Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2328. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the regional breakdown as per the Public Service Performance Report 2017 of the cases awaiting allocation classed as high priority in tabular form. [33302/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can inform the Deputy that at the end of 2017, there were 818 cases awaiting allocation categorised as high priority.
A high priority case can include children needing further child protection assessment and intervention, children involved with child protection court proceedings, children in care for less than 6 months and children with mental health and anti-social difficulties.
The first consideration when receiving a referral is the immediate safety of the child. All referrals to the Social Work Service of Children and Family Services are screened on the day they are received. Cases where a child is at immediate risk of harm receive an immediate service. Cases awaiting a dedicated social worker can receive a service from the duty social work team, depending on the circumstance.
The table below outlines the number of High Priority unallocated cases by region, as at the end of December, 2017. A breakdown of unallocated cases by area and priority level is published monthly in Tusla's Performance and Activity Dashboard.
|
Dublin Mid-Leinster |
Dublin North-East |
South |
West |
TOTAL |
|
250 |
35 |
303 |
230 |
818 |
