Sunday, February 20, 2011

FINE GAEL AND CHILDREN NO2 / ELECTION 2011

FINE GAEL AND CHILDREN NO2 / ELECTION 2011

Last Thursday I welcomed the measures Fine Gael published under the broad agenda of the Safety Welfare Protection and Rights of Children in their Election Manifesto 2011.

I also said I would welcome publication of proposals for the Child Care/Protection System given Fine Gael’s welcome plans to abolish the HSE.

Today Fine Gael have published some more details which I do very much welcome.

These include:

Making the Minister for Children directly responsible for child care and protection services (removing these services from the HSE).

Creating a new dedicated agency called the Child Welfare and Protection Agency (CWPA) whose exclusive function will be to deliver child welfare and protection services.

Incorporating the Differential Response Model (DRM)of child protection into the delivery of services provided by the Child Welfare and Protection Agency.

Ensure that no social worker will engage in unsupervised front-line child protection work unless they have a minimum of 2 years experience.

Provide absolute protection for whistleblowers.

Require the monthly publication of up to date figures on the number of children who are in care, in emergency care or missing from care.

Require certification in Children First for those working with children.

Not allow the principle of confidentiality which is meant to protect children be used as a barrier to the transparency required in the public interest.

These measures in addition to those published last Thursday in the Fine Gael Election Manifesto would contribute hugely to advancing the agenda of the Safety Welfare and Protection of Children in my opinion.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Andrew. Still in Election fever?

    Was checkin out our neighbours Sweeden's legislation today because of the Julian Assange rape case and after his lawyer's hilarious remarks of Sweeden as "a human rights black spot." Starting sound lot like Polanski doesn't it.

    Anyways came accross this site -

    http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/13420/a/157339

    might interest you too because of your work down there for better protection of children.
    Not that I want to imppose anything of our nordic stuff on you guys but Sweeds seem to take these things very seriously and I think it is always good thing to compare notes with others.

    Also if you search the publication section of those pages you may find some pdf files that may interest you.

    b.r.
    Markku

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  2. Watching the Oscars - huh - nothing compared to the magical Maureen O'Hara on Late Late.

    Anyways - found this - 667 pages - unfortunately in Swedish - but summary in English


    http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/15/45/15/e59efb2d.pdf

    Even if report is titled more widely

    "Legislation on sexual crimes - evaluation and proposed reforms"

    it also about child abuse.

    Any Swedish friends to read it for you w/ live translation.

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  3. Thankss Markku . . will take a look . .

    ReplyDelete