Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the national audit of child neglect cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15172/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Report into the Roscommon case was published by the HSE on 27th October 2010. Since its publication the HSE has given assurances that practice in assessing and responding to child welfare and protection concerns is being applied to the necessary standard across all regions. The HSE has already stated that it is committed to learning from this and other reports to ensure that services are strengthened to help protect children to the greatest extent possible.

One of the Recommendations from the Inquiry was for a National Audit of Neglect Cases to be completed, commencing with Roscommon. The HSE in order to progress this recommendation had engaged the services of an external consultant to assist the HSE to devise a method of audit that would be applied nationally. The consultant has completed a Review of Practice and Audit of the Management of Cases of Neglect in Roscommon which commenced in September 2010, and has highlighted both strengths and challenges. Positive outcomes included:

· Well established multidisciplinary arrangements and organisational structures which facilitated teamwork and communication

· Initial assessments routinely completed

· An emphasis on direct work with children and young persons and commitment to listening to children and ensuring their voices were heard

The Review found that in a majority of the cases, staff and managers displayed a commitment to early assessment of need and provided a range of supports to assist children and families, resulting in improved parenting capacity and better outcomes for children. The Review concluded that the challenges involved are similar throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom including the need for more authoritative social work, senior managers reviewing and auditing files, national supervision policy implementation and establishing thresholds for legal intervention in cases.

A Review of Progress following Audit was undertaken after three months and again this had many positive outcomes. Achievements included :

· The recommendations of the Inquiry Report and the Review of Practice and Management of Neglect are being implemented via an Interdisciplinary Child Care Steering group.

· A monthly child care meeting chaired by the General Manager considers specific developments within the Child Care Service, including budgetary and resourcing issues, waiting lists and individual cases which require to be notified to senior management.

· Family Support Services have been streamlined to include a single point of entry and is being realigned with new social work boundaries.

The other pilot areas were Waterford and Dublin South East. The process in February 2011 in Waterford and Dublin South East in May 2011. In each area it was determined that a sample 30 cases would be reviewed in each audit. The HSE intends to prepare a composite report of the 3 pilots in order to maximise the learning. The methodology used in these pilot projects has proven to be effective and is now available to managers nation-wide to replicate the process. Furthermore it is currently being adapted for national utilisation alongside additional national auditing strategies including case file reviews and analysis of referrals to social work services.