Joe Higgins
Question:41. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the horrific occurrence of child abuse catalogued by Women's Aid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32356/13]
View answerThursday, 4 July 2013
Questions (41, 53)
Joe Higgins
Question:53. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extra funding she will make available to women and children refuges and advocate groups on behalf of abused children. [32357/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 53 together.
The Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, which I published in 2011, provides 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 care of the organisation. All child protection concerns should be reported in the appropriate manner, including those identified where a child has been in a home where there was domestic abuse.
Statutory responsibility for the delivery of child welfare and protection services rests with the HSE, which is the appropriate body to receive all reports of concerns relating to all forms of child abuse. Under Section 3 of the Child Care Act, 1991, the Health Service Executive has a duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care or protection.
Child Welfare and Protection Referrals and Assessment
Once a referral has been made to the HSE Children and Family Services all cases are managed through a standardised business process. All reports of concern for the safety or well-being of a child are handled initially by the Duty/Intake team for the purposes of assessment. All staff receiving such a referral are trained in the duty system and are obliged to treat seriously all child welfare and protection concerns whatever their source. Once a report has been made the screening stage deals with the information reported and preliminary enquiries are concerned with formulating an appropriate response.
Children First Legislation
The Deputy will be aware the Government is committed to putting aspects of Children First on a statutory basis. In this regard, I published the Draft Heads and General Scheme for the Children First Bill 2012 in April last year and immediately referred the Heads of Bill to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for consideration and advice. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children published their report in July 2012.
As part of the Joint Committee's consultation process a number of submissions were received. Overall there was a welcome for the fact that the legislation would increase the focus on child protection. The contributions in the main came from organisations already implementing Children First. The historic nature of the proposals and their implications for those providing services to children were acknowledged, as was the importance of the precise nature of the duties, responsibilities and sanctions contained in the legislation for successful implementation.
Submissions were not all in agreement and many points emerging needed to be considered and reconciled. This involves consideration of policy and operational issues, as well as the best legal approach to achieving Children First objectives. In this regard, officials within my Department have consulted with a number of organisations and individuals and I have met with a number of key stakeholders to discuss the complex issues that have arisen. I have also taken the opportunity to consult with a number of experts in relation to the development of the policy in this area. In addition, my Department commissioned a detailed academic study on key aspects of the relevant mandatory legislation in place in this area internationally. All of these factors are informing the preparation of enhanced policy proposals that is currently underway.
The framework is now focussed on the safety and protection of children generally; the provision of safe services for children; cooperation amongst professionals and organisations where children are at risk of neglect and abuse and finally mandating key individuals to report child abuse known to them. The latter objective is aimed at removing ambivalence, reluctance or refusal by people and organisations in positions of trust and authority to report child abuse and cooperate with the relevant authorities.
I note that the vast majority of reports of abuse against children, reported in the Women's Aid Annual Report were in respect of emotional abuse. This is an issue that I take seriously and it is my intention that it is dealt with in the context of this legislation. It is my intention to submit further proposals in the form of a revised general scheme and Heads of Bill to Government as soon as possible with a view to the drafting of the Children First Bill as a priority.
New Child and Family Support Agency
The establishment of the Child and Family Agency is central to the Government's reform programme in respect of child and family services. In order to achieve genuine improvements for children and families, the Agency will have a broader focus than child protection. Prevention, early intervention, family support and therapeutic & care interventions are all key to the provision of integrated multi-disciplinary services for children and families based on identified need.
It is my intention that the new Agency will address the persistent issues which have been raised regarding the standardisation of services, communication, coordination and sharing of risk assessment, management and treatment for many of the children and families with the most complex needs. At the same time, the Agency will have a role in supporting families - providing less complex, less intrusive and less expensive responses which have a preventive function.
My Department does not provide funding for women's refuges. However, from its establishment the child and family-related services for which the HSE currently has responsibility including pre-school inspections and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services will transfer to the agency.
The establishment of a single agency incorporating key children's services will provide a focus for the major reforms already underway within Children and Family Services. The new Child and Family Support Agency and the wider transformation of children's services represents one of the largest, and most ambitious, areas of public sector of reform embarked upon by this Government.
Question No. 42 answered with Question No. 40.