Children’s Rights Impact Assessment
The Commissioner’s office has developed a model for carrying out a children’s rights impact assessment.
The model contains information about:
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what children’s rights impact assessments are
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why children’s rights impact assessments are needed
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how children’s rights impact assessments should be carried out.
A set of template forms for carrying out assessments is included in the model.
Our model’s purpose
Children’s rights impact assessments look at decisions, policies or legislation. Assessments can:
- help see what effects a decision, policy or piece of legislation has on children and young people
- discover the impact of effects on children and young people
- monitor effects on children and young people
- allow damaging effects on children and young people to be avoided.
One of our goals in developing our model has been to embed children’s rights in decision and policy making. With this in mind, we encourage decision and policy makers to carry out their own children’s rights impact assessments. Our model is flexible, and can be adapted to suit your needs.
Types of Assessment
Our model includes two types of assessment, each of which has its own form.
Children's rights impact assessment screening form (DOCX)
Children's rights impact assessment form (DOCX)
Developing our model
We are currently using our model in a number of ways. We do initial screenings and where required a full impact assessment for proposed policies and legislation on children and young people’s rights.
In some cases, initial screenings have been used to inform the Commissioner’s response to a consultation. In others, solid recommendations have been put forward to avoid or mitigate a negative impact. We have also been using the model to help inform our response to some external enquiries.
Download our full report or the impact assessment forms.