Ms Kate Duggan:

When we set about this reform programme, there were a number of things as rationale behind it. The first thing, most importantly, was that children were slipping between the cracks. Children were slipping between services. When I first came to Tusla, I heard so many people say they were getting letters back using the term "does not meet the threshold" and they did not know where to go. We saw an agency where 60% to 65% of referrals were looking for family support and early intervention. They were being assessed and screened from a child protection response perspective. It creates mistrust and stigma when families think they are in a child protection service when what they actually want is a support service. What the reform has been about has been, first, standing up 30 areas in Tusla, for example, recognising areas were too big in terms of geographical patches. Some social work teams were holding all the risk. What we will have now, for the first time ever, is one record for every child. We will have one point of screening in every network, so if a family knock on a Tusla door, they will for the first time be able to ask for a support or a welfare service, if that is what is needed as a public health nurse or as a parent. They will be able to ask for a meitheal, where we can bring in families who need support from the HSE, from Tusla or from wider agencies, or you can look at the mandated person for child protection.

We know over 50% of our cases were closing when they should not have been closing and should have been going to a different service. They will now come in to one point and will be screened. We are standing up 90 early intervention and family support teams. It is important to say that children who need a family support and early intervention referral will be seen by family support workers, social care workers and family support practitioners across the community. Where a child needs a child protection response, they will be seen by a social worker. Social workers working in fostering will still be working in fostering. Social workers who work with children in care will still be working with children in care. Mr. Brophy is our chief social worker. He has been sitting on the implementation programme. We believe this reform is going to make sure children are seen sooner, that they will be screened sooner and that they are assigned to the right response pathway. For the first time ever, when they are diverted or referred on to a service within the community, like Barnardos or one of our funded agencies, we will be looking at the impact of that intervention so children do not fall between the cracks. We recognise children need to get earlier access to services. To support this programme, there has been training, there is the single record and, most importantly, the apprenticeship scheme for social workers, and I was delighted to be present with Senator Rabbitte when we launched that. We are now seeing, for the first time within the agency, an increased supply of social workers and an increase in the retention of social workers in the agency.