Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2021
50. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way he plans to deal with the increase in the length of waiting lists for Tusla services over the past 12 months; the way he plans to increase investment and resources to deal with these lengthened waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28751/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraDeputy CAMHS services and assessment of needs as it relates to the disability act 2005 fall under the remit of the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health. In the normal course of events we would seek a transfer to that Dept. to provide as full an answer to your question as possible, at this time the ongoing fall out from the cyber-attack has greatly impacted those organisations ability to respond to questions.
You may be aware an Assessment of Need is an assessment carried out by the HSE for children or young people with a disability. The assessment identifies the child's health needs and what health services are needed to meet the child’s needs.
You may already be aware that I secured an additional €61M for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, in 2021, bringing the total budget to €878M. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw Tusla continue providing a frontline service, the most recent cyber-attack is another obstacle to normal service. Tusla staff continue to provide a service to those most at risk in society.
There is significant demand for Tusla services, recently published data showed Tusla received in excess of 60,000 Referrals in 2020 and 4,931 referrals in January 2021. Referrals include those meeting the eligibility criteria for child protection and welfare services, multiple reports of the same concern and referrals not meeting the eligibility criteria for a Tusla services. Such referrals are often redirected to appropriate agencies or additional family supports are considered.
At the end of January 2021 there were 19,966 cases open to Tusla Social workers of which 16,189(81%) were allocated. Over the last 12 months Tusla has on average had 19% of open cases unallocated. Of the 3,777 unallocated cases 2,263(60%) were “active on duty”. This means that actions were undertaken by dedicated duty teams or social workers on a duty roster to monitor the case. Tusla has outlined its corporate plan for 2021 – 2023 a target reduction of 30% in all national waiting lists over the three year period.
Tusla’s published performance indicators have consistently identified five of 17 areas regularly accounting for 60% of unallocated cases. Tusla’s response is that any area where unallocated cases rise above 25% of their open cases receive a dedicated response. Where staff vacancies are identified as contributory cause a bespoke recruitment campaign will be put in place. There will also be a strengthening of family support services, of social workers teams managing referrals and of social work staff specifically dealing with retrospective cases. The area will also be monitored and supported by internal audits and further staff training.
Tusla has prioritised staff retention and recruitment and has begun to engage with social work graduates to conduct interviews prior to graduation, improving the pool of potential recruits. Tusla have also conducted a conversion of agency staff to Tusla staff which will improve continuity of service. My Department has also established a Social Work Education Group looking to expand the throughput of suitably qualified Social Work graduates.
