment of the Adoption Information Register and for the safeguarding of all adoption records to be operated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

The Minister said “I have been working in cooperation with the Attorney General to develop this scheme. The draft Heads now prepared involve a scheme that will greatly improve access to information, including provision of an adopted person’s birth certificate, with appropriate protections and an appeal mechanism to protect the rights of all parties.  The proposals are the result of an intensive effort to identify a means of dealing with the significant legal and practical challenges that arise.”

Capital Grant Funding for Early Years Services

Minister Reilly announces almost €7 million in Capital Grant Funding for Early Years Services

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Capital Grant Funding for Early Years ServicesMinister James Reilly has today announced that almost €7 million in capital funding has been allocated through the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to 2,415 grantees nationwide.

€5 million of the grant funding was made available specifically for community/not for profit childcare services while the other €2 million was made available to both private and community/not for profit childcare facilities to access grants for quality improvement measures, specifically in the area of upgrading IT facilities.

The grants awarded will provide:

– 10 services with large scale capital funding for relocation or major refurbishment;
– 203 services with grants for medium scale essential maintenance, quality improvement and sustainability works to improve the Building Energy Rating (BER) of facilities; and
– 2,202 services with grants toward the upgrade of ICT equipment.

Minister Reilly stated, “I am delighted that the €7 million secured in funding as part of Budget 2015 is now in the process of being distributed to childcare services, in support of this vital sector. This capital programme represents our commitment as a Government, to the ongoing development of the childcare sector.”

This national programme invited applications from all services contracted to deliver Department of Children and Youth Affairs childcare programmes. All submitted applications were considered in order to find those that most closely and completely met the criteria and objectives of the programme.

Strands 1, 2 & 3 of the programme were oversubscribed and extremely competitive. Applications that were successful were those that represented the most complete, coherent, precise and compelling cases for funding. The investment is being directed, to the best extent possible, to making the greatest impact by addressing the most urgent works and supporting the quality of services making the greatest impact for disadvantaged children and communities.

Minister Reilly commented “I would like to thank all of those who took the time to apply for funding under this programme for the great work they do with our children and young people, and also to thank Pobal for their significant effort in managing the very large volume of applications efficiently and effectively. This programme of works takes place alongside the very significant work currently being undertaken by my Department to deliver on the Early Years Quality Agenda. The quality agenda is receiving priority attention in my Department and provides an overdue recognition of the importance of promoting quality in early years services”

 

List of Funded Organisations

Note:
Applications for grants were invited under four funding strands:

Community Based Services Only:

Strand 1: Large Scale Capital funding Relocation/Major Refurbishment of early years services. Grants in the region of €500,000.

Strand 2: Essential Maintenance of early years services for medium scale works. Grants up to a maximum of €50,000.

Strand 3: Quality Improvement & Sustainability for early years services for medium scale works to improve the Building Energy Rating (BER) of facilities. Grants up to a maximum of €50,000.

Private and Community-based Services:

Strand 4: Quality Improvement. Grants up to a maximum of €500 for the upgrade of ICT equipment.

The programme was implemented by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The application process was managed online.

2,621 applications for funding were received online. The applications were appraised by Pobal to find those that most closely and completely met the criteria and objectives of the programme, with particular consideration given to additional supporting material and the level of deprivation of the areas according to the Pobal Haase index.

2,415 applicants were successful and Pobal will now proceed to agree contracts with the grantees. Pobal will also provide unsuccessful applicants with information to assist them in understanding the reason for the outcome of their application.