Tusla praise for improved HIQA reports

There was “significant improvement” since January 2019 in the volume of unallocated cases, which means children had improved access to the service compared to earlier in the year.

Tusla – Child and Family Agency has welcomed the publication of a report in relation to child protection and welfare services in the Cavan/Monaghan.

The inspection report highlights “many positive aspects” of the child protection and welfare service in Cavan/Monaghan, and major improvements in the services since last year.

Among the key changes acknowledged by the report, and praised by Tusla, is that the service is managed by a “highly motivated management team” who, with the input of the overall team, had achieved “a lot in the 10 months” prior to inspection which took place in January of this year.

“The service had made significant progress in relation to the eradication of the waiting list for initial assessments and in May 2020 the area had no waiting list for children,” say Tusla. “The service was fully staffed at the time of inspection and staff had the right mix of skills and experience to meet the needs of children.”

There has also been a “significant improvement” since January 2019 in the volume of unallocated cases, which means children had improved access to the service compared to earlier in the year.

Children who spoke to inspectors were meanwhile positive about their relationship with their social worker/social care worker and described feeling listened to.

The inspection also highlighted improvements that were required in the safe recruitment practices as inspectors found gaps in some staff files. These issues were rectified within days of the inspection last January, with all files confirmed to now contain the relevant documentation to confirm registration and vetting.

Commenting on the HIQA report, Lisa Anderson, Area Manager, Tusla Cavan/Monaghan said: “We are wholly committed to making our child protection and welfare service even stronger, and are pleased that this inspection highlighted that there was a sense that the service area is making continuous progress.

She added: “Since inspection we have tracked all the measures identified within our service improvement plan, and will continue to make further improvements in the weeks and months ahead.”