Standards for child protection welcomed

New national standards for the protection and welfare of children include annual staff appraisals and safeguards for whistleblowers in what the Government called a “radical step forward”.

The national standards, developed by the Health Information and Quality Authority, were launched yesterday by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

However, neither could confirm a date for the upcoming referendum on enshrining the rights of the child in the Constitution.

Ms Fitzgerald said the new standards — which will also be monitored by Hiqa — “will reveal failings, which is good, because we cannot fix what we cannot see”.

The standards are based on six main themes: the promotion of children’s rights and diversity; safe and effective services; leadership, use of resources; workforce; use of information and governance and management.

Within those themes there are numerous specific standards, such as an annual formal appraisal of each staff member’s performance, as well as the facilitating of “protected disclosures about the effectiveness and safety of the service in line with legislative requirements”.

It also requires that the service — currently the HSE and from next year the new Child and Family Support Agency — “has contingency plans in place in the event of a shortfall in staffing levels”.

It also requires that there is a robust system for the review of serious incidents and that each child at risk of significant harm is assigned a social worker, following assessment and screening procedures.

Hiqa will begin monitoring compliance with the standards before the end of the year at national level and across the existing 17 local areas, with Hiqa deputy director Niall Byrne stating: “We have to be clear where we identify failings.”

The first compliance report is likely to be published early next year and at regular intervals after that.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the standards would help in the process of ending the “sad saga” of child protection failures.

He said the proposed wording for the upcoming referendum would be brought before the Oireachtas shortly after the new Dáil term resumes on Sept 18, along with complimentary legislation on adoption which will be published at the same time.

“Things would have been so different in this country if only children had been visible and had been listened to in the past,” he said.

Ms Fitzgerald said the standards would need to be accompanied by “cultural shifts” and a move away from child protection as being synonymous with crises.

Reacting to the new standards, Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said: “Although these standards are not applicable to other service providers, their adherence over time will assist interagency working which will be in the best interests of children and families.”

* www.hiqa.ie