Written answers

Thursday, 25 October 2012

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Child Abuse

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she expects to augment the facilities for the reporting of child abuse and follow up procedures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47103/12]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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National policy in relation to the reporting and subsequent handling of child protection concerns is set out in the Children First National Guidance. Work is ongoing in my Department to put the relevant elements of Children First on a statutory footing. The Deputy will be aware that Children First has operated on the basis of voluntary compliance since it was first published by the then Department of Health and Children in 1999. Significant resources have been put in place to support the implementation of Children First and in the case of the HSE and An Garda Síochána, Children First has formed an integral part of their existing operations and practices. The HSE has provided training, information and advice on the implementation of Children First throughout the HSE, voluntary and community sector.

Under Children First, organisations are required to appoint a Designated Officer. The Designated Officer has responsibility that staff and volunteers are vetted, recruited properly and are trained in safe practices with children and in recognising signs of abuse and neglect. The Designated Officer makes information available to parents about child protection in the organisation and will have a system in place to check and report on its compliance with the legislation. In the legislation, it is proposed that the Designated Officer along with certain named professionals will have statutory responsibility to report information about abuse to the HSE. The obligation to report abuse extends to abuse and neglect wherever it occurs, that comes to the attention of the Designated Officer in the course of his / her work or volunteer activities.

To assist Designated Officers and certain named professionals make a determination as to whether to report abuse, a ‘Guidance for Reporting of Abuse’ is to be developed by my Department. This Guidance will deal with issues such as definitions, thresholds and appropriate routes for the reporting of abuse. The Guidance will assist designated officers and professionals named in the legislation, in their considering a number of factors to see if the concern reaches the threshold of a report under the legislation. This approach is intended to ensure that only those cases which require an assessment by the HSE are brought to its attention. In the context of the establishment of the new Child and Family Support Agency, a Regulatory Impact Analysis will accompany the preparation of relevant legislation and the allocation of resources will be considered.

Further, the use of different systems of child abuse management, a legacy issue from the previous Health Boards, is being addressed in the context of the Reform Programme in the HSE with a single, national, service delivery model in development, and through the introduction of a National Child Care Information System (NCCIS). The NCCIS will be the central system supporting Social Work services. As a social work case management system, it will be used to record and store the case history of every child and other clients of the service. Management information will be derived automatically from the case management system. In this regard, a national standardised business process has been implemented in each Integrated Service Area to ensure that data and systems are unified. The introduction of the NCCIS is a high priority and will help in the management of social work case management and will significantly improve the level, quality and accessibility of information in respect of Children and Family Services.

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will indicate the extent if known to which child abuse, wilful neglect or serious deprivation is currently adequately followed up by the services; if she anticipates major improvement in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47104/12]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The HSE compiles monthly performance reports which provide an overall analysis of key performance data from finance, HR, hospital and primary and community services. In the area of children and family services this suite of indicators has recently been expanded to include new indicators aimed at capturing the responsiveness of services to referrals of concerns. These indicators include details of the number of referrals to child welfare and protection teams in the reporting period, the number of such referrals where a preliminary assessment took place within 24 hours, the number leading to initial assessments and the number of such assessments completed within 21 days.

These new performance indicators are being introduced in the context of the ongoing standardisation of business processes in the Children and Family Services of the HSE, the Reform Programme in the HSE with a single, national, service delivery model in development, and the introduction of a National Child Care Information System (NCCIS). The NCCIS will be the central system supporting Social Work services. As a social work case management system, it will be used to record and store the case history of every child and other clients of the service. Management information will be derived automatically from the case management system. In this regard, a national standardised business process has been implemented in each Integrated Service Area to ensure that data and systems are unified. The introduction of the NCCIS is a high priority and will help in the management of social work case management and will significantly improve the level, quality and accessibility of information in respect of Children and Family Services.

In this regard, the Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, published in 2011, provides greater clarity and guidance for individuals and organisations in identifying and responding appropriately to child abuse and neglect. It also sets out what organisations that care for or work with children should do to ensure they are safe whilst in the organisation. The Government has committed, as a priority, to the introduction of legislation to underpin Children First and the Heads of the Bill have been prepared and submitted to the Committee for Health and Children for their consideration.

I am aware that the proposed legislation could give rise to a significant number of reports being made to the HSE and I am cognisant of the need for an effective filtering system to be put in place. In this regard, ‘Guidance for Reporting of Abuse’ is to be developed by my Department. This Guidance will deal with issues such as definitions, thresholds and appropriate routes for the reporting of abuse. The Guidance will be dependent on designated officers and professionals named in the legislation, considering a number of factors to see if the concern reaches the threshold of a report under the legislation.

It is important to note that Mr. Gordon Jeyes, HSE National Director Children and Family Services has given me an assurance that all referrals when initially received are assessed and the action taken is prioritised by risk. In addition, the new Child and Family Support Agency with dedicated responsibility for the delivery of child welfare and protection services is to be established. A new model to deal effectively with referrals is being developed to ensure that all child welfare and protection reports receive a service promptly from the range of family support services and child protection services available.

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she has in mind the need to make provision for warning mechanisms or early alert systems to address issues of child neglect or abuse in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47106/12]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of child protection policy is to protect children from abuse and neglect. Key to the delivery of this policy is ensuring that society in general is aware of the possibility of abuse and neglect of children and of the reporting procedures available where concerns are identified.

Child abuse takes place in a variety of settings. International research shows that most child neglect and physical abuse takes place in the home. Abuse also takes place in other settings e.g. school, recreational etc. The Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children document was designed to assist in identifying and reporting child abuse. The guidelines specifically highlight the roles and responsibilities of the HSE and An Garda Síochána, as the two agencies with statutory responsibility for child protection. The Guidelines are also intended to assist organisations in ensuring that children under their care are safe, that staff / volunteers can identify possible abuse within the organisation or elsewhere and that there is in place the appropriate structure for reporting to relevant statutory bodies.

To ensure that Children First is properly implemented across Government Departments and at sectorial level the DCYA has established a Children First Implementation Inter-Departmental Group (CFIDG). Part of the role CFIDG is to report on sectorial issues and/or challenges arising from the implementation of the Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children and to share information on good practice to ensure the successful implementation of Children First nationwide. The Deputy will be aware that Children First has operated on the basis of voluntary compliance since it was first published by the then Department of Health and Children in 1999. Significant resources have been put in place to support the implementation of Children First and in the case of the HSE and An Garda Síochána, Children First has formed an integral part of their existing operations and practices. The HSE has provided training, information and advice on the implementation of Children First throughout the HSE, voluntary and community sector.

Under Children First, organisations are required to appoint a Designated Officer. The Designated Officer has responsibility that staff and volunteers are vetted, recruited properly and are trained in safe practices with children and in recognising signs of abuse and neglect. The Designated Officer makes information available to parents about child protection in the organisation and will have a system in place to check and report on its compliance with the legislation. In the legislation, it is proposed that the Designated Officer along with certain named professionals will have statutory responsibility to report information about abuse to the HSE. The obligation to report abuse extends to abuse and neglect wherever it occurs, that comes to the attention of the Designated Officer in the course of his/her work or volunteer activities.

To assist Designated Officers and certain named professionals make a determination as to whether to report abuse, a ‘Guidance for Reporting of Abuse’ is to be developed by my Department. This Guidance will deal with issues such as definitions, thresholds and appropriate routes for the reporting of abuse. The Guidance will assist designated officers and professionals named in the legislation, in their considering a number of factors to see if the concern reaches the threshold of a report under the legislation. This approach is intended to ensure that only those cases which require an assessment by the HSE are brought to its attention.

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