Tusla, The Child and Family Agency, has said it ‘notes’ today’s publication of a HIQA inspection report for Child Protection and Welfare Services in Donegal.
The focus of this inspection was on children listed on the Child Protection Notification System (CPNS) who were subject to a child protection safety plan, and the aligned governance arrangements in place to ensure effective and timely service delivery to these children.
The HIQA inspection found that the Donegal Child Protection and Welfare Service provided a ‘good quality, safe service’ to children identified as at ongoing risk of significant harm in the area.
Children listed on the CPNS received a social work service which had effective leadership, governance and management arrangements in place, that report also said.
All children listed on the CPNS had an allocated social worker and effective actions were taken to ensure children’s safety when they were found to be at ongoing risk of significant harm.
The report also noted good practice in relation to multi-agency working and professional collaboration which helped ensure that children experienced good quality care and that they were safe and supported.
Marie Crawley, Area Manager for Donegal, Tusla, welcomed the report
“This report highlights many examples of the good practice that occurs in Donegal on a day-to-day basis within Tusla, and we are pleased that the area was found by the inspectors to have high levels of compliance with the standards assessed,” Ms Crawley said.
“Tusla has agreed a number of actions with HIQA to further improve the service and to build upon the foundation of good work that is carried out by our staff. We will continue our commitment to further improvements in the months ahead.”
The report also noted areas where improvements were required, such as the quality of record keeping in relation to case supervision and audits of children’s records.
In addition, HIQA stated a small number of safety plans were not sufficiently comprehensive. Tusla Donegal has agreed a number of actions with HIQA to improve on these aspects of the service.
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