Once in a Generation Gordon Jeyes CEO Designate

Once in a Generation Gordon Jeyes CEO Designate Child & Family Support Agency Always Children First

Imperatives l l Statutory l 2 Moral Effective Always Children First

The need for: l Family Support – a loving nurturing home environment for each child l Community support – a positive childhood encouraging participation and promoting sport, culture and arts entitlements l School / Education Support – raising achievements for all, ensuring individual children reach their potential, arranging additional support for those who require it l Health Support – ensuring children develop strong decision making capacity 3 Always Children First

Vision for a Quality Irish Childhood 1. Health, both physically and mentally 2. Supported in active learning 3. Safe from accidental and intentional harm / secure in the immediate and wider physical environment 4. Economically secure 5. Part of positive networks of family, friends, neighbours and the community / included and participating in society 4 Always Children First

Key messages from International Comparisons Most child protection and welfare systems are in constant change. l All have extended the traditional remit of ‘child protection’ to include more broadly child welfare and child well-being l Each jurisdiction has specific structures in place to deliver child protection services, for example, Children’s Aid Societies (Ontario), Local Children’s Safeguarding Boards (England), Safeguarding Panels (NI) l All reform initiatives, programmes or policy frameworks have an increased focus on interagency collaboration and early intervention and prevention l Most have clearly determined that the service delivery agent, whether the department itself or an executive agency, is accountable to a senior official within the Ministry (Director General / Secretary General) l 5 Most systems struggling to establish clear lines of accountability Always Children First

Why? ‘The Task Force’s design of the range of services to be overseen by the CFSA is centred on the needs of children and families, rather than existing professional or organisational boundaries. ’ 6 Always Children First

Design Values l l l l 7 Support and promote the wellbeing of children, young people, and their families in the line with the Vision formulated and a life course approach to addressing individual and family needs Clarify decision making roles and responsibility; strengthen accountability; and improve innovation and flexibility Facilitate the delivery of services in a consistent, equitable and personalised manner Facilitate the delivery of services in an effective and efficient manner Provide for informed action and innovation through a strong Research & Development orientation Support workforce development, best practice, and high quality service provision Overcome legacy difficulties to achieve effective and consistent local implementation through national standards, quality assurance, performance management, and capacity building. Always Children First

Design principles l The design should reflect the principle of subsidiarity with services provided at the most local level l Services should be provided locally, with some national exceptions. Business support services may be provided at the regional level where economies of scale can be achieved. l The final configuration must be support by strong local accountability l Local service units should be supported by strong national / central direction and oversight l The design model should seek to maximize co-terminosity with existing sectoral boundaries and allow for the necessary level of flexibility required to deliver the benefits of effective multi-disciplinary working and co-operation l The organisational design must take into account issues of scale and critical mass in determining the service unit configuration l 8 The design should facilitate a system of equitable resource at location. Always Children First

Articulating a value base for organisational change serves a number of purposes: l l l 9 Creating a workforce with the right skill set, for the task of working with the most difficult to reach families in a complex society Knowing what skill sets to prioritise when resources are limited Drawing staff together from disparate roles and isolated working conditions into a common shared understanding A basis on which to build policy and procedure A way of matching applicants to the organisation. They can be selected and can self select according to the value base Providing a practical way to become a ‘safer employer Always Children First

Delivery l l 10 The commitment to putting the well being and interests of children first Children who are heard in all decisions that affect them and who are given the opportunity collectively to influence policy in the change programme and beyond Transparent accountability and clearly articulated levels of responsibility Increased community engagement and a commitment to deliver inclusive, accessible services Always Children First

Requirements l l l 11 The support and permission of the community Well defined local mechanisms for accountability to ensure focused, disciplined relationships among all those promoting the welfare of children High support to enable high challenge within clear lines of management accountability. Strategy and policy are on a nationwide basis and decisions and practice taken forward at the most local practical level Always Children First

Budget l l Residential Care l Foster Care l Voluntary Community Sector l 12 Expenditure Workforce Development Always Children First

Disaggregation l l WTE l Mapping l Corporate l 13 Budget New Relationships Always Children First

Children and Family Services Agency – Strategic Governance DCYA * Note: Other proper governance issues are to be resolved here depending on format of Agency Recommendations by Task Force National Director Internal Audit* Head of Finance 14 Head of Quality and Assurance Chief Operations Officer Head of Strategy • Span of control in line with good practice; • Top team functions aligned with Children and Family priorities and challenges; • Open issue – Alignment of new agencies to – short term, long term structure Always Children First • e. g. Family Support Agency Head of Corporate Services

Potential future state (Service Governance Stream – Level I) Regional Director Professional Support Area Managers Commissioning Managers §Visible alignment with HSE Regions and catchments (catchments will be reviewed after establishment of Agency); §Key role at Regional level will be: - Performance and monitoring; Service enhancement/enablement. 15 Always Children First Business Support

Potential future state (Service Governance Stream – Level II) Area Manager (s) Children and Family Services Children in Care l l 16 l l Family Support Scale Span Geography Specialisation Child Protection Always Children First Intake Assessment & Initial Action

Clear Line Management Minister National Director Chief Operations Officer Regional Managers x 4 Area Managers x 17 17 Social Work Teams Always Children First

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Point of Entry Service Change Outcomes Consideration of all concerns/enquiries Prompt response to referrals. Improved proactive management of referrals. Rigorous and confident assessment and response at ‘Intake’ screening. More responsive effective communication with referrers. Better alignment of Children and Family Services with wider external stakeholders. 19 Critical Success Factors Clarity re threshold criteria policy to social work. Clarification of referrer obligations (This will be part of process re ‘mandatory’ reporting). Revised local organisation structure to ensure skilled experienced staff at earliest point of assessment of risk. Consistent data collection Review of assessment skills training Effective recruitment and retention policy Communication and feedback mechanisms to referrers, communicate clarity on thresholds Development of LAPs and associated referral processes Working protocols with PCTs, disability, mental health Always Children First

Aspirations We seek to nurture Irish Young People who: l Are confident, well motivated and fully rounded l Are literate and numerate to a level at or above their peers in the rest of the world l Fully understand are able to play their part as citizens of a modern democratic society l Seize opportunities regardless of their background but have the skills and aptitude to work flexibly and to embrace change throughout their life 20 Always Children First