Time to act on child protection
SOCIAL justice campaigner, Fr Peter McVerry pulled no punches at the funeral of Daniel McAnaspie on Tuesday, when he said that neglect by the State had contributed to the tragic teenager's death
The 17-year old's body was found in a drain in Meath in May, and it was subsequently revealed he had been stabbed to death. The shocking and cruel nature of this end for a young teenager is all the worse for the fact that he was in the care of the Health Service Executive since 2003.
Mr McAnaspie's death comes almost a year after the Ryan Report, which detailed how vulnerable children placed in care were sexually or physically abused for decades.
Compounding this was the finding that those in authority who had the power to intervene simply did not do so. In the wake of the Ryan Report's findings the Government pledged to act, emphatically stating that never again would the State turn a blind eye to the suffering of children in need of care and protection.
In the intervening year, it seems little has changed. On the contrary the indications seem to be that the State's child protection system is continuing to fail many vulnerable young people.
The evidence of this has been particuarly stark in recent weeks with the news that hundreds of children in foster care are living with unapproved carers, significant numbers of children in care have not been visited by social workers for up to a decade, and that crucial files relating to children in care are missing.
Furthermore, it is only now coming to light how many young people have died while in State care or in contact with services over the past decade. This number went from 23 a fortnight ago, to at least 188 last Friday.
The statistics and official lethargy sometimes mask the reality of the many individual social and health workers who are doing their best to protect children.
However, they are frequently hampered and failed by a dysfunctional and under-resourced system. The past year has been replete with several policy announcements from government. Despite a pledge to recruit an additional 200 social workers and ensure all children are allocated an individual social worker, no meaningful legislative or policy change has been achieved.
Longterm investment is also needed to move away from a crisis management approach in favour of a system that supports families and individuals before problems escalate. More change may also be needed.
Is it time to examine whether the best interests of social services are served by the current structure of operating under the HSE, which has the concerns of the wider health service to consider.
The time is probably overdue for a separate body to deal with this intricate and pressing issue.
Fr Peter McVerry said that the momentum created by Daniel McAnaspie's death must be maintained to ensure every child is protected. As welcome as this would be, it is regretful that it takes an unnecessary death to highlight this issue, a year after the Ryan Report.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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