THE Health Service Executive did not assess over 9,000 cases of reported cases of child abuse and neglect last year, a childcare report has revealed.In 2008, the HSE received 24,668 reports relating to child abuse, neglect and child welfare concerns, but "initial assessments" were only undertaken in respect of 15,364 children.
The revelations, in the HSE’s own Review of Adequacy of Services for Children and Families report, reflects once again how workloads on social workers are causing cases to fall through the cracks.
Of 2,379 reports of sexual abuse in 2008, only 1,657 were assessed.
Of 4,766 reports of neglect last year, 3,215 were assessed.
The report, published yesterday, shows that 20% of children in care do not have an allocated social worker assigned — a 7% worsening on 2007 figures.
It also reveals that confirmed child abuse cases rose by 9.4% last year.
The main reasons children were taken into care were because parents were unable to cope, or family difficulty regarding housing and finance, followed by child neglect and drug or alcohol abuse by a family member.
Also in 2008, 345 children were the subject of new supervision orders, 22 separated children went missing from HSE care last year and 234 children appeared homeless.
Last night, Alan Shatter said it was "scandalous" that no initial assessment had been undertaken over 9,304 reports of abuse.
He said it was unacceptable that the 2008 report confirmed the continued systemic failure within child protection services.
"The HSE utterly fails to adequately explain why so many reports of children at risk were not initially assessed," he said.
"The only explanation offered relates to differences in the manner local health offices process cases through the system and an acknowledgement that there is some variation with regard to how cases are defined."
Director of services of the ISPCC Caroline O’Sullivan said that, once again, there appeared to be a "fire-fighting" approach by the HSE in responding to child protection and welfare concerns.
She said vulnerable children and families remained at risk.
"In addition to expanding service provision that responds to immediate child protection concerns, we need to have a system that focuses on early intervention and prevention to support parents who are unable to cope thus reducing the number of children who are taken into care," she said.
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