State must provide resources for children at risk

Any real reform of social services meant to protect children at risk of neglect or abuse is entirely dependent on the State ensuring resources are made available for the battle.

A leading children’s charity and the chair of the independent review into what happened to a series of children and young adults either in State care or known to the service, made the claim after the latest reports into the issue yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of four new Child and Family Agency reports into specific tragedies in the sector, review chair Dr Helen Buckley said improvements are being made in the service.

In particular she said “new child protection structures and legislation are likely to lessen the risk” to children, and that the CFA now has clear policies in place to guide frontline staff on how to address crisis situations.

“The avoidance of practice errors in the future is going to depend on how far the agency is able to invest in training and support for staff and managers, and on whether or not the services are adequately resourced and practitioners have adequate workloads,” she said.

“Most of our reports are characterised by waiting lists and gaps in the allocation of social workers, and we understand that these problems still persist today.

“One of the things that does concern us is that pressure on the services means children who have low visibility, who are neglected, who are just under the radar may not be getting the service that they need,” she said.

Underlining the need for action to follow words, she said the areas of education, mental health service and the judicial system must also support social services as “the Child and Family Agency cannot address all of these needs on its own”.

The stance was mirrored by leading children’s charity Barnardos, whose chief executive Fergus Finlay stressed providing funds for an area like the protection of children in need — which does not always receive high-profile attention — must not be seen as a “luxury”.

“We used to think of these terrible incidents [deaths of children in State care] as historic. They are not.

“We know the CFA is committed to address the failings of the care system from the past. However, the agency will face a funding crisis at the end of its first year in operation and that must be addressed in Budget 2015. Our concern is that continuous cuts in funding will force the focus to remain on crisis intervention.

“Protecting children and preventing abuse or neglect escalating should not be seen as a luxury, as failure to do so can and unfortunately has, resulted in the unnecessary death of vulnerable children,” he said.

Focus Ireland repeated the message last night, with the homelessness group’s director of advocacy, Mike Allen, saying a “growing number” of young people who leave State child services are becoming homeless when they turn 18.

“Out of the 100 young people from State care which Focus Ireland are currently working with, nearly 40 are in living circumstances which put them at risk. This cannot be allowed to continue if we want to prevent future tragedies,” he said.