Written Answers Nos. 436-446
436. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which his Department continues to liaise with the various youth support organisations, with a view to ensuring the provision of adequate support or advisory facilities to children or young adults who may be in a vulnerable situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14901/15]
View answer438. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the degree to which he and his Department have received representations from various youth organisations seeking financial or other support; the degree to which he continues to be in a position to respond to such requests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14903/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 436 and 438 together.
My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country. In 2015, funding of €49.93m has been provided to my Department for these schemes. There has been no reduction in the overall allocation for youth services in 2015 which was a key priority for youth organisations.
My Department has notified youth organisations and projects of their 2015 allocations in respect of their youth services. As in recent years, national organisations along with the grant administering agencies that administer youth funding, on behalf of my Department, were invited where it was appropriate, to submit proposals to my Department for the reconfiguration of the funding allocations notified to them across projects and funding schemes to better meet local needs. A small number of requests for reconfiguration have been received by my Department in 2015.
My Department maintains close contact with the youth services throughout the country, and works closely with Education and Training boards in this regard. Youth Officers of the Education and Training Boards engage with local services, on behalf of my Department. They provide support and advice in matters to do with the application and reporting processes for funding and the implementation of quality standards in services for young people.
I and my Department regularly receive representations from youth services on a range of issues, including financial provision. I, and officials of my Department have met, and continue to meet regularly, with youth organisations and groups. In January and February, officials of my Department met with the representatives of some 30 national and major regional youth organisations to discuss recent and upcoming developments and to hear their plans for the services in 2015. My aim is to see how we can work together to bring about the best possible outcomes for young people, having regard to resources available to us and to ensure that the programmes and services being provided are relevant and responsive to young people’s needs.
Ongoing engagement and dialogue with the voluntary youth sector organisations and with young people themselves are priorities in the formulation of policies and provision of services to support young people’s development and learning.
My Department is developing a new National Youth Strategy. Based on Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures - the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014 - 2020, it will be a universal strategy for all young people aged 10 to 24. It will have a particular focus on those who are most disadvantaged or at risk and who have the poorest outcomes and therefore in most need of support.
The National Youth Strategy is being developed in close consultation with statutory youth interests and the voluntary youth organisations and services that work with young people. A National Youth Strategy Task Group, convened by my Department, is overseeing its development. This Task Group comprises representatives of Government Departments, relevant agencies, business, academia and youth interests. A comprehensive consultation with youth stakeholders and young people on the priorities for the youth strategy has recently concluded. My Department is working to finalise the new National Youth Strategy by early Summer.
437. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the degree to which his Department monitors the extent of bullying taking place outside work or school and cyberbullying; if any particular issues have arisen which may alert authorities to the existence of particular trends of bullying; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14902/15]
View answerI share concerns about bullying and its consequences. We know from the Growing Up in Ireland survey that is commissioned by my Department that a total of 40% of nine-year-olds reported being victims of bullying in the past year, and boys and girls experienced similar rates of victimisation. Prevalence rates based on information provided by the child’s mother were substantially lower than rates based on children’s reports, with 23% of the mothers of nine year- olds reporting that their child had been victimised in the previous year. Many mothers were unaware of their children’s experiences of bullying. For the children who did report victimisation in the previous year, only 39% of their mothers appeared to have been aware that their child had been the victim of bullying.
Experiences of victimisation were upsetting to the majority of children. Almost 90% of children reported that the bullying had caused them upset. Girls were more likely than boys to report feeling very upset as a result of the bullying.
Some 13% of children reported having bullied another in the previous year. Similar proportions of boys and girls reported bullying another. Children who had been bullied most commonly engaged in bullying through exclusion, followed by verbal bullying and physical bullying. Boys were more likely to engage in physical and verbal bullying, while girls were more likely to engage in bullying through exclusion. These patterns also clearly reflect what children reported in terms of victimisation.
The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Ireland Report 2010 has found that over 24% of 10 to 17 year olds have reported being bullied. These figures will be updated in September when the next HBSC survey, which is conducted every four years, is published.
