A Meta-Analysis Of Repetitive Root Cause Issues Regarding The Provision Of Services For Children In Care

This meta-analysis report is designed to highlight many of the flaws of the system in which some of the most vulnerable children find themselves in. However, it also offers a range of recommendations which aim to account for the systemic root causes of these recurring problems. The Ombudsman for Children’s Office has been investigating issues relating to children in care for 10 years and, in light of the re-organisation of children’s services, sought to provide an overview of the repetitive issues and their root causes so that the new agency, ‘Tusla’ could benefit from these systemic recommendations. The Ombudsman for Children’s first special report to the Parliament in 2006 related to complaints regarding child protection concerns; the Office’s first own-volition, systemic investigation was an examination of the implementation of Ireland’s national child protection guidelines across the country. Complaints relating to children in care have accounted for ten per cent of the total number of complaints received by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office between 2004 and 2012. As the number of complaints has grown, so too has the complexity of the cases examined. The most recent figures show that there are over 6,000 children being cared for outside their own families and therefore the appropriate care and protection of these children is a major concern for this office. Notwithstanding the diversity of the investigations carried out by the Ombudsman’s Office in this area, it is clear that many problems identified are manifestations of recurring and systemic difficulties. Due to the establishment of the new Child and Family Agency, the Ombudsman’s Office considers it appropriate to submit a meta-analysis of a number of investigations in the area of children in care. By combining and contrasting the findings of different investigations, the analysis highlights common trends that can inform legal and policy developments in this area. This report is being submitted in accordance with section 13(7) of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, which provides that the Ombudsman for Children may lay reports before the Oireachtas on the performance of her functions as she thinks fit. Where systemic problems have been identified with the operation of legislation or provision of services to children, it should not be necessary for quasi-judicial bodies such as the Ombudsman for Children’s Office to investigate the same problems repeatedly. It is hoped that the findings of this report and the recommendations it contains will contribute positively to the ongoing reform of Ireland’s child and family support services, and that the root causes identified in the investigations underpinning the report cease to be the subject of examination by the Ombudsman’s Office save in exceptional circumstances.