Vol. 547 No. 1
695 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of persons (details supplied) on each list in each health board area under the child protection notification system to date in 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2817/02]
Children First, National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children are national over-arching guidelines that apply to all individuals and agencies that are dealing with children. One of the key elements of Children First is the introduction of a child protection notification system, CPNS, which is to be a health board record of every child about whom, following a preliminary assessment, there is a child protection concern. The CPNS aims to improve the management and record keeping of child abuse notifications and ensure uniformity of approach across health boards.
In the process of introducing the CPNS over the last 12 months, differences in its interpretation among health boards arose. One of the most important aspects of Children First is that it highlights the importance of consistency between policies and procedures across health boards and other statutory and voluntary organisations.
Further guidance on the introduction of the CPNS is currently being developed by the national advisory group on the implementation of Children First in conjunction with a resource team from the health board executive, HeBE. This guidance will address these issues and ensure uniformity of approach across health boards in assessing child protection notifications. As a result of the differing interpretations of the CPNS, it is not operational across all health boards at present.
When the CPNS is operational across all health boards returns will be made to my Department on an annual basis at the end of each year. At present, therefore, the figures sought by the Deputy are not available.
