4,228 entries for Historical Context

Following meetings with various officers in the Eastern Health Board, the Department of Education, the Manager of Madonna House at that time, Sr Carmel Anthony, and the Manager of St Kyrans, Sr Xaveria, Mr O’Dwyer wrote: I would be optimistic about getting a very positive response from the managers of the homes and the Conference of Major Religious Superiors in bringing about changes and improvements in the existing procedures. Until the middle of 1977, the authorities were very much concerned with financial problems but they are now reasonably satisfied with the capitation rate, provided it is adjusted annually to take account of inflation and approved developments in the service.

On the relationship between the statutory bodies and the Managers of the Homes, Mr O’Dwyer observed: The review of this particular case and the discussions which have been going on with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors during 1977 highlight the following issues: At present, managers as assigned by the head of the Order concerned without consultation with either the Department of Education or the health board. The nun or brother concerned may or may not have previous experience of child care. Some are drawn from the nursing and teaching professions. They may in turn and, in some cases at very short notice, be reassigned to either other duties or to another home. This may also happen in relation to religious staff at a lower level. This state of affairs was never very desirable but was probably more acceptable when most of the staffs in the homes were religious and when the provision of residential care for children had not been professionalized here the introduction of many more trained lay staff and the generally more difficult type of child now being placed in residential care has significantly changed the demands on and expectations of managers.

Mr O’Dwyer also noted that no formal training for managers existed, although the Department of Education did provide a course for managers until 1977. On this issue, Mr O’Dwyer recommended that: discussions take place with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors to agree on future minimal qualifications and experience of managers of residential homes; Where the Order cannot find a suitable person, the post be advertised and filled by open competitions; Arrangements be made to meet the further training needs of existing managers; Pending decisions of the re-organisation of child care, the child care advisors of the Departments of Education and Health be consulted about any proposed new appointment of a manager and that one of them be on any interview board established to fill a manager post; agreement be reached on the future arrangements which will apply for the assignment and transfer of other religious staffs.

Mr O’Dwyer further noted that: One of the more worthwhile points which emerge from the review was the need to clarify and emphasise the level at which and the way in which social workers responsible for the child in the community should relate to the authorities of the home. While they would obviously have casual contacts with all the staff dealing with the child, the formal relationship should be with the manager of the home, and with her agreement (which would normally be automatic,) with the person in charge of the group in which the child lives. As between the social worker and the appropriate person within the home, there is an absolute necessity for a complete exchange of information on any matter affecting the child. If either the social worker or the child care worker is in possession of information which could be relevant to the child, then each is under an obligation to tell the other, irrespective of any expectations of confidentiality which a third party may have as the original source of the information. (In the HT case, it would appear that the authorities of the home were not aware that John Dwyer had ambitions of becoming a foster parent to the child. He had confided this hope to the social worker dealing with the children). It is considered that this matter should be discussed with the Programme managers, Community care, and that appropriate guidelines be worked out between representatives of the health boards and the authorities of the homes.

Mr O’Dwyer highlighted the recent substantial changes that had taken place in the functions of Managers of Residential Homes, including the shift towards group homes, the decline in the number of religious working in the Homes and the growth in trained lay staff. He further observed that the children entering residential care were somewhat more disturbed than in the past. The Managers now had to deal with trained social workers, employed either by the health boards or other voluntary agencies. Mr O’Dwyer went on to suggest that: It is not clear that the implications of these changes have been fully recognised by all the managers. No significant initiative has been taken to help the managers cope with these changes and to look at the kind of training and support that they might now require. There are now more opportunities for problems arising in relation to selection, discipline, doubts about personal responsibility as between the manager and the person in charge of each group home, tension between the manager and the staff about salaries and other working conditions and, in general, a situation which demands more management skills than were perhaps required some years ago. During our discussions on the (HT) case, it was clear that occasions will arise when the manager will need to have access to specialist psychological and or other professional help on a ready basis.

He went on to recommend that Discussions should take place with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors to (a) discuss and agree the key functions of managers of residential homes (b) identify the kinds of professional support and advice that would appear to be required by managers; (c) agree on the arrangements which might be made to meet these needs.

Mr O’Dwyer than outlined the procedures that were in operation when John Dwyer was recruited. John Dwyer was interviewed by Sister Carmel and accepted as a trainee. Within a short period of joining her staff, he was assessed by a psychologist and found to be suitable for admission to the training course at Cathal Brugha Street. The arrangements for selection in the case of trainees vary from home to home but, in general, the candidates are normally interviewed by a suitably constituted board and references obtained from their previous employers or, where they have not been previously employed, from the persons nominated by them as referees. There are no definite guidelines at the moment in relation to the assessment of trainees. Generally speaking, most of the trainees have worked in a home for two years before they are sent on the training course and during the period of two years, if they are found unsuitable, their employment is discontinued. However, in some instances, because trainees have joined a union on starting work and because appropriate procedures have not been followed, it has not been always easy for the managers of homes to terminate the employment. There is, therefore, the possibility of managers taking the easy way out and not confronting those who may not be entirely suitable.

