VOYPIC's work#
VOYPIC, short for Voice of Young People in Care, says it is the only charity in Northern Ireland dedicated to making sure children and young people in care are heard and their rights respected, and it has been doing so for more than 30 years. Alongside advocacy it runs groups and events for young people to meet, research such as its Our Life in Care reports, the Show Us You Care call to action written by young people in care, and Care Day each February.
Getting a VOYPIC advocate#
An advocate is a qualified person on your side, independent of social services. VOYPIC's advocates support young people in care, care leavers, young people in the Beechcroft CAMHS unit and the Iveagh Centre, and young people new to Northern Ireland through its Together We Thrive programme. They will:
- represent your views, so your opinions and wishes are heard in decisions about you;
- come to meetings and speak for you;
- explain your legal rights clearly so you can make your own choices;
- argue for you, for example to challenge a decision about your care.
To ask for one, or to refer a young person, you complete the short Request Support form on its contact page. You can also email, or contact one of its four offices: Belfast for the Eastern area, Ballymena for the Northern, Derry-Londonderry for the Western and Lurgan for the Southern.
What it explains about care#
The Get Help page walks through being in care: kinship, foster and children's home care, your care plan, and review meetings, which you have the right to attend. The first review is no later than two weeks after you come into care, then three months later, then at least every six months. When you move on, a personal adviser works with your social worker on a pathway plan covering health, education or work, relationships, money, practical skills and where you will live. Its publications page has guides such as Coming into Care and its standards for review meetings.
A new name while you are in care#
VOYPIC publishes nothing on names, but a name is the kind of decision an advocate can help you have a say in. In Northern Ireland the rule is in the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995: while a care order is in force, a child may not be given a new surname unless every person with parental responsibility agrees in writing, the authority caring for the child (in practice a Health and Social Care Trust) among them, or a court gives leave.
Once you are 18, or 16 or 17 with no care order, you can usually decide for yourself. A deed poll made in Northern Ireland works as it does elsewhere in the UK, and if you were born there, the General Register Office for Northern Ireland can also record the change.
- Changing a child's name in Northern Ireland covers the routes and consent for under-18s.
- Changing your name in Northern Ireland compares a deed poll with the GRONI record.
- Changing your name as a care leaver explains the questions to ask your personal adviser.
This page describes what VOYPIC publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. VOYPIC has not reviewed it, and including a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
