can anyone help me?

rymus

I'm looking for some kind soul with a subscription to ireland.com and 5 spare minutes to pull 2 articles out of the archive for me. It'll save me trawling through mountains of old newspapers. The links for the articles are below

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2002/0426/3094523974HM2INSPECTION.html

and

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2002/0125/1535141276HMNWEST1.html

if you can help... I owe you a pint

LizardKing

Here ya go .........



http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2002/0426/3094523974HM2INSPECTION.html

Children's centre needs urgent improvement in standards, say inspectors
By Eithne Donnellan



The overall standards of care at a children's residential centre in Dublin need to be improved urgently, according to an inspection report on the centre which has just been published.

Inspectors found only two of 16 members of staff held a recognised qualification in childcare - some had no qualifications at all - and three of the staff had been taken on without Garda clearance.

The Northern Area Health Board centre, which is not named in the report, houses five children aged between eight and 12 years. It failed to meet the national standards for Children's Residential Centres or the requirements of the 1995 Childcare Regulations, the report from the Irish Social Services Inspectorate said. It found:

Recording systems were inadequate and did not provide for sufficient accountability;

There was little evidence of direct work with the young people to support their emotional and psychological development;

One of the young people did not have an allocated social worker. The child was already waiting over 15 months for one;

Fire drills did not take place;

There was no formal programme of staff induction or supervision.

"Given the fact that only two members of staff hold a recognised qualification in residential childcare, it is essential that a comprehensive induction programme is provided," the report said.

The Northern Area Health Board said it would study the recommendations in detail when it had formally received a copy of the report. A spokesman said there had been "significant improvements in overall standards of care" at the centre since it was inspected. He said a permanent manager had now been appointed, all existing staff had been vetted by the gardaí, new fire drill procedures were in place and a new, improved record-keeping system was in use.




© The Irish Times


http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2002/0125/1535141276HMNWEST1.html
Health board report profiles children in care



Most children who are taken into care by the North Western Health Board have to leave the family home because of parental illness or their parents' inability to cope.

Of the total taken into care 11 per cent have suffered sexual abuse and a further 9 per cent are the victims of physical abuse. Of the total, about one third of the children are admitted to care voluntarily.

These are some of the statistics in a new report produced by the NWHB, Growing up in the North West, which covers a wide range of issues from antenatal care and infant feeding to health promotion and the health of Travellers and asylum-seekers.

While the report concludes that the north-west is generally a good place to grow up from the perspective of health, relative to other parts of the country, it also highlights "considerable deficiencies in data and information".

The report carries a profile of the children in care at the end of 2000, when there was a total of 217 under 18 in care. There was little change in 2001, and the total at the end of last year was 220.

Throughout last year a total of 80 children were taken into care, compared to 95 in 2000, and 60 in 1999.

Most of these children manage to avoid going into residential units because of the emphasis on foster care.

Over the past two years there were just 14-15 children staying in such units while all the rest were with foster families. The report stresses that "the foster care service is the most important resource for children in the care of the board".

The Assistant CEO with the NWHB, Mr Pat Dolan, said the aim was not to have any child in care for longer than six months. Of the 14 currently in residential care, just three have been in care for longer than six months.

To date no child in the north-west has ever been put into a secure residential unit, and the board does not have any such facility.

As a result of Mr Justice Peter Kelly's attempts in the High Court to force the State to provide more secure places for troubled children, a new 12-bed "high-support facility" is due to open in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, in June.

While this will be under the control of the North Eastern Health Board, the north-western, western and midland boards are involved in the management steering committee and will be able to refer children to it.

Mr Dolan said that while the NWHB had not had a high support unit "it would be wrong to think that we do not have need for one". While no child has ever been placed in such a unit, the board had been "on the steps of the High Court" (to seek such orders) on a few occasions.

He stressed, however, that the priority was to combine therapeutic services with residential care. About 60 children each year attend a specialist centre in Belleek where behavioural issues are addressed. Because of regulations in the North the maximum time the children can spend in the Co Fermanagh centre is four days.

The emphasis, he said, was also on trying to put resources into family support projects in the community. "We are trying to identify the family who may be at risk and where support could help them," he said.

Mr Dolan said the aim was to move children from residential care into foster care as quickly as possible. "But if there are significant behavioural problems we do have to address them," he said.

It was vitally important to the board that it could continue to recruit foster parents. Over the past year 22 foster parents completed training, and a further 34 are being assessed and trained.

The report, however, notes that recruitment is "an ongoing challenge" for the NWHB.

"A whole range of factors, including the return of women to work, increasing number of children with challenging behaviour and space factors in the home make the recruitment of additional foster carers increasingly difficult," it says.

A profile of the children in care at the end of 2000 shows that of the total number of 217, 53 were five years or under and 94 were aged from six to 12, with the remaining 68 aged between 12 and 18.

The most common reason for children being taken into care was parents being unable to cope or parental illness. Of the 217 in care, 92 were in care for this reason, 38 of whom were admitted to care voluntarily.

Neglect of the child accounted for 29 cases (13 per cent) while sexual abuse accounted for 24 cases (11 per cent) and physical abuse 19 cases (9 per cent).

A total of 16 children were in care because of their parents abusing drugs or alcohol.

An analysis of how the children were admitted shows that 76 of the 217 were admitted to care voluntarily while 28 were admitted under an emergency care order and 113 under other care orders.

Readers who wish to contact this column can leave messages on (01)675 8629

rymus

bless you and all your future generations my good man! A chilly pint of your choice waits for you in Cork

daveirl

This post has been deleted.