ANALYSIS:Danny Talbot (19), died of an overdose. He had been in care for most of his life. He is just one of the 188 young people who died in State care or while in contact with social services over the last decade, writes CARL O'BRIEN, Chief Reporter
WHEN THEY combed through his belongings at the hostel where he lived, everything fitted into Danny’s single black plastic bag.
There wasn’t much, just some clothes, a Liverpool football poster and a creased photograph of him. It’s a picture of his Holy Communion and he’s eight years old, smiling broadly with his hands clasped together.
There was also a handwritten note, detailing some of the horrific events of his life. It ended with the words: “My life had been ruined.”
His life was scarred by neglect and ill-treatment, even though social services were alerted to serious concerns about him.
Records show that social services were warned on several occasions about suspected neglect and abuse of Danny while in primary school.
By the time he reached his teens, he was deeply troubled and on a downward spiral into a world of drugs, homelessness and crime.
“We looked for support, but no one seemed interested,” says his aunt, Sandra Lamb. “I think he was just seen as ‘damaged goods’ by the system. He had too much baggage.”
Danny Talbot (19), died of a drugs overdose last year. He had been in the care system for most of his life.
He is just one of the 188 deaths of vulnerable young people who died in State care or while in contact with social services over the past decade.
The figure announced yesterday is shocking in terms of its scale. It’s far too early to say how many were linked to failures of social services. A total of 85 deaths, for example, were due to natural causes.
But we do know that just over 100 vulnerable children, who were in State care or known to social services, died in often brutal and horrific circumstances: suicide, drugs overdoses, unlawful killings.
The fact that they were young people referred to social services so the State would assist in protecting their care and welfare underscores the scale of the tragedy.
The fiasco over accounting for the number of deaths, which has increased from 20, to 23, to 37 and now 188, will doubtless dent confidence further in the State’s embattled social services.
The HSE yesterday explained the reasons behind the shifting numbers. They say there was confusion over the definition of what constituted a death in care, and whether natural and unnatural deaths were included.
They were not looking for excuses, they said, but wanted to explain the reasons for the delay.
Many others may jump to simpler explanation: that some young people who died in care have been quietly forgotten by a system that failed to protect them.
These cases will now be referred to an independent review group established by the Government which will examine in detail how these cases were handled and identify what lessons we can learn in the future.
It would be a fitting, but belated tribute, if these lessons help to transform a chaotic child protection service which has been struggling to meet the needs of vulnerable young people.
For now, though, the grief experienced by families of people like Danny Talbot remains raw.
In many cases, they are haunted by questions of what might have been if services were able to intervene earlier and provide more meaningful support.
“He wanted to unravel everything inside him, he wanted to get his life sorted out. He wanted to make something out of his life, but he had such little confidence because of everything he went through,” says Lamb.
“To be honest, I’m not shocked at the overall number of deaths. Lots of this has been covered up or hidden under the carpet. Danny was failed by the system. We know that much. It never helped him when he needed it most. Children are still being failed today. I see them everyday.”
DEATHS TOTAL CHILDREN WHO HAVE DIED IN CARE
A total of 188 children have died in care or in contact with social services over the past decade. They include:
Children in HSE care
Thirty-seven children died in care of the HSE. Of these, 18 died of unnatural causes. The factors included suicide (five), drugs (five), unlawful killings (two), road traffic incidents (three) and other accidents (three). A further 19 died of natural causes or health-related conditions such as brain tumour, leukaemia, surgical complications and heart disease.
Children known to HSE social services or young people in aftercare
A total of 151 young people known to the HSE or in aftercare have died. Of these, 84 died of unnatural causes. These included suicide (21), unlawful killings (10), drugs (14), road traffic incidents (15) and other accidents (24). A further 67 died of natural causes.
Source: HSE