High number of Midlands child welfare cases were not assigned to social workers

A report into child protection and welfare services in the Midlands counties of Offaly, Laois, Westmeath and Longford has revealed that the number of child welfare cases in the region which were not assigned social workers was significantly higher than officially reported figures had indicated.

Child protection and welfare cases without an assigned social worker are known as unallocated cases.

Between December 2023 and April of last year the "increasing number of high priority unallocated cases" in the Midlands area was noted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

In November, it carried out a three-day inspection of the Midlands child protection and welfare services which are operated by Tusla, the child and family agency.

The inspection report, which was published recently, outlined details of some of the unallocated cases in the region.

One case involved a “very young child” who was referred to the service “due to concerns that “their parents were not meeting their basic needs.” However, HIQA found that it took six weeks for any contact to be made with the family to establish the level of the concerns.

Another case involved a child who was referred due to concerns about domestic abuse. The report showed the case had been screened within 24 hours and was deemed to be a ‘medium’ priority. Information on file indicated domestic violence in the child's home.

But HIQA inspectors found that, although the case had been reviewed twice by a manager in the previous six weeks, “no action was taken such as contacting the referrer or contacting the mother to establish the current situation.”

“The level of risk was unknown for that child and they had not received any service to address their needs or assess the risks,” the report stated.

The report outlined how, from November 2023 to July 2024, data published on the Tusla website and provided to HIQA showed that, in the Midlands, the proportion of unallocated child protection and welfare cases did not rise above 16%.

However these figures “were not accurate” and the actual number of unallocated cases in the region “would have exceeded 25% on a number of occasions” during that nine-month period.

The 25% threshold is significant, because in 2023 HIQA established a risk-based monitoring programme to monitor all service areas where at least 25% of children had not been allocated a social worker.

The Midlands would have been included in the monitoring programme if the published number of unallocated cases had been over 25% - but because the published figures were inaccurate, it was not included.

HIQA found that Tusla's published figures showed 14% of child protection and welfare cases in the Midlands were unallocated in June of last year, but the actual proportion of allocated cases that month was 30%. In August, 16% of cases were reported as unallocated, when the actual proportion was 26%.

The inspection of the service took place from November 25 to 27, and included meetings with social work managers and staff, and reviews of children's case files.

Inspectors reviewed a sample of 46 individual cases, with 26 of these unallocated at the time of the inspection.

It stated that the Midlands area manager for the service was “experienced” and “committed to driving service improvements”.

However, while all of the staffing positions allocated to the service were filled at the time of the inspection, HIQA found there was “a chronic shortfall in resources” in order to “meet the demands” of the service.

“Many children and families were waiting prolonged periods of time for the completion of preliminary enquiries and initial assessments,” it stated.

HIQA's inspection assessed the service under six headings, finding it to be “not compliant” under four of these headings, and “substantially compliant” under the other two.

As part of its response to the inspection's findings, Tusla said it had set a target date of June 30 this year to reduce the number of unallocated cases below the 25% threshold.

A statement Tusla issued to media after the publication of the inspection report last week, said the Midlands area received over 9,500 child protection and welfare referrals in the 12 months prior to the inspection.

It emphasised that “all new referrals to the service were found to be screened within 24 hours,” and that “immediate action” was taken “in all cases where children are at immediate risk of significant harm.”

However, Tusla acknowledged that its systems in the Midlands had faced “challenges” in dealing with “the volume of referrals, the growing complexity of referrals, and the high number of unallocated cases.”

It said the area had developed “an action plan to bring it into compliance,” and that this had been accepted by HIQA. Commenting on the report, Gerry Hone, Interim Director of Services and Integration at Tusla, said: “Oversight by HIQA assists us in striving for the best possible standards.

“However, on this occasion, due to challenges related to the increasing volume of referrals and the capacity of the service to deal with this increase in demand, we have not reached the standards expected.

“All unallocated cases are subject to oversight. Tusla continues to be proactive in its efforts to address challenges in capacity, and as part of this the Agency has moved to a more multi-disciplinary way of working.

“As such, children and young people may be allocated social workers and other professional roles, such as social care leaders, under the supervision of social workers, as needed.

“Locally, we have taken steps to address the issues identified, and significant efforts are underway in the area to increase capacity and efficiencies,” Mr Hone added.