Hike in child protection referrals ‘alarming’

THERE was a dramatic 134% increase in the number of Clare child protection referrals (CPR) over a five year period from 2008 to 2012, a new report has confirmed. Describing the statistic as “alarming”, HSE West Forum chairman, Councillor Tom McNamara has urged TUSLA, the new Child and Family Agency, to investigate the hike in the Clare child protection referrals from 255 in 2008 to 597 in 2012, which in percentage terms is the highest in the Mid-West. This huge jump was almost two and half times the rise for the western region, which went up by 57% over the same period from 2,614 referrals in 2008 to 4,108 in 2012. The Clare CPR figure of 192.7% per 10,000 is the 11th highest in the country and is also 28.6% higher than the national average of 164.1%. Councillor McNamara is also concerned about the 66% increase in Clare welfare referrals from 425 in 2008 to 707 in 2012. “The increase in the number of Clare child protection referrals is alarming. It is also disappointing to see these figures increase. I would prefer to see them in decline. “I am calling on TUSLA to investigate this increase in order to establish the underlying causes. In order to tackle suspected child abuse, you have to identify the cause,” he said. Dan Danaher TUSLA had not responded to a number of Clare Champion queries at the time of going to press. The 2012 Review of Adequacy for HSE Children and Family Support report revealed the number of child protection referrals increased by 121% in Limerick from 268 to 325, while the corresponding figures in North Tipperary increased by 83% from 188 to 156, over the same period. The child protection referral rate of 5.1% per 1,000 people in Clare is also the highest in the Mid-West, compared to 3% in Limerick and 4.8% in North Tipp. The welfare referral rate of 6% in Clare is also higher than 5.5 per 1,000 in Limerick, but is lower than the 8.8% rate in North Tipperary. The report didn’t provide any figures for the number of Clare confirmed child abuse cases, following a thorough investigation of referrals by a local team of social workers. Commenting on child protection referrals in the Ennis area, a Garda spokesman said the increase was due to a better understanding and reporting by gardaí in relation to child safety following intensive training. Stating the gardaí were the only State agency dealing with child protection complaints on a 24-hour basis, he said once gardaí felt there were grounds for a genuine concern they reported this to the relevant agency to ensure children are being adequately protected. He added people dealing with children on a regular basis such as teachers now had a better understanding about their responsibilities in relation to child protection. The 2012 Review also found the number of Clare children in care jumped from 126 in 2008 to 171 in 2012 up by 35.7%, compared to the national average increase of 18.2% during this five-year period. Official statistics showed 47 Clare children were in care for less than one year; 59 were in care for one to five years and another 67 were in care for more than five years. A child protection referral to a social work department includes all information received where there are concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child. According to the 201 Review, a balance needs to be struck between protecting the child and avoiding unnecessary and distressing intervention. In 2012, there were five HSE Children and Family Services Monitoring and Inspection teams throughout the country. In HSE West, there were two vacant inspection and monitoring posts at the end of 2012, which would make fulfilling statutory inspections in that area unsustainable going into 2013 without considerable assistance from the other regions.