State bodies and NGOs as well as the church must be accountable for deficient services
‘SHE WAS the most exposed, vulnerable, undefended child I have ever come across in the 10 years I have been working in this area. No matter who we tried to get to listen, nothing consistent was done for her.” This statement came from a social worker who tried to access proper care for Tracey Fay. This week, details from a leaked report described a litany of neglect of the 18-year-old, who died of a drug overdose in 2002. In Kitty Holland’s reports in 2002 and 2003, the despair of social workers who came in contact with her was evident.
Tracey Fay didn’t slip through the system, says one social worker. “The problem was what happened to her once that system got hold of her. The system is a mess.” The “mess” decreed that Tracey Fay had more than 20 placements in BBs, but never had a proper care plan. A psychological assessment took two years to access. She became pregnant twice and had her babies taken into care, all while in the care of the State.
Another report landed recently on the desk of Minister for Children Barry Andrews, about David Foley (17), who died in care from a drug overdose. It is shameful that something similar may be happening now to some other vulnerable young person.
In the fallout from the Baby P case in Britain, Ofsted, the government agency responsible for inspecting child protection services, was severely criticised because it described the services provided by Haringey Council as “good”. A more in-depth inquiry revealed serious deficiencies.
What is worse than an inspectorate that missed glaring errors? No inspectorate at all. There is no body in Ireland with a statutory responsibility to independently review child protection services. Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan has stepped into the breach and announced that her office will review the implementation of child protection guidelines in the HSE and the Office of the Minister for Children.
It is a well-intentioned move, but nowhere near enough. We need ongoing monitoring by a body with a statutory mandate to enforce change. Commenting on the Minister’s decision to refer the Diocese of Cloyne to the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation, Dr Helen Buckley, senior research fellow in TCD, tried to draw attention to the fact that the entire system needs to be made accountable.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, she said the “question of accountability needs to stretch wider than the church” and it applies across the entire child protection system, all Government bodies and agencies.
Her point needs to be heard. When it comes to child protection, attention tends to focus on dioceses and religious orders. This is understandable because those who preach the gospel should be held to the highest standards of accountability. The fallout from revelations in Cloyne has done untold damage to confidence in the church’s ability to really deal with the protection of children.
There is an old cliché that the media cannot tell us what to think but it does tell us what to think about. It could do a great public service by drawing attention to deficiencies in other areas.
In July last year, the Office of the Minister for Children published three reports on compliance by State bodies and NGOs with Children First, the State’s child protection guidelines. One of these reports was written by Dr Helen Buckley.
The reports received minimal coverage, although they highlighted severe deficiencies and inconsistencies in the way protection guidelines are implemented. An NGO involved in children’s advocacy is quoted as follows: “Overall, our experience is that there is wide variation across the country in implementing the guidelines. Although the guidelines set out clear responsibility, some HSE areas are implementing them in full, others are implementing some parts, while others are not operating the guidelines at all. We have been informed that this is due to lack of resources and lack of capacity.”
This is an extraordinary, dangerous situation. It would be easy to demonise social workers overburdened with heavy caseloads. Nor can we demonise the HSE, given that it has inherited 32 community care areas. However, while it may be understandable that there is a lack of consistency in implementing guidelines in a system that needs rationalisation, we wouldn’t accept that excuse from the church.
There is a sense in which the Minister and previous ministers with responsibility for children are getting off lightly. The Minister has said the guidelines are robust and downplayed the fact that there are inconsistencies in their implementation. Why are inconsistencies wrong for the church but acceptable for the State?
The Health Information and Quality Authority is an obvious candidate to inspect child protection services. It does a very good job of inspecting residential care services for young people, and special care facilities, but has no legislative mandate to inspect child protection services. There is also no statutory requirement to comply with the Children First guidelines. Children are not slipping through the system – the system is a mess, and will continue to be until legislation is put in place to ensure compliance with Children First, matched by sufficient funding to ensure that the system functions properly. This issue is far bigger than the church. It is a scandal that concerns every organisation with responsibility for children.