Mr. Pat Bergin:

The focus is on ensuring that the time clinicians have is spent on the delivery of services to young people rather than in travelling. As to the repeat offending piece, part of what we have found more often than not when a young person comes to Oberstown is that the ACTS team is already familiar with that child. The information we can get quickly is very helpful and allows us to look at how we will manage particular behaviours and what services we need to put in place. From that perspective, it is excellent.

The challenge in moving young people back into communities is not only around the ACTS team but around all of the ongoing services. Part of what we identified last year when we looked at the young people coming into the service included existing identified needs whether in education, mental health or substance misuse. The difficulty is ensuring that young people access those services in the community. What are the support mechanisms either through the family or through communities themselves? Part of what the ACTS teams and our team have been doing is looking at how we can effect change with parents. We have Le Cheile and YAP working with families so that when young people return home the families will know the clinician or psychologist is available and will call to the house and can support the young person to engage. It is about changing the model. There is a challenge but it is the connectivity.