Download LizCanavan-OMCYAAGM2010 - Children`s Rights Alliance

Elizabeth Canavan
Principal
Child and Youth Service Development Unit
Office of the Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs
Child and Youth Services
Development
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Children’s Services Committees
Prevention and Early Intervention Programme
Youth Development
Play and Recreation
International
National Children’s Strategy
The Changing Context for
Children’s Services
• National Children’s Strategy – whole-child
perspective
• Developmental Welfare State (NESC, 2005)
• Mid-term review of the National Children’s
Strategy – the implementation deficit
• Towards 2016 - focus on the needs of children and
young adults
Other Developments
• Shifts in Emphasis– For practitioners: From protection and problemorientation to strengths based and resilience building
– For policy makers/providers: From integration of
policy to integration of service delivery
• “Evidence” gaining greater currency supported
by OMCYA role
• Agenda for Children’s Services (2007) – multiagency and disciplinary role in protecting and
promoting child well-being
Policy Response
• Towards 2016 - Structures
– Establishment of the National Children’s
Strategy Implementation Group (NCSIG)
– The NCSIG will establish a Children’s
Services Committee under each of the 34
city and/or county development boards in
the country.
• CSCs intended bridge the
“implementation gap” – with HSE lead
NCSIG Vision
Children, young people and their families
will receive the support and services they
need to create better futures for children
through all local agencies and organisations
working together.
The Approach
• CSCs bring together a diverse group of agencies to
engage in joint planning and interagency
collaboration in delivery of services to children with
the purpose of securing better developmental
outcomes for children.
• Development locally determined and led within a
flexible framework devised and agreed at national
level.
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Very little prescription
Local champion approach
Model to be informed and designed from the ground up
Focus on Prevention / Early Intervention / Innovative
Practice
What Happened Next……
• In 2007 four multi agency Children’s Services
Committees were set up: Dublin City, South Dublin,
Donegal and Limerick City
• Detailed county/city plans were drafted for 4 sites
and implementation underway
• Six Phase II “volunteer” CSCs on stream – workplans
by end 2010
• Toolkit produced in June 2009
• Three Year Strategic Plan for the Development and
Implementation of the CSC initiative finalised in
January 2010
Background to the Strategic
Development Plan
• Fieldwork / Prospectus Strategy Consultants input
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Positive themes emerging
Considerable feedback for “more perscription please” !!
Clearly emerging issues requiring national response
Technical supports needed
• Emerging role of CES
– Development of CES workplan
– Establishment of respective roles of OMCYA/CES in
supporting NCSIG in driving the initiative
– Phases II and III and beyond to be actively supported
• Longer term strategic plan required
Key Themes Governance / Mandate
• Structures remain vertically, hierachically organised –
mandate, authority, accountability, identity, loyalty and
reward pull activities up and down through organisations
• Cross-cutting requires high level mandate and authority
which gives the same push and pull to horizontal action
and which people can identify with, be accountable for,
show loyalty around and be rewarded for.
• Otherwise, we are asking people to swim against a very
strong current.
Key Themes Systems / Behaviours
• Crisis / Problems can galvanise us into thinking
collaboratively but only temporarily – system demands
something else.
• Funding is the powerhouse – it limits and potentially
changes this dynamic if the funding and accountability
system changes – money drives activity and demands
accountability
• People are central but need the strong incentives and
new competencies to justify the effort involved in acting
vertically and horizontally concurrently.
Emerging Focus Policy
• Joined up working mandated nationally at the
highest levels on a system-wide inter-agency basis.
(Agenda for Children’s Services (2007), OMCYA).
• Placing a value on and requiring integrated working
as “part of the day job” right down to practitioner
level without detracting from individual Department
and Agency accountability arrangements.
• Supporting the behavioural change and managing
the risk-taking associated with this approach.
Emerging Focus Practical Supports
• Local inter-agency protocols and memoranda of
understanding/agreements for joint planning and
commissioning.
• Better data / systems that can “talk” to one another
• Protocols/mechanisms for appropriate data and
information sharing
• Frameworks for shared outcomes and priorities and roles
leading to joint plans containing linked, co-ordinated or
fully integrated actions.
• Assuring the participation of children, young people,
families and communities at all levels in the process.