In seeking to address the problem of bullying we must tackle the underlying and root causes of bullying in a sustained manner, focusing on tackling prejudice, including homophobia, where it exists in our schools and wider society today.
The implementation of the Action Plan on Bullying, which is being led by the Department of Education and Skills, provides the framework for the Government’s absolute commitment to working with a broad base of interests to protect children and ensure a safer childhood.
439. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of incidents of child abuse of a physical, psychological or sexual nature, reported directly or indirectly to his Department or bodies under his aegis in the past year to date; the degree to which it has been found possible to respond quickly and adequately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14904/15]
View answer440. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of incidents of children at risk brought to the attention of his Department in the past year to date; the degree to which adequate support or other resolution has been found in all such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14905/15]
View answer441. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which the number of children at risk through poverty or homelessness in the past 12 months has been identified or brought to the attention of his Department; the actions taken to address such issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14906/15]
View answer443. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which the welfare of children in State care continues to be monitored by his Department; the degree of any issues emerging and requiring attention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14908/15]
View answer445. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of incidents in respect of which children with a tendency to self-harm are being brought to the attention of his Department in the past 12 months; if adequate support services have been made available in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14910/15]
View answer446. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the degree to which children or young adults in respect of whom protection orders have been made, have been reported to his Department in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14911/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 439 to 441, inclusive, 443, 445 and 446 together.
As part of governance arrangements, the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, provides my Department with regular performance activity reports for monitoring purposes. These include figures showing the number of referrals which are disaggregated by welfare concerns and abuse concerns. The most recent validated figures for referrals to hand are up to the third quarter of 2014. Tusla has stated that, subject to validation, the total of referrals for 2014 shows that there were 43,126 reports of child protection and welfare concerns received by Tusla.
Not all referrals will result in a need for a social work service or in a child being received into care and approximately 50% can be expected to proceed from preliminary enquiry to the initial assessment stage. The most recent figures for welfare concerns and abuse concerns at the end of third quarter of 2014, showed 14,112 abuse concern referrals and 18,575 welfare concern referrals (to the end of September 2014). The referrals of a child abuse concern were reported as: Physical (19%), Emotional (34%), Sexual (17%) and Neglect (30%). Of these referrals, 55% of abuse concerns and 42% of welfare concerns went forward to the initial assessment stage. Tusla reported that of the referrals received in the third quarter of 2014, 94% of referrals received a preliminary enquiry and 49% of initial assessments were completed by the end of the quarter. Assesments can be complex and dynamic, and some consideration needs to be given to the end of quarter figures so that they adequately reflect the work that has been achieved in each case.
Tusla has provided my Department with monthly figures of the number of children in care for all of 2014. At the close of 2014, the number of children in care was reported as 6,463 children, of whom 93% were in a foster care setting. The number of children in care represents 23% of the total of 27,651 open cases reported by Tusla at the end of the year. Of the total number of open cases at the end of 2014, 19,300 had an allocated social worker and 8,351 were waiting to be allocated a social worker. The number of cases waiting to be allocated a social worker is an issue that is being addressed by Tusla. This figure has reduced by over 14% over the full year of 2014.
Tusla has responsibilities to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection, with regard to the principle that, where possible, it is in the best interests of the child to be brought up in their own family. Tusla does not have statutory responsibilities for services which may be availed of by children and families in the normal course of events. Responsibility for policy in relation to the treatment and support for young people with mental health problems, and those requiring medical care as a result of self-harm, rests with the Department of Health. In relation to homelessness, I informed the House earlier today on how Tusla is engaging on the issue. The statutory responsibility for the accommodation needs where the family is homeless, and the children are in the care of their parents, is with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the local authorities.
Where there are reasonable grounds for concern for a child's welfare and protection, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, should always be informed. This has been Tusla's responsibility since its establishment in January 2014. My Department receives regular reports on the number of referrals and the outcomes that result. In addition to the rigorous governance arrangements with Tusla, my Department also reviews the findings of a number of independent bodies, including the Health Information and Quality Authority inspection reports, reports on child deaths and serious incidents from the independently chaired National Review Panel and also reports from the Ombudsman for Children. My Department also maintains contact with the non-governmental bodies on issues within the sector, including, for example, the Children's Rights Alliance, and the Irish Foster Care Association. This is in addition to the day to day monitoring of children who may be at risk or children in care that is carried out by Tusla as part of its responsibilities under the Child Care Act 1991, as amended, and the Child and Family Agency Act 2013.
442. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total number of places of detention currently available to cater for juvenile offenders; the extent of rehabilitative or counselling services available to such offenders while in detention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14907/15]
View answerThe 3 children detention schools, all located at Oberstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin, currently provide a total of 54 detention places for children ordered to be remanded or committed by the courts, with 48 places for boys and 6 places for girls.
The detention schools cater for boys up to the age of 17 years who are serving a sentence, boys up to the age of 18 years who are remanded in custody and all girls up to the age of 18 years. In line with the Programme for Government commitment to end the detention of children in the adult prison facilities, boys aged 17 newly remanded in custody are being accommodated in the children detention schools since 30 March 2015, where places are available. Boys aged 17 ordered to serve a sentence of detention are currently accommodated in the adult prison system. This practice will cease later in 2015 on completion of the capital project in Oberstown and the enactment of a Bill to amend the Children Act 2001, which is to be considered by Government for publication shortly. In addition to expanding the capacity of the Oberstown site, the project will also deliver associated education, recreation, visiting , medical and other ancillary facilities.
An individual management plan is put in place for each child on admission to the children detention schools which includes a mental health assessment to determine the need for more specialist services provided by the Assessment, Consultation and Therapy Service. This is a national service provided jointly by Tusla - the Child and Family Agency and the children detention schools which provides clinical services to children in detention and also in special care facilities, as well as short term interventions when the child returns to the community.
Appropriate education, training and other programmes and facilities for children are provided by the children detention schools on the Oberstown campus in line with the principles of the Children Act 2001, in conjunction with the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board. The delivery of children detention services is focused on education and rehabilitation of those young people detained in order to address offending behaviour and support their early re-integration into the community.
444. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the degree to which he expects to be in a position to offer assistance to voluntary bodies or agencies providing counselling or other support services for children or teenagers, with particular reference to those deemed to be at risk or in danger of self-harm; if he is satisfied regarding the adequacy of the quality and scale of back-up services available in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14909/15]
View answerThe Child and Family Agency, Tusla, provides funding to voluntary and community organisations providing relationship, child and bereavement counselling services. These services aim to support people to deal with difficulties they are experiencing in their relationships, to help children whose lives have been affected by parental separation and to support families who have experienced the death of a family member.
Counselling services are widely recognised as very important components within local communities and many already provide much needed support to local Child and Family Services. Counselling services around the country received €6.8m in funding from Tusla in 2014.
The Assessment, Consultation & Therapy Service ( ACTS) is a national specialised clinical service which has been developed in order to provide multidisciplinary consultation, assessment and focused interventions to young people who have high risk behaviours associated with complex clinical needs. ACTS also supports other professionals in their ongoing work with young people and their families.
This includes:-
- on-site therapeutic services to young people in secure settings in Ireland (Special Care and the Children Detention Schools).
- support when young people return to community settings to help them to re-engage with mainstream services as appropriate.
- assessment, consultation and/or intervention services in the community for children at significant risk of placement in secure settings.
Tusla works closely with other care providers including the HSE, in respect of access to primary care services, child and adolescent mental health services, disability and other services. Tusla and the HSE have in place both a Memorandum of Understanding and a Joint Protocol for inter-agency collaboration which underpins the provision of these services for children. The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding is to set out the partnership agreement between the HSE and Tusla to continue pre-establishment levels of service across both organisations. The objective of the Joint Protocol is to specify a pathway and associated responsibilities for children and families whose needs cross between Health Service Divisions and Tusla.
Both the Memorandum of Understanding and the Joint Protocol are subject to regular monitoring and review to ensure that they are working effectively in the best interests of children and families.
Responsibility for policy in relation to the treatment and support for young people with mental health problems and those requiring medical care as a result of self-harm rests with the Department of Health.
