Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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660. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the average time that children in each county are waiting to be allocated a social worker in cases, including high-priority cases of child protection and children in care. [54074/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I can inform the Deputy that there were 26,201 open cases nationally at the end of September, which includes children in care. An open case is one which is assessed as needing a dedicated (allocated) social work service. There were 5,284 unallocated cases, of which 966 were high priority cases, 3,309 were medium priority, and 1,009 were low priority. Cases awaiting allocation include new referrals, cases already in progress, and children in care.

I am informed by Tusla that a case awaiting allocation may be listed as 'active' on a 'duty' system. This means that there are actions being undertaken by a dedicated duty team, or rotating social workers on a duty roster to progress the protection and welfare of the child.

Examples of actions being undertaken include telephone calls relating to the concern, visits to see the child, completing initial assessments and, where a child is in care, completing child in care reviews or plans. There are 28% of unallocated cases categorised as 'active on duty'.

Tusla has provided the information in Table 1 below on the number of cases awaiting allocation to a social worker in each administrative area. Tusla has informed me that the average length of time cases are waiting is not collated nationally but rather by the number of cases waiting in time bands. Information on waiting times is provided in bands of less than 3 months, and greater than 3 months. In Table 2 the number of cases waiting less than 3 months and over 3 months for each priority level i.e., high, medium and low is given.

Addressing the number of children who are awaiting the allocation of a social worker is a priority for me. The Deputy should note that all urgent and emergency cases notified to Tusla are dealt with immediately. Urgent and emergency cases could involve cases of abandonment, allegations of physical or sexual abuse, parental ill-health leading to the need for an immediate placement, or threat to the safety or life of a child by a third party. I have secured funds in Budget 2018 which will allow Tusla to carry out the third year of a 3 year plan to provide for the allocation of a dedicated social worker to all children who need one.

My Department will continue to closely monitor progress in this regard, and I will continue to engage directly with the Tusla Board and Senior Management Team to review progress.

Cases awaiting allocation to a social worker September 2017 - numbers and priority level (Child protection & welfare and children in care)

Cases awaiting allocation to a social worker September 2017 - waiting times by priority level (Child protection & welfare and children in care)