Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2016
817. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the role of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, in the completion of a standard reporting form, SRF, by a general practitioner who is presented with a mother and child expressing concerns of abuse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20720/16]
View answer818. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the grounds for non-completion of a standard reporting form, SRF, by a general practitioner who is presented with a mother and child expressing concerns of abuse; the consequences, if any; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20721/16]
View answer819. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of standard reporting forms completed in the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 by general practitioners; the number which were acted upon or investigated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20723/16]
View answer820. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the grounds for completion of a standard reporting form, SRF, by a general practitioner who is presented with a mother and child expressing concerns of abuse; the procedures to be followed in this instance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20724/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 817 to 820, inclusive, together.
Children First (2011) includes guidance and a standard reporting form for notifying Tusla, the Child and Family Agency of situations where abuse is suspected, i.e. emotional, physical or sexual abuse or neglect. General Practitioners (GPs) are in a good position to identify indicators of abuse, and they are one of a number of professionals who might be expected to make referrals to Tusla. Children First states that where someone has reasonable grounds for suspecting a child is being, or has been, abused, they are expected to immediately inform Tusla in accordance with the standard reporting procedure, unless doing so might endanger the child.
A report, which is described as a "referral" when it is received by Tusla, can be made verbally over the telephone, in person or, preferably in the case of professionals, using the standard reporting form. Tusla does not have a role in the supply of information from the person making the referral prior to receiving it. A referral is then assessed by Tusla through a process of screening, preliminary enquiry, and, if appropriate, an initial assessment. Approximately half of all referrals will not proceed beyond the initial assessment stage, although they may be referred to family support services or other State agencies when appropriate.
Tusla does not capture data on the source of referrals in the manner requested by the Deputy. Child Welfare and Protection services received 41,599 referrals in 2013, 43,630 referrals in 2014, and provisional figures for 2015 show that there were 43,596 referrals. The most recent breakdown on the source of referrals available was published in Tusla's Review of Adequacy 2014. Referrals from General Practitioners accounted for 1,276 in 2014 and 1,064 in 2013.
Where a referral meets the threshold for a social work service, it is then referred to as an open case and a social worker is allocated to work with the child and their family. Should the situation warrant it, Tusla may consider applying for an order under the Child Care Act 1991, as amended, and this may involve a supervision or a care order. In some open cases, a voluntary care arrangement may be considered. Only a minority of children involved in open cases will need to be received into care.
At present, there are no consequences under the Children First guidelines for not reporting a reasonable concern about a child. This does not exclude the possibility of complaint being made to the relevant professional body in a particular case. The Children First Act 2015 puts elements of the Children First Guidelines (2011) on a statutory footing. Amongst other things, the commencement of the relevant sections of the Act will provide for mandatory reporting of child abuse using defined thresholds by key professionals, including GPs. Preparations by the Department and Tusla for the full implementation of the Children First Act 2015 are underway.
