Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
158. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she has taken following on from the report of the Independent Child Death Review Group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17289/13]
View answerI indicated when I published the report of the Independent Child Death Review Group (ICDRG) that I welcome the findings and recommendations of this report, and that I accept fully the need for action in the areas identified.
At an operational level the HSE has developed an implementation plan which responds to each of the recommendations in the Review Report. This plan identifies persons with key responsibility for actions, timelines for those actions and a review of the current position. The plan will be reviewed at intervals until all the actions are completed. With regard to progress on implementation there have been a number of key developments including substantive improvements in social work case allocation and case planning.
The necessary actions are being implemented in the context of the Government’s reform programme for children’s services, the most radical reform of child welfare and protection services ever undertaken in the State. The integrated delivery of these reforms will ensure that responses to many of the ICDRG recommendations will be mainstreamed into the work programme of the new Child and Family Support Agency.
At a broader policy and legislative level, detailed work is also underway to implement the ICDRG recommendations as follows:
Legislative Reform - In order to support the rights of children generally, and particularly those who require the intervention of child welfare and protection services, the Constitutional referendum on children was held in November 2012. Issues related to the in camera rule and child care court proceedings have also been subject to legislation. The Child Care Act 1991 (Section 29(7) Regulations were made in November 2012 facilitating the public reporting of child care court proceedings by researchers. These regulations have facilitated an independent project under Dr Carol Coulter which is carrying out research, for publication, on child care hearings in the courts. The Government has recently published the Court Bill 2013 to directly address issues related to the in camera rule. The draft Heads of the Children First Bill were considered by the Oireachtas Committee on Health & Children and the report of the Committee is being considered by my Department in the development of these legislative proposals. Consideration is also being given to strengthening legislation regarding the provision of aftercare. I recently met with experts and representatives of organisations working with young people in care to discuss the approach.
Organisational Reform - The Child and Family Agency will be an essential vehicle for ensuring the ethos of quality and accountability called for by the ICDRG is strongly reflected in children’s services.
Operational Reform - A central feature of the new Agency will be a new Service Delivery Framework which will prioritise serious child protection referrals while providing for development of new ‘Local Area Pathways’ which will involve a greater use of community-based services to address child and family welfare concerns in a timely & effective manner. Significant work has taken place in relation to this service redesign. A group has been established in the HSE to work with the Irish Youth Justice Service on the needs of the most vulnerable youths, in line with the needs highlighted in the Child Deaths Report. Work is progressing on development of a National Child Care Information System to comprehensively address issues of record keeping and data management. The procurement process is now at contract stage. Two out-of-hours pilot projects in Donegal and Cork were commenced and independently evaluated. The HSE has reviewed the Evaluation Report and prepared a business case for a National Out of Hours Social Work Service. The HSE is in discussion with relevant staff representative associations.
Workforce Development - this Government completed the recruitment of 260 additional social workers proposed in the Ryan Report Implementation Plan. Over 1,400 social workers are employed in Children and Family Support Services and the introduction of 260 additional social workers represents a significant strengthening of the workforce. Arrangements for the induction, training and supervision of these staff have been put in place. Support for all staff includes the introduction of national guidance, such as Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook, and supervision of the implementation of this guidance.
Oversight - Last July, I launched the first-ever HIQA ‘National Standards on Protection and Welfare of Children’. HIQA recently announced the commencement of inspections of child protection services, in line with new standards. 10 cases identified in the ICDRG report have been referred for independent review under Dr. Helen Buckley. One of these reviews has already been completed. Specific work is proceeding in relation to the Review Group’s recommendations regarding mechanisms for the independent review of child deaths. It is necessary to ensure that any such arrangements are developed in a manner that is fully consistent with the major organisational reforms currently in train including the transfer of child protection services from the HSE to the CFSA and the recent expansion of HIQA’s inspection regime to cover all child protection services. My Department has also consulted with colleagues in the North in order to share learning from the respective approaches to child death review. I trust these details illustrate the seriousness with which the ICDRG report is being advanced. Finally, my Department has also used the detailed research undertaken in the report to highlight more general policy issues across Government, including for example discussions on the preparation of a National Substance Misuse Strategy, which is expected to be considered by Government shortly.
