Brief on Main Developments in Child Care since 1990
(Note: this is additional material related to “Government Publishes Ferns Inquiry.
1. The Child Care Act 1991
The Child Care Act, 1991 was the basis for the most significant changes in child care services since the Children Act, 1908. This Act focuses on the child and the promotion of the child’s welfare. It also places a specific duty on Health Boards (now the Health Service Executive) to identify children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and in promoting their welfare to provide child care and family support services. This Act underpins the basic tenet that the welfare of the child is of paramount importance. Following the Report of the Kilkenny Incest Inquiry (1993) very significant funding and approximately 1000 extra posts child care, social workers etc were put in place in the health system to allow for the full implementation of the Child Care Act. This occurred by the end of 1996.
2. Funding
Over the period 1991-2005 successive Governments have provided additional funding of the order of €240m in total for child care and family support services to safeguard the welfare of children and in particular those at risk. An additional €5.723m of this has been made available for 2005.
3. Mandatory Reporting
A discussion document on Mandatory Reporting was produced by the Department of Health in 1996. Its purpose was to ascertain whether or not mandatory reporting of child abuse would be a useful addition to the measures which were already in place at that time to combat child abuse. This discussion document also looked at this issue in other countries in order to inform the debate A draft White Paper on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse was prepared in 2000 along with a draft Memorandum for Government. These documents were circulated to Government Departments and in view of the comments and observations made and consultations with the Attorney General’s Office, it was clear that there were very complex legal issues which needed further consideration. However, in the meantime, Children First – National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children had been published and the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 had been introduced. In the light of these developments mandatory reporting was not pursued.
4. Children First-National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children.
In 1998 a working group to review the child abuse guidelines was established to prepare revised guidelines aimed at improving the identification, investigation and management of child abuse. The membership of this group was wide-ranging including Government Departments, Gardai, HSE, universities, trade unions, hospital representatives and non-governmental bodies. The revised guidelines, Children First-national Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, were published in 1999. Approx € 9.5m has been provided for implementation. A detailed brief on Children First is attached in the appendix.
5. Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998
This Act came into operation on 23 January, 1999. The main provisions are
- The provision of immunity from civil liability to any person who reports child abuse “reasonably and in good faith” to designated officers of the health board, now the HSE or any member of An Garda Síochána.
- The provision of significant protections for employees who report child abuse covering all employees and all forms of discrimination.
- The creation of a new offence of false reporting of child abuse.
The HSE has appointed a wide range of designated officers including staff in nursing, medical, paramedical and other fields.
6. Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU)
The Central Vetting Unit was established in January 2002. The Unit currently deals with more than 100,000 requests per annum. Following the publication of a working group report, it is planned to extend vetting to a wide range of staff working with children. Ensuring the protection, health and welfare of children is a key concern for the Government, for parents, for agencies that work with children and for society generally and the Government is determined to do all that it can to keep children and vulnerable adults safe.
- To this end, the number of staff employed in the Central Vetting Unit run by the Garda Siochana is being doubled to ensure that they can handle a greater volume of requests from employers.
- The Unit will commence the augmentation of its existing vetting arrangements upon decentralisation targeted from mid-November this year.
- The provision of additional staff resources for the GCVU will enable the Garda Síochána’s vetting services to be extended to all persons working with children and vulnerable adults. This will include teachers, caretakers and others working with children.
- The issue of the introduction of vetting legislation is also under consideration.
7. Ombudsman for Children
The first Ombudsman for Children, Ms. Emily Logan, was appointed by the President in December, 2003. She was appointed following an innovative recruitment process involving children and young people in all aspects of the process, from job description to selection. The main functions of the Ombudsmans office are to deal with complaints by and on behalf of children and to promote the rights and welfare of young people.
8. Other Developments
- Appointment of a Minister for Children and a Cabinet Committee on Children.
- Publication of Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children in 1999.
- The establishment of the Social Services Inspectorate in 1999.
- Publication of the National Children’s Strategy in 2000 (the first goal of which is to give children a voice) and establishment of the National Children’s Office to drive and oversee implementation of the strategy.
Appendix
Children First – National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children.
- Overarching national guidelines
- Published in September 1999
- Children First emphasise that the needs of children and families must be at the centre of child care and child protection activity and that a partnership approach must inform the delivery of services.
- They also highlight the importance of consistency between policies and procedures across Health Service Excutive (HSE) and other statutory and voluntary organisations.
Objectives of the Children First guidelines
- Aim to maximise the capacity of staff and organisations to protect children effectively
- To consolidate inter-agency co-operation based on clarity of responsibility, co-ordination of information, and partnership arrangements between disciplines and agencies;
- To clarify and promote mutual understanding among statutory and voluntary organisations about the contributions of different disciplines and professions to child protection.
- To facilitate effective child protection work by emphasising the importance of family support services and the need for clarity of responsibility between various professional disciplines
- Children have a right to be heard, listened to, and to be taken seriously. Taking into account their age and understanding, they should be consulted and involved in all matters and decisions which may affect their lives
- Parents have a right to respect and should be consulted and involved in matters concerning their child
- that society has a duty of care to children and that individuals must primarily be responsible for reporting concerns or suspicions of child abuse
- guidance on reporting child abuse - any person who suspects that a child is being abused, or is at risk of abuse should make a report to the HSE or the Gardaí without delay
Total additional funding of €9.47m (£7.450m) has been made available since the guidelines were launched. The additional funding is being used by the HSE to create the infrastructure necessary to support full implementation.
- Implementation Officers appointed
- Training Officers appointed
- Information and Advice Officers appointed
- Additional social work and administrative staff appointed
Inter-Agency Co-Operation
One of the key areas of the guidelines is in relation to the promotion of inter-agency co-operation and the recognition of the need for training for staff involved in the area of child protection.
Developments in this area have been very positive following publication of Children First. For example,
- An Garda Síochána and HSE social workers have received joint training. Getting people together and providing joint training presents its own difficulties but also presents opportunities for agencies to build relationships and appreciation for each other's role.
- Many other organisations have reviewed and revised their own guidelines - Irish Sports Council, National Youth Federation, Department of Education (Primary Schools). HSE have assisted this process and Our Duty to Care and the Information and Advice Officers will support the continuation of this Promoting Good Practice & Linkages with Voluntary Organisations
- Children First also recognises the need to support community and voluntary groups develop best practice in their dealings with children. The publication of Our Duty to Care and the training video are a major step in assisting the HSE meet this requirement.
- The creation of the Information and Advice Officer post in the HSE is a pivotal post for promoting public awareness about child protection concerns and promoting good child protection practice. Voluntary and community groups will have for the first time, a named person in each board whose responsibility is to develop good working relationships and network with all groups dealing with children in their area.
