Ms Marian Quinn:

I completely agree with what has been said about the difficulties with sponsorship. We have had examples of where the referral agencies were not quite sure who was the referral person so the time taken to track that information down and access things delayed the whole process. As well as that, it is about stigmatising families. The fear is that an extra layer or barrier will prevent families from engaging. Families want to and are trying to do their best for children but if they must take the referral route they feel that they have left their children down. That is not a reality but families have that feeling and there is a feeling of being stigmatised. As a result, children do not necessarily get the supports they need. It is not good enough to leave people hanging until they get into crisis and say, yes we will see you again. Alternatively, it could be a family moving out of crisis.

What will happen to the supports that have got them out of crisis? They will be signed off because the situation no longer meets the crisis criteria, thus leaving children on their own again. They, possibly, could go back to into crisis again or be left feeling excluded from their peers and supports in their after-school service or school age childcare service. We need to change our view of what is going on and what children need in terms of that crisis level before we can provide supports.