A PROTOCOL for the conduct of child protection case conferences, the first of its kind in the Republic, has been introduced by the Southern Health Board for the Cork and Kerry region.
Developed by Mr Robbie Gilligan and Ms Ruth Chapman, of the Social Studies Department at Trinity College, the protocol amounts to a detailed guide for the management of case conferences involving children who have been abused or neglected, and is likely to be taken up by health boards throughout the State.
At the presentation in Cork this week, Mr Pat Madden, a programme manager with the board said the protocol was an important milestone in the development of child care and support in Cork and Kerry.
"There are many children whose experience in care was not what it should be. We have acknowledged that if the care system is to be meaningful for children, we must have a careful assessment of a child's circumstances before admission to care. Only in this way can it be established that care is the best option for meeting a given child's needs," he added.
"Mary, the Kilkenny child [an incest victim], sought and received services and assistance from the health services, through doctors, hospitals, public health nurses and social workers, on many occasions. Despite this, the central core of her problem was never fully known, investigated, understood or resolved. An interdisciplinary and inter-agency approach would have provided an effective probing of the nature and cause of the problem that became the Kilkenny incest case."
Mr Madden said the introduction of the protocol would not in itself protect children from abuse. "It will, however, reinforce the shared responsibility that we all have for the welfare of children. The reasons and issues that force children into the care of any health board must not be seen solely as the concern of the health services. Other statutory and non-statutory agencies and the community as a whole must share responsibility," he said.
There will now be a standardised approach to child case conferences throughout the southern board region; conferences will be fewer and better planned; there will be multi-disciplinary chairing of the conferences to ensure the necessary degree of expertise and neutrality; and dedicated secretarial services will provided to record the proceedings.
Already, as part of the protocol relevant staff have received training in conference management. The protocol also calls for a clear system of monitoring the outcome of conferences and reviewing subsequent progress in cases.
In 1995 the board had 500 children in its care.