New resource: Minimum Support Standards for Young Carers and Child Participation
Eurocarers is pleased to share a key output from the OUR VOICES project: Minimum Support Standards for Young Carers and Child Participation.
This publication marks an important milestone of the project and builds on the analytical work carried out under Work Package 2, which mapped existing child participation mechanisms across partner countries and at EU level. Drawing on a Rapid Realist Review of scientific and grey literature, the project examined current practices, gaps, and challenges related to the participation of young carers and other children with specific needs.
The findings confirm that, across Europe, child participation mechanisms remain largely consultative and risk becoming tokenistic, with limited power-sharing and insufficient follow-up. Young carers, in particular, continue to be largely unrecognised in national policies and frameworks. They face multiple barriers to participation, including lack of accessible information, limited formalised procedures, stigma, time constraints linked to their caring role, and weak mechanisms to raise concerns or complaints.
In response to these challenges, the publication sets out minimum support standards to enable meaningful participation of young carers. It outlines the conditions required to ensure safe spaces, a genuine voice, responsive audiences, and real influence in decisions that affect their lives. The standards provide practical guidance for organisations and professionals working in social services, healthcare, education, and youth sectors, and promote a rights-based and inclusive approach grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Eurocarers invites its members and partners to actively use this resource in their work. It can support the development of services, inform advocacy at national and EU level, and contribute to strengthening participation frameworks so that young carers are not only recognised but are able to participate fully and meaningfully.
Strengthening the participation of young carers is essential for building more responsive and effective support systems.
