CHANGE OF TIME FOR LAUNCH OF REPORT
“A Community based study of Synthetic Cannabinoid use in Co. Monaghan”.

Due to other Ministerial Commitments, Mr Aodhan O’Riordan Minister of State will now launch the report at 2:30pm on Nov 25th in Teach Na nDaoine FRC and not as indicated in the Newsletter below.

ANNUAL MULLAGHMATT OUTING 2015
Our annual day trip took place on Saturday 15th August to Bundoran. Such was the attendance that we had to get a second bus, 64 people of all age groups attended and good weather really helped the enjoyment of the day. The GlowBowl & Macs Amusements were a popular venue with a special kiddies corner and many other games.
Bundoran Adventure Park provided Spinning Teacups and Flying Animals suitable for all ages and Thriller Express or the Hulk for those who were more adventurous. Pony rides on the beach were popular and on the whole everybody had an enjoyable day away.

Concern over resource levels for child protection services

Sunday 19 July 2015 13.31

TUSLA says 8,865 cases are awaiting the allocation of a social worker

A review of child protection services obtained by RTÉ’s This Week has found that vulnerable children are being put at risk by a lack of resources, a lack of social workers and inefficient systems.

The National Review of Cases Awaiting Allocation 2015 report from the Child and Family agency Tusla says that as of 28 February, of the total 27,337 open cases, 8,865 had not yet been allocated a social worker.

In one instant, a child in the Midlands has been waiting for an allocated social worker for over four years.

44% of social workers reported an unmanageable case load burden, which did not permit them to full act on files.

The review states that the high allocation of unmanageable workloads is masking the extent of under resourcing.

The report also found a lack of application of standard criteria in prioritising how cases were assessed for allocation.

A report of Social workers are saying that capacity to meet its child protection obligations within current resources.

Serious cases of suspected child abuse are not being followed due to pressure on staff resources an unpublished report seen by RTÉ’s This Week has found. It includes children exposed to “serious domestic violence incidents, reports of physical abuse and other serious welfare or neglect concerns”. The report, which has been raised with the Minister for Children by the National Child and Family Agency Tusla, has expressed “serious concern” about its capacity to meet its child protection obligations within current resources.
The ‘Report of the 2015 National Review of Cases Awaiting Allocation’, which is based on reviews of services and questionnaires with Tusla management and staff highlights their worries over waiting times for at-risk children to be allocated social workers, the level of follow-up actions being carried out on foot of child protection reports and caseloads being dealt with by social workers.

Oireachtas members told of deaths from ‘legal highs’

Thursday 09 July 2015 13.41

Packie Kelly said two young people died in Monaghan as a result of taking cannabinoids
Packie Kelly said two young people died in Monaghan as a result of taking cannabinoids

Oireachtas members have heard of the devastating effect that drugs known as “legal highs” are having on people as young as 13 in Ireland.

A community leader in Monaghan town told committee members that such was the threat posed by the drugs that people were talking about who would die next.

For the first time, members of the Oireachtas committees on health and justice joined forces to hear contributions from those who are dealing with the impact of “legal highs”.

They are substances with stimulant or mood-altering properties whose sale or use is not banned by current legislation regarding the misuse of drugs.

Packie Kelly of the Teach na Daoine resource centre in Monaghan town told committee members that within 12 months, two young people died as a result of taking cannabinoids, which are drugs that mimic the effects of cannabis.

He said the problem was getting worse, with children as young as 13 taking the legal high known as Joker which results in psychotic behaviour.

Mr Kelly added that the problem in Monaghan town was compounded by its proximity to Northern Ireland where other herbal drugs can be purchased easily.

Chairman of the Justice Committee David Stanton said an Oireachtas committee with sole responsibility for drugs needed to be established because of the scale of the problem.

Minister of State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said new psychoactive substances are a constantly changing phenomenon.

He said the problem was being monitored through the national early warning system, which enables the authorities to identify new drugs, describe new trends and report the serious and unusual consequences of drug use.

Mr Ó Ríordáin, who has responsibility for Drugs Strategy, told the committee that there has been an increasing trend towards poly-drug use, involving alcohol, illicit drugs and prescription medication, and this was a major concern for Government.

The Labour minister also said he would be leading the development of a drugs strategy for the period after 2016 and would lay the groundwork for a “concise and focused policy, placing a clear emphasis on the practical implementation of actions in the coming months”.

TÚSLA RESEARCH
Better language skills at age 3 if young minded by relatives – study

Young looked after in creches develop better motor-skills by same age, says Túsla research

A Túsla-commissioned study is the first in Ireland to look at the influence of childcare arrangements from infancy (nine months) up to the age of nine years, on a child’s physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development.
A father dresses his son at their home.

Infants cared for by a relative develop better language skills by the age of three than those cared for in settings such as creches, according to new research.

Children looked after in creches develop better motor-skills such as hand eye co-ordination by the same age, finds the study, commissioned by Túsla – the Child and Family Agency – and the Irish Research Council, and carried out by Maynooth University.

The research found that language skills are the only element in which children who are cared for by their own extended families fare better by the age of three.

One of the key recommendations of the Tusla study is that the focus of childcare policy must broaden from just the early years. There is a necessity for “high quality childcare at all stages of childhood”. -Analysis: Early childhood care scheme too little, too late

“This was the only type of childcare arrangement to have a positive influence on cognitive development,” say the report’s authors, though it was limited to vocabulary and did not impact on visual recognition abilities.

The study is the first in Ireland to look at the influence of childcare arrangements from infancy (nine months) up to the age of nine years, on a child’s physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development.

It is based on data gathered in the national longitudinal study Growing Up in Ireland.

Social class

Access to paid-for childcare depends on social class, the study finds.

While the majority of all children are more likely to be cared for by a parent or parents – 61 per cent of nine-month-olds, 50.3 per cent of three-year-olds and 77 per cent of nine-year-olds – children in high-income households “have significantly greater participation in non-parental care than children living in low-income households.”

The report, due to be published shortly, finds State investment in childcare is having only a limited impact on child outcomes, particularly for those in poverty.

Co-author of the report, Dr Delma Byrne, highlights the limitations of Government policy in tackling childhood inequality.

She points to the need for a more nuanced approach, including greater investment in family supports across childhood, and in universal services for children.

The introduction of the free universal pre-school year for children aged three to four – known as the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme – has not made it easier for parents to work.

Clear barriers

There remain clear barriers to accessing non-parental childcare outside the three hours, Monday to Friday, that ECCE is provided. Non-parental care, unless provided by family, is too expensive for poorer parents.

The researchers found influences other than childcare arrangements were more important on children’s development.

These included family income, education level of the primary care giver, household employment, stress and depression in the primary care giver.

“Many families rely on grandparents and family members for childcare and there are clear positive influences in the early stages of childhood,” comments Dr Byrne.

The impact of childcare on the social and behavioural competencies of three- and nine-year-olds was limited.

‘Socially stratified’

Difficulties at age three are “socially stratified”, with those children in poor and middle-income households, in households with low levels of parental education, “at a greater risk of displaying higher difficulty”than children growing up in households characterised as professional/managerial and with high levels of parental education.

Children whose mothers had depression when they were infants had more social and emotional problems by age three.

Tue, Jul 7, 2015, 13:29

Breakfast Club/Homework Club

Club activities will finish up week ending Friday 2th June. Many thanks to all the kids who were involved and thanks to the parents and volunteers who helped out.

They will resume Tuesday 1st September when children return to school.