Child welfare hearings are taking place alongside criminal cases presided over by swamped judges in overcrowded courts without proper waiting areas, consultation rooms, toilets, or drinking water.

Almost one-third of primary care dentists had concerns about a child patient being the victim of abuse or neglect over the course of the previous year, but just 8% made a formal report, according to new research.

The often adversarial nature of cases involving child welfare and protection takes up much social worker time, threatens the principle of securing the best outcomes for children, and costs Tusla more money, according to a new report.

"The parenting in this case has certainly been far more, one might say, robust ... than one would expect in the conventional nuclear family."