HIQA report finds failings in Donegal child welfare services

An action plan has been put in place to address deficits in the Child Welfare and Protection Services in County Donegal identified in a HIQA report.
The report identified a number of issues in the services including a delay in children and families in accessing a number of child protection and welfare services.
The report focused on Donegal which is one of 17 service areas under the control of the Child and Family Agency.
HIQA carried out the announced review of services in Donegal over the course of a week in May of this year.
The report states that systems in place to manage the risk posed by alleged and or convicted offenders in the community were not robust enough and that the service plan provided was inadequate and insufficiently detailed.
The report found that there were waiting lists for children and families in accessing a number of child protection and welfare services and that systems in place to manage waitlists were not always effective and that not all cases were closed in a timely manner.
It also found the service was only moderate in compliance in ensuring child protection or family support plans were sufficiently detailed with clear and adequate actions to be taken.
HIQA found the Donegal service did not fully implement the Children First act 2011 on a consistent basis.
Having reviewed the report, The Child and Family Agency drew up an action plan to address the failings raised in it – some of those measures have already been introduced with more to follow.
The full report is available on the HIQA website.