Making a Complaint

It is your right to make a complaint about any part of the service you are receiving as a young person in care.

You can make a complaint when you are:

•  Not happy with the service you are recieving

•  Not happy about a service that is offered to you

•  A service is not offered to you

•  You are told you cannot have a particular service.

If you are having any other concerns or worries and are not sure if you can make a complaint, talk it over with your social worker, keyworker, foster carer, parents, staff member or an adult you can trust. They can help you to decide what to do next.

It is always worth raising concerns you are having as most complaints are easily resolved.   So, if you have a complaint it is important that you make it.  Remember, no one can help you if they don't know there is a problem. 

There are two forms of complaint

• Informal Complaint
• Formal Complaint

Informal Complaint. 

If you have an informal complaint or grievance it is usually something you can discuss and resolve with your foster carer, staff member or social worker.  Hopefully they will be able to find a solution for you. 

IAYPIC is also here to provide you with information and support and can advise you about how best to proceed in making a complaint.                                        

If the situation is more serious or discussions do not lead to changes you would like to see, you can make a formal complaint.    

Formal Complaint

It is advisable to put formal complaints in writing giving as much detail as you can.  Always keep a copy of the letter you send as a record of your complaint.                    

What to put in the letter:

• Explain what you are complaining about

• What happened                           

• When did this happen?

• Who was involved?

• Who you were dealing with? 

• What outcome would you like to see

• Your contact information (name, address, telephone number and/or email address) so that they can get back to you.

No matter what type of complaint you make you are entitled to a response or answer.

Some services within the Health Service Executive (HSE) may vary in relation long it will take to deal with your complaint.  In general your complaint should be acknowledged within 3-5 working days and the complaint will be investigated within 10 - 30 working days.  If the investigation takes longer than this you should be updated about progress om your complaint. 

THE APPEALS PROCESS

If you or your parents are not happy with the outcome of the complaint you can appeal the decision. This means that if you feel your complaint was not dealt with in a reasonable way you can ask someone else to look into the complaint for you.

ASK THE OMBUDSMAN

If you have followed the steps above and have failed to get an answer from the person or organisation your complaint is against or you have received an answer but are unhappy with the outcome, you can bring your complaint to the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO).

If you bring a complaint to the OCO it will always be treated seriously and confidentially.

When contacting the OCO with a complaint it is important to give them the following information: 

• A short explanation of the complaint 
• The contact details of the organisation you are complaining about
• A description of the steps you have already taken to let them know about your complaint
• Your contact details

Ombudsman for Children                                                              

 Web: www.oco.ie                                                       

Email: oco@oco.ie

Free phone: (1800 20 20 40) 

Ombudsman for Children’s Office,                                                               

Millennium House, 52 – 56

Great Strand Street, Dublin 1.

If you have a complaint regarding any services you have received from IAYPIC you can download a Complaints Form here and return it to us. We take all complaints very seriously.