CAYS is dedicated to empowering children, adolescents, youths, their carers, and extended networks by supporting meaningful participation and rehabilitation in the activities of daily living. The CAYS Centres in Malta and Gozo were made possible in part through ESF funding, while the permanent site in Malta will be made possible also through ERDF funding. The CAYS Centres are designed to promote equal access to healthcare and facilitate the transition from institutional to family– and community-based personalized care.

CAYS strengthens the services for children, adolescents and youths with complex physical or mental health challenges, in alignment with the policies from the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission (EC), European Reference Networks (ERNs) and local national strategies. The National Child Policy highlights the importance of providing holistic, high-quality support to children and their families, and to keep abreast with their continuous ever-changing needs.

CAYS provides support for children, adolescents, and young people with a range of complex needs, including chronic physical and intellectual disabilities, mental health conditions, developmental challenges, including concerns related to physical and emotional development, behavioral difficulties, and rare diseases. Conditions regularly seen at CAYS include Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Global Developmental Delay, and other medical, psychiatric, genetic and neurodevelopment disorders.

By integrating the services previously offered by CDAU and CYPS, CAYS now offers a unified, multidisciplinary approach. Our team of healthcare professionals attend to the different needs of children, including intellectual and emotional disabilities, neurodevelopmental conditions, mental health concerns and rare diseases. We believe that through a multidisciplinary and intersectoral approach, we are better equipped to identify and support children with disabilities and their families. More detailed information about the role carried out by the different professionals working within CAYS can be found in the Services section 

CAYS also collaborates closely with several key partners, including the SIT Centre in Marsa, related services offered by other Ministries such as the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, and the Ministry for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector. CAYS also works closely with other ancillary government agencies such as Aġenzija Sapport, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS) and the Office for Children’s Rights.