Children ‘interpreting for parents’

Children have acted as interpreters to help parents understand meetings with social workers because of a shortage of official staff.

The situation arose in the Carlow/Kilkenny local health area where a number of children and families from different ethnic backgrounds are engaged with the HSE’s Child Protection and Welfare Service.

Hiqa Inspectors found the “overall system was weak” when it came to facilitating children with communication difficulties. These weaknesses included: