Katherine Zappone
Agencies must all work together to make sure no child is left behind
SEXUAL offences against the person are ‘particularly heinous’, the opening credit of television’s ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ tells us on a nightly basis. It then goes on to laud the efforts of the dedicated men and women who investigate these crimes, support victims, and prosecute the perpetrators.
Away from the fiction, in real life the frontline social care and support that teams provide to children, young people and families is to be applauded – on both sides of the Atlantic.
In recent days, however, the response of our legal, care and support systems to the needs of children and young people who have been abused has been in the spotlight.
Questions are being asked about whether we have lost our child focus and that our processes are themselves re-victimising young people and prolonging the trauma. The need for children to retell their stories over and over again forces them to relive the ordeal of abuse.
It is something agencies like the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and Children’s Rights Alliance have been highlighting and demanding action on.
There is no easy answer to the questions they raise. But it is something we should examine.
I am leading an unprecedented Irish fact-finding child protection mission to New York. We are hearing first hand not just from the Sexual Victims Unit of the NYPD, but also from child protection and welfare services as well as the prosecutors who bring those who harm, hurt and abuse children to justice.
We have picked New York, and in particular the Bronx, because of the strong level of co-operation between all the agencies to ensure the health and wellbeing of the child is central to investigations of sex crimes and abuse.
Over the past 20 years, special child advocacy centres have been developed. At these centres, child welfare and health supports, the NYPD and the district attorney are all co-located.
Experts here have been explaining the operation to members of the Garda, Tusla (the child and family agency), and the child protection rapporteur, Dr Geoffrey Shannon, who are accompanying me on this visit.
A child who may have been abused is quickly referred to an advocacy centre. At the centre, everything is child-focused.
Every possible support is in place to ensure the child’s health and wellbeing. Every effort is made to reduce trauma or re-victimisation by reducing the impact of police and prosecution interviews and the gathering of evidence.
In a supportive, caring and welcoming environment, the child has the supports required.
The evidence-gathering, the assessment of needs, and the preparation of a legal prosecution are all carried out amid warm, brightly coloured walls, play areas and soft furnishings.
It is hard to believe that the centre is also the place of work for 15 specialised New York police officers, prosecutors from the district attorney’s office and local welfare services. By working together in the one centre, those who protect children and those who are determined to bring abusers to justice can ensure matters are dealt with quickly – so that a child is clear of the necessary work to assist an investigation within 24 hours.
Processes are streamlined in a very supportive and caring environment.
This approach and this centre were highlighted by Dr Shannon in an audit published earlier this year as a possible example which Ireland could follow.
No one is arguing that the Bronx is in anyway comparable to Ireland. In terms of scale, this centre responds to more than 120 cases a month. This would not compare with any region that Tusla deals with in Ireland. Having said that, there are lessons we can learn. The experiences I am hearing here in New York do support many aspects of the report of Dr Shannon.
I have identified a number of actions that will be fast-tracked.
There will be greater cooperation between Tusla and the Garda. I have seen and heard enough to convince me this must happen.
Our first step must be to address shortfalls in our out-of-hours services. We need a single 24-hour social worker service which can work with An Garda Síochána in responding to emergency cases.
In addition, I am asking the child and family agency to ensure that in each of its 17 regions there are two on-call social workers ready to work with the force as it responds to emergencies. It is no longer acceptable that much of the communication between our agencies is still on paper – this is a practice of a different era and will be ended. These are initial steps. There will be more.
We have reached a key moment in child protection in this country.
Recent events have highlighted the urgent need to re-focus our work on supporting and caring for the victim. The introduction of mandatory reporting on December 11 will bring us into line with best practice worldwide, while the Tusla budget passing the €750m mark is also an important milestone.
For many of us sitting in front of the TV, ‘Law & Order: SVU’ is drama, a work of fiction meant to while away an hour or two before bed. The reality is a lot different. We can learn from the real experiences in the Bronx and throughout New York.
The valuable insights we are getting will inform our decisions and lead to direct actions and increased support for our own men and women dedicated to the support, protection and care of children. Most important of all is the need to respond to children in the most compassionate and effective way that we can.
Recent events have highlighted the urgent need to re-focus our work on supporting victims