Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 October 2017
130. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the qualifications of and training given to all Caranua staff, in particular to all application advisors in view of their particular role to offer support, information, advice and advocacy to those who have received awards from a court settlement or the redress board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45164/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCaranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 to oversee the use of the cash contributions of up to €110 million, pledged by the religious congregations, to support the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse. The organisation is responsible for the day to day management of its own affairs including the recruitment of staff and the ongoing management of those staff, meeting their training and development needs, etc.
I understand from enquiries made by my officials that the staff of Caranua bring a broad range of experiences and qualifications to their roles, and in particular the Application Advisors are expected to have a degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field (e.g. social work, social care, psychology, counselling, psychotherapy, advice work, advocacy) and must have experience in carrying out assessments of needs and obtaining information from callers in a non intrusive and supportive way along with a sound knowledge and understanding of social disadvantage, social services and citizens rights, and the operation of health, housing and social services.
I understand also that the Board and Executive of Caranua are committed to providing an ongoing range of training and supports to the staff team so that they are able to understand and respond to the needs of survivors, manage their work and self-care, and uphold the organisation’s values. This is done through a programme of training, invited speakers, internal and external group support, individual supervision, performance appraisal and staff meetings. Training includes induction to Caranua and its systems and procedures, skills development and information and training on a range of areas including:
- Understanding institutionalisation;
- Effects of trauma and the needs of survivors;
- Understanding the impact of traumatic experiences on people;
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training;
- Overview of HSE systems, including pathway to services;
- Use of the Remote Interpreting Service for Deaf Applicants;
- Origins Family Tracing Service; and
- Introduction to citizensinformation.ie
