The ISPCC has today welcomed the launch by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone TD of pilot service for children who have been sexually abused, Barnahus, Onehouse Galway.
The national child protection charity has supported inter-agency collaboration to serve the needs of children in a sensitive, child-centered fashion.
The significance of the co-location of child protection disciplines in one unit was highlighted by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon in his 2017 audit of the use by An Garda Siochana of their powers under Section 12 of the Child Care Act.
The audit highlighted that ‘a social work service that is directly accessible to children or families at risk outside of office hours should be developed as a matter of priority to ensure a comprehensive and unified child protection system’.
ISPCC Chief Executive John Church said: “Our children deserve the best possible child protection systems and processes. It is two years since Dr. Shannon’s audit highlighted the advantages of inter-agency co-operation in practice in international settings, including at child advocacy centres in New York where the co-location of law enforcement, child protection and medical services brought about better outcomes for children. It is very positive to see the ‘One House’ model now being piloted in Ireland and the ISPCC looks forward to monitoring its progress.”
