Vol. 519 No. 6
91 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Health and Children the role of his Department in respect of the provision of family support services; the funding which has been provided for these services in 2000; the proposed role for the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs in this area; and the steps he is taking to ensure co-ordination of services from the two Departments. [14574/00]
My Department's primary role in respect of the provision of child care and family support services is to resource the health boards to discharge their statutory responsibilities under the Act. This is in the context of the Child Care Act, 1991, which strengthens the powers of the health boards to provide child care and family support services.
Resourcing decisions are made against the background of regular contacts between officials of my Department and officials of the health boards. In 2000, an additional £31.75 million was allocated towards child care and family support services, the largest single amount since the Child Care Act was passed.
In addition, in January 1998, the Government established the young people at risk programme, which has at its centre the young people's facilities and services fund. My predecessor was given approval by the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion to spend £2.4 million per year from that fund for a three year period on a number of pilot family support projects for children at risk. These projects have been named the springboard initiatives and to date 15 such projects have been established. The objective of springboard is to establish a pilot family support project in a number of identified communities throughout the country. These projects work intensively with children, mainly in the seven to 12 year age group, who are at risk and their families. In addition, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs funds a number of community development support programmes. The programme was established in 1990 and it now funds some 90 projects in disadvantaged areas.
The Commission on the Family, in its final report, recommended that a network of 100 family and community resource centres be established over a four to five year period. By the end of 1999, 61 centres were being funded by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and it is expected that a further 15 will be established by the end of 2000. In addition, ten new core-funded community and family support groups will be established. Provision has been made in the national development plan to increase funding to these programmes.
