‘Services cuts make teens vulnerable to problems’

TEENAGERS vulnerable to problems with drugs and self-harm are in danger of being left behind due to pressure on the public finances, a conference heard yesterday.

The Crosscare Teen Counselling service, the social care agency of the Dublin Archdiocese, hosted the Croke Park conference which heard from psychologists and social workers from around the country.

In her closing remarks to the conference, Crosscare director Mary Forrest said the Government needed to ensure it did not repeat past mistakes and push services for vulnerable adolescents further to the margins.

“In the current climate the terms ‘prioritising’ and ‘focusing our scarce resources where they can be most effective’ are often heard,” she said.

“However, what do they mean to teens and parents?

“They mean that services will be taken from the over 12 age group, and this is a situation which will probably last five years. A whole cohort of teens will be left with reduced services.”

Educational psychologist Patricia Timoney said that while some parents were able to afford to use her services in the private sector so their children can be assessed for any special needs, more families may not be able to do so in the current economic climate while waiting times for state services were still too long.