Results 4,941-4,960 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Area Based Childhood Programme (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative consisting of committed funding for an area-based approach to reducing inter-generational child poverty by improving outcomes for children, young people and families in 13 areas of disadvantage. It was designed as a time-bound and co-funded arrangement between the Department of Children and Youth...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The School Completion Programme transferred to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency on the establishment of that Agency in 2014 and each School Completion Programme project is required at a minimum to employ a Coordinator to manage the day to day provision of the projects. Beyond this the staff composition of each project has to date been determined by the Local Management Committee. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The School Completion Programme operates under the Administrative, Financial and Employment Guidelines (Revised Edition) issued by the Department of Education and Science in 2006. The guidelines can be viewed at the below web address. www.tusla.ie/uploads/content/admin_financial_and_employment_ guidelines.pdf. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, co-ordinate the School Completion Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The information sought by the Deputy has been requested from the Child and Family Agency and I will respond directly to the Deputy when the information is received.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The information sought by the Deputy has been requested from the Child and Family Agency and I will respond directly to the Deputy when the information is received.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: As I outlined to the Deputy in my previous response, Tusla does not collect information in respect of the numbers of women and children who use funded domestic violence refuges and step down accommodation on a month by month basis. Tusla data indicates that in 2015, 1,736 women and 2,621 children were forced to leave their homes as a result of domestic violence and were accommodated in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 664 and 673 together. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has responsibility for implementing the Adoption Act 2010, including Ireland's responsibilities under the Hague Convention in relation to inter-country adoption. Haiti ratified the Hague Convention on 1 April 2014. In May 2014 the Adoption Authority of Ireland accredited Helping Hands Adoption Mediation...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Data (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla have confirmed that the there were 119 services registered as child minders at the end of Quarter One 2017. Only child minders caring for 4 or more unrelated children in the child minder's home are eligible to register with Tusla. The City and County Childcare Committees (CCC) provided Pobal with annual figures of child minders who voluntarily notified them of their service. Pobal...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Since early 2015, my Department has supported intensive engagement with Pobal and Longford County Childcare Committee to maintain childcare provision in the service in question. Unfortunately, following an EGM of the board in March 2016, my Department was informed of the intention to proceed with an orderly wind-down of the service. Following this closure I delegated Pobal, as agents of my...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I understand the question raised by the Deputy relates to the report on the Operational Review. This review was commissioned by the Oberstown Board of Management. A copy of the report has been forwarded to my Department and is under consideration. I am working with the Chairman of the Board with regard to the publication of the report.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The registration of Special Care Units is governed by Regulations made under the Health Act 2007. A series of technical amendments to this Act were required on foot of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and were made in the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015. These provided for the commencement of the relevant provisions which govern the registration of special care. The Child Care...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services Provision (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The provision of services to children being allocated a social worker, and in particular addressing the number of children who remain without an allocated social worker, is a high priority for me. I secured additional funding for this purpose in 2017. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is now in the second year of a 3-year plan to ensure the allocation of a social worker to all children...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: An historical/retrospective allegation is where an adult discloses abuse experienced in childhood. The overwhelming majority of historical/retrospective disclosures are about sexual abuse. I can inform the Deputy that Tusla has advised that, at the end of February 2017, there were 1,985 historical/retrospective cases on hand, of which 1,144 were allocated to a social worker, and 841...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency introduced its feedback and complaint policy, Tell Us: You Say, We Listen on September 5th, 2016. All complaints received by Tusla, from this date, are managed under the Tell Us policy. Tusla has advised that its staff have been informed on the points of difference between Tell Us and the previous policy, Your Service Your Say, which was developed by the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) initiated a Governance Review of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency in 2016. HIQA has advised me that the Governance Review is still ongoing and hence the findings have not yet been finalised. As the review is still in process, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the matter at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (9 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs established the National Collaborative Forum for the Early Years Care and Education Sector (The Early Years Forum) to allow issues of relevance to be discussed with key stakeholders. The Forum has enabled consultation and engagement between the Minister, key Department of Children and Youth Affairs officials, and key representatives of the sector....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services Funding (4 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. Ireland signed the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)on 5th November 2015. Tusla is working collaboratively with service provider organisations, statutory...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (4 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which is a new programme of supports to enable children with a disability to access and fully participate in the free pre-school programme, was introduced in June 2016 and is administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department. AIM supports children with disabilities to attend mainstream pre-school where they can learn and socialise with their peers. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Absenteeism (4 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Educational Welfare Service of Tusla has advised that it does not hold the school attendance data in a format which enables Tusla to readily provide information for electoral divisions thus providing the level of detail requested for the years 2010 to 2016. Furthermore Tusla advises it would be exceedingly time-consuming to provide the information required as it would involve a manual...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Costs (4 May 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The take-up of childcare subsidies depends not just on eligibility, but on parental demand for childcare, and on the availability of childcare places in local childcare facilities that are taking part in the relevant subsidy scheme. Differences between the expected take-up of CCS and TEC subsidies this September and the expected initial take-up in the first year of the Affordable...