Written answers

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Children Services Committees

Photo of Caoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the Health Service Executive children and adolescent mental health service is represented on the children services committees at a local authority level or on the national children's strategy implementation group at a national level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39628/12]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Children’s Services Committees bring together a diverse group of agencies in local county areas to engage in joint planning of services for children. These include representatives from the HSE, local authorities, An Garda Síochána, VECs, National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, Irish Primary Principals Network, NEWB, and other organisations who provide services to children and young people. There are a total of 16 such committees.


The membership of all Children Services Committees (CSCs) includes senior managers from the major statutory providers of services to children and families. The Chairperson of each CSC is either the HSE Local Health Area Manager or the Area Manager for Children and Family Services and it is their function to ensure that the Children’s Services Committees secures better developmental outcomes for children through more effective integration of existing services and interventions at local level. One of these outcomes is that all children should be “healthy, both physically and mentally”.


In addition, members of the National Children’s Strategy Implementation Group (NCSIG) are drawn from a number of Government Departments and agencies. The Department of Health is represented on this group at Assistant Secretary level, and the HSE is represented by the National Director for Children & Family Supports, the Assistant National Director for Children & Families, the National Specialist for Family Support, and by the Chairs of Limerick City and Dublin City CSC.


As you may be aware, I established a Task Force on the Child and Family Support Agency (CFSA) in 2011 and it presented its findings to my Department in July of this year. One of the recommendations of the Task Force is that service delivery model should be focused on improving well-being and outcomes for children based on the five national outcomes which includes, as I mentioned earlier, that all children should be “healthy, both physically and mentally”.


I am satisfied that taking all of these actions into consideration that the delivery of child and family services can be carried out by blending mental health interventions, primary care, public health nursing, youth justice, domestic violence supports, community outreach, child protection and child welfare as well as numerous other functions into one efficient, coherent service. Where CSCs have established priority actions around child & adolescent mental health the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) practitioners are involved in the delivery of those priority areas. The forthcoming Children and Young People's Policy Framework will address the further development of these committees, and the role of the CAMHS will be considered in that context.

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