Child and Family Agency Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 February 2019

Tuesday, 19 February 2019

Ceisteanna (583)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Ceist:

583. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the average waiting time for children referred to social services to be investigated by county. [7804/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I wish to assure the Deputy that all referrals to Tusla are screened in a timely manner. Where appropriate, the referral will be routed to family support services or, in the case of child protection and welfare concerns, to a social work service. It is important to stress that urgent and emergency cases receive immediate attention by the local duty social work team.

Data on key performance indicators, including the number of referrals received and the waiting time for allocation to a social worker, are reported to my Department on the basis of Tusla area, and not by county, as requested by the Deputy. The most recent data available to my Department was reported by Tusla for the end of November 2018 and show that at that time there were 26,136 open cases. Of these, 20,046 were allocated to a social worker and 6,009 were awaiting allocation. Table 1 lays out the average waiting time by Tusla area.

Table 1.

Area	Referrals Jan-Nov 2018	Open Cases	Open Cases Allocated to a Social Worker	Cases Unallocated <1 month	Cases Unallocated1-3 months	Cases Unallocated >3 months
DSE/Wicklow	2018	950	808	38	53	51
DSW/KE/WW	3189	1409	821	73	116	399
DSC	2314	2010	1439	298	212	71
Midlands	6404	1446	1037	75	168	166
DNC	2954	1329	1205	0	6	118
Dublin North	3233	3913	2801	150	237	725
Louth/Meath	3564	2006	1411	125	205	265
Cav/Mon	1662	681	586	3	18	74
Kerry	1083	602	489	32	31	50
Cork	6366	3690	3076	213	155	246
CW/KK/ST	3462	1510	999	130	77	304
WW/WX	4309	1707	1284	161	136	126
Donegal	1034	1041	755	28	53	205
Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan	1049	370	346	20	0	4
Mayo	1044	402	402	0	0	0
Galway/Roscommon	3075	1619	1406	134	44	35
Midwest	4428	1451	1191	31	109	120
Total	51188	26136	20046	1511	1620	2959

Of the cases awaiting allocation to a social worker, 994 were categorised as high priority. The priority level assigned to the case is based on the need for intervention in the case, rather than on risk to the child.

It should be noted an unallocated case refers to a case involving a child which has been assessed as requiring a social work response, but which has not yet been allocated to a social worker. These cases are monitored and may be further progressed by the duty team. This can include checks with relevant professionals, home visits and gathering additional information.