He concluded: This is clearly an area on which there should be uniformity of approach and very definite arrangements for ensuring that those who are to become child care workers are suitable for the job. We have already been discussing this matter with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors and it has been agreed that there should be a training period of 2 years, during which the trainee would, in effect, be on probation. The matter has not yet been discussed with the union but we have emphasised to the Conference that it is essential to retain the maximum period during which a person can be assessed. As a corollary, there must be a proper assessment procedure and an early warning system which gives the trainee full information on how he or she is viewed by a manager.

Mr O’Dwyer then outlined a series of recommendations in relation to future staff recruitment: It is recommended that agreement be reached with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors that the following procedures will in future apply to selection and assessment:-A person seeking employment as a child care worker, whether as a trainee or an experienced worker, will be interviewed by a panel consisting of the manager of the home, suitably professionally qualified person and a third person who can provide a competent objective view of the suitability of the candidate. The candidate’s written testimonials will be fully checked out and the manager of the home will make personal contact with the previous employers or those nominated as referees A police report on the person’s suitability will be obtained; The person will be asked to undergo a full medical examination and the medical report should include a psychiatric history; During the two year period in which the trainee will be on probation, there will be an agreed assessment process, on the lines already in use in the special schools at Lusk and Finglas, and there will be a system of open reporting which will involve the manager of the home discussing the regular assessment with the person concerned. If at any stage during the two years the person is deemed unsuitable, the manager will terminate his or her employment.

On the responsibility of the Eastern Health Board, Mr O’Dwyer noted: In the case of children, such as (HT), who are committed to the care of the health board, the health board is primarily responsible for controlling the location of the child at all times. Children committed by the courts to residential care are under the control of the manager of the home and the manager is not under any statutory obligation to consult with the Department of Education in relation to the child’s movements. However, there is in practice a very close liaison between the child care advisor of the Department of Education and the various managers of the homes. Consequently, it is felt that in the interests of co-ordination and the pending the enactment of amending legislation, we should try to have the managers apply basically the same approach to all the children in their homes. Transfers of children from one home to another are not very frequent. However, where they do occur there is a need to phase the transfer over a period as to enable the children to gradually become used to their new surroundings and the staff to looking after them. It is also necessary to ensure that all records are transferred from one home to another and that there is a proper briefing of the staff of the home receiving the children.

On 28th February 1978, the Department of Health wrote to the Rev Brendan Comiskey, the Secretary General of the Conference of Major Religious Superiors, outlining the recommendations following from the review into the death of HT. The letter outlined that the recommendations were discussed with the Department of Education and that both Departments wished procedures to apply to all children’s homes. The letter did note that: It is accepted that if the managers of the homes were to insist on a strict application of the statutory provisions, they need not necessarily comply with some of the suggestions which have been made. It would, however, be hoped that agreement would be reached on procedures which would apply to all children, pending the enactment of the legislation which is expected to follow on the report of the Task Force on Child Care Services.

Fr Comiskey passed the correspondence on to the Chairman of the Resident Managers Association, Br Dermot Drohan, who stated that he had ‘a good look at it and I honestly cannot disagree with any of the terms laid out in the report. To me it is simply asking us to sit up and have a good look at ourselves.’ Two meetings were held by the Resident Managers in Dublin at Goldenbridge on 13th and 21st June 1978 to discuss the implications of the review. Fr McGonagle in his covering letter highlighted that: During our two meetings there was much soul searching and a strong endeavour to face up to the demands daily arising in an ever-changing situation from the social point of view and attitudes towards Church involvement and Religious participation in our own particular field of caring. There was also present a very strong preparedness to accept that things are not going to get any easier for us in the future but hopefully a better service would evolve to the benefit of all – children in care, care-workers, management.

On 31st June 1978, Fr Comiskey wrote to Mr O’Dwyer and suggested that the Executive of the Child Care Managers meet with representatives from the Department of Health and the Department of Education. Having suggested a number of dates, Fr Comiskey went on to state that: The Managers Executive has brought it to my attention that the Health Boards received the same document / letter prior to any discussion with, or reply from, them. They are deeply disturbed over this, as are their major superiors, and we would like this and a number of other points cleared up before proceeding any further with discussions on the document.

Mr O’Dwyer responded on 30th June stating: I am sorry to hear that your Superiors are concerned about the circulation of the document to the Programme Managers, Community Care, under Health Boards. First of all, this document has been circulated to them for information only. Secondly, there are a number of points raised which will require the co-operation of the health boards if they are to be implemented. Finally, we feel that it would be very desirable and necessary to have officers of the health boards involved in the discussions. You will appreciate that they are playing an ever increasing role in child care and the decisions which may emerge from our discussions are likely to affect them very much in the future.

A meeting between the various parties was arranged for 5th September 1978, and arising from that meeting, Mr O’Dwyer reported: The group have made very little progress in tackling the issues arising from my letter of 28 February 1978 and the meeting which took place on 28 July. They had only briefly and loosely discussed their ideas about the training of managers and about the role of social workers within and without the homes. There is very little prospect of their making progress unless they get a lot of help or some additional element is injected into their deliberations.