The use of different systems of child abuse management is a legacy issue from the previous Health Boards. This issue is being addressed in the context of the Reform Programme in the HSE with a single, national, service delivery model in development.
Since taking office last year, it has been evident to me that there is a particular need to improve the quality and accuracy of information available from the HSE in relation to child protection services, together with a need to provide more timely and meaningful information. The introduction of the National Child Care Information System will help to greatly improve performance in this area. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that good progress is being made by the HSE with regard to the introduction of this system.
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.
A first step was to develop agreed and consistent definitions and business processes across all social work offices. In this regard, a national standardised business process has been implemented in each Integrated Service Area to ensure that data and systems are unified. This process of standardisation will ensure that definitions used are consistent, for example to ensure the number of recorded referrals relates to individual children and not families.
The introduction of the NCCIS is a high priority and will help to significantly improve the level, quality and accessibility of information in respect of Children and Family Services.
