Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
564. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has consulted with the Department of Health to use mental health research to help deliver the preparing for life family intervention programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4519/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Preparing for Life Programme is a prevention and early intervention programme delivered by Northside Partnership in North Dublin City (Dublin 5 and 17). It is one of 13 such programmes operating under the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme (2013-2017). Under this programme, Preparing for Life has received over €3.7m in funding. The ABC programme is overseen by an interdepartmental project team which has included representatives from a number of government departments, including the Department of Health.
The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a joint prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department. The ABC Programme commenced in 2013 and was co-funded for the period 2013 to 2017 with The Atlantic Philanthropies, with a total investment to date of over €31 million. The aim of the programme is to test and evaluate prevention and early intervention approaches in 13 areas of disadvantage in Ireland to improve outcomes for children, in particular children and families living in poverty. As a programme focussed on the use of evidence to improve outcomes, all areas have focussed on existing and emerging research findings to inform their programme delivery.
The focus of the work under the ABC Programme covers: Child Health and Development; Children’s Learning; Parenting; and Integrated Service Delivery. There is a strong focus on Infant Mental Health across all areas in the ABC Programme.
My Department is in contact with the Department of Health across a number of areas including on the Youth Mental Health Taskforce and in the development of psychological services in Tusla. We use emerging learnings, research and evaluation findings and ongoing discussions to inform the delivery of prevention and early intervention initiatives in order to achieve our shared goal of improving the lives of children and families throughout Ireland.