10 Outcomes to be
achieved by Dec 2012
• 20+ CSCs in place
• Governance framework in place
• NCSIG key driver for strategic planning and
resourcing decisions at national level
• Structured engagement between statutory/
voluntary and community sectors
• Children and young people’s participation
10 Outcomes to be
achieved by Dec 2012
• Networking & Communications Strategy
• Evaluation plan in place
• Comparative data on children’s outcomes
available at county level
• Developing culture – evidence informs policy and
practice
• CSCs identified service delivery/practice
changes
Next Steps
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Updated Toolkit
Phase II CSCs Workplans – Dec 2010
Invitations issued to Phase III – Dec 2011
Emerging Trends
Two areas where work to be initiated
– Active participation by children and young people in
planning and delivery of services
– Structured engagement between the statutory and
voluntary sectors at local, community and nation level
Background to the PEIP
• Context
– Drive to move from crisis intervention to early
intervention/prevention in children’s services
– Needs-based / Outcomes orientation important
– Need to understand policy to practice connect better
– Integration of services also an issue
• Philanthropy active in these areas
The “logic model” approach
• Outcome oriented concept of integrated
children’s services
• Locally determined with strong ownership
• Evidence of what works, proven models of
intervention
• Services designed for families, communities
and agencies working together
• Early intervention to avoid significant
intervention later in life cycle
Selection Criteria for PEIP Projects
• Involves prevention and early intervention
services for families/children
• Cross sectoral approach with strong provider and
statutory support
• Linked to Evidence “of what works”
• Based on local “needs assessment”
• Has philanthropic support
Successful Applicants
• Three candidate projects approved in December, 2006
and Contracts / Service Level Agreements finalised
early 2007:
– Tallaght West Childhood Development Initiative (10-year
strategy),
– Preparing for Life – (6-year project) Northside Partnership
(Darndale, Moatview and Belcamp)
– Youngballymun – (10-year strategy) Ballymun Development
Group
Project Interventions
Tallaght West CDI:
• Early Childhood Care and Eduation
• “Doodle Den” afterschool literacy programme
• “Mate-Tricks” afterschool pro-social behaviour
programme
• Health Schools Initiative
• Community Safety Initiative
• A Safe and Healthy Place
• Quality Enhancement Programme
Project Interventions (cont’d)
Youngballymun:
• “Ready, Steady, Grow”, pre-birth support and
baby and toddler development
• 3, 4, 5 Learning Years (Highscope)
• Incredible Years, teacher-parent-child training
and support programme
• Write Minded, literacy support
• Jigsaw Youngballymun, youth well being
programme
Project Interventions (cont’d)
Preparing for Life
• Prenatal Support Programme
• Improving parenting skills to promote child
development:
– Regular one to one support from a trained mentor/home
visitor
– Group training for parents using the Triple P (Positive
Parenting Programme)
– Public health messages
– Supporting parents to access and appropriately utilise
existing services
• Developing and integrating services
Rigorous Evaluation
• Learning will be captured in terms of what works and
why it works (or not!!)
• Common baseline data collection, alignment on use of
survey instruments, pooling of results on similar
services, use of best international practice
• Results will be monitored and evaluated through
programme support structures at national and local
level
• Important input to policy and service development
Lessons to date
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Dedicated funding stream
Patience and flexibility
Networking and influencing critical
“Champions” at local/regional level
Hard work to achieve tipping points at
individual and organisational level
• Practical academic expertise of significant
value
Youth Development
Youth Work Act, 2001
“Young person - a person who has not attained the age of
25 years”
“Youth Work - “a planned programme of education”
“That particular regard be had to the youth work
requirements of
(i) Persons who have attained the age of 10 years but
not 21 years, and
(ii) Other young persons who are socially and
economically disadvantaged” (Youth Work Act, 2001)
The Practice of Youth Work
Youth Work Sector
– actively works with young people outside, yet alongside, the formal
education sector
– operates in various settings spanning non-formal education through to
informal education.
– engages young people from ten to twenty-four years of age,
representing a significant period in both development and duration
– often acts as the point of contact and referral in the interface with other
youth-related issues spanning the realms of care, health, and welfare.
Youth work is:
– educational & elective
– structured & systematic
• Work and practice needs clearer identification and more cogent
articulation in the context of children and youth services
development framework
Key Strategic Objectives for 2010
• Introduce a National Quality Standards Framework (QSF) for the
youth work sector in September 2010
• Finalise the new reporting procedures for youth work organisations
& services and introduce an information management system
within the CYSDU to address an information deficit and build a
knowledge base
• Develop a Youth Development Strategy to accommodate and
guide the broad range of youth policy and provision within the
OMCYA and to enusre that youth work has pivotal positioning
amongst a ‘community of practices’ working with and providing for
young people.
Play and Recreation
Key activities for 2010
• Promoting play and recreation through small grant
fund to local authorities to support two initiatives
– National Play Day – 4th July, 2010
– National Recreation Week – 29th Oct to 4th Nov, 2010
• Sourcing of funding / development of youth café
programme
• Continuing development of the National Play and
Recreation Resource Centre website
International
• Report to UNCRC
– Work ongoing
– Changing economic situation and rapid series of
budgetary reductions needs to be reflected
– Changing policy/departmental responsibilities
adding further to complexity
– Aiming to finalise in third quarter of 2010
– Will include consultation with the sector through
CRA once a reasonable draft available
National Children’s Strategy
• Currently examing best methodology in the
current climate
• Principles and goals of the National Children’s
Strategy
• Focus on outcomes – the 7 National Outcomes
being considered
• Consultation a key feature
• Precise process and timeframe to be agreed
shortly
Referendum
• Third and final report of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional
Amendment on Children presented to Cabinet in early March.
• Cabinet referred the matter to the Cabinet Committee on Social
Inclusion to consider the report and examine the implications of the
proposed wording for their individual areas of responsibility
• A Senior Officials Group working to the Cabinet Sub Committee
has been reconvened to guide the interaction and coordinate the
responses of all Government Departments. This group has met
twice, and will complete its work shortly.
• The Attorney General has been considering the legal and
constitutional ramifications of the report. His input will be critical in
terms of deciding on future actions.
Pending Legislation
• Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2009
– Provides for High Court to have statutory jusrisdiction
to hear applications by the HSE for special care
orders/interim special care orders where children’s
welfare may require detention in a special care unit
– Special care units will be inspected under the Health
Act 2007
– Dissolution of the Children Acts Advisory Board
Pending Legislation
• Adoption Bill 2009
– To ratify the Hague Convention and to statutorily
provide for intercounty adoptions to be in accordance
with the standards set out in the Convention
– To repeal the Adoption Acts 1952 – 1998 and bring
forward, restate or update provisions of those Acts,
as appropriate
– To re-establish the Adoption Board as the Adoption
Authority of Ireland with additional functions/powers
Pending Legislation
• National Vetting Bureau Bill
– Provides a statutory basis for the vetting of applicants
for employment and employees
– Provides for the establishment of a National Vetting
Bureau
– OMCYA in conjunction with Dept. of Justice currently
drafting Heads of Bill for submission to Government