Child welfare system ‘broken, dysfunctional’

THE country’s child welfare system is in dire need of an overhaul, Barnardos said yesterday on the back of new information regarding injuries sustained by children in care.

Following the disclosure of the figures in the Irish Examiner yesterday, Barnardos said the current system was “broken and dysfunctional”.

Documents released to the Irish Examiner under Freedom of Information relating to children in care in the Dublin/Mid-Leinster region highlighted incidents in which teenage girls were raped having absconded from care, children as young as nine and 10 were self-harming and physical and sexual abuse was carried out by foster carers.

The information relates to the years 2005-2007 and it is believed many of the children who feature in the accident/incident reports are still in the care system.

Incidents ranged from a 13-year-old girl drinking the contents of a lava lamp to children being injured while attacking care staff.

There was garda involvement in some cases, but in many cases there was no formal complaint regarding alleged abuse, while other cases were described as “unconfirmed”.

Subsequent reports have also highlighted gaps in the care system, while reports published last year by the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) raised serious concerns over elements of foster and residential care in parts of Dublin-Mid Leinster and elsewhere.

Barnardos yesterday made its submission to the Programme of Government and its chief executive Fergus Finlay said: “We have had numerous commitments to policy recommendations but the predominant problem over the last 10 years has been the lack of consistent follow-through on the ground and inadequate resourcing for child welfare and protection services.

“Any overhaul of the child welfare and protection system must also pay substantial attention to the importance of prevention and early intervention services that can support children and families before situations reach crisis point.

“Where that is not possible, the care system must provide similarly stable and consistent care. Sadly, the reality of the current system is far from this ideal,” Mr Finlay said.

The HSE has said that progress has been made in a number of areas since the years covered in the documents, while this year has also seen the appointment of Gordon Jeyes as the HSE’s national director for Children and Family Services.

The FOI request was lodged in 2008 but the answers were only received earlier this year. It transpired that the request was fulfilled by May 2009 but the documents were then not forwarded for another 21 months.