10,992 entries for Inspections - State

The provision of a Special School for girls who ‘proved themselves too difficult for existing facilities’ was outlined. The memo stated: the school in question would principally be for girls who appear before the courts for offences and would correspond to the schools for boys at Finglas, Lusk and Clonmel. While the number of girls who commit offences are very small in comparison with those of boys, there is no such residential school at all for girls. Accordingly the provision of this school is also regarded as urgent. It is proposed that the centre for the residential assessment of girls for the courts would be associated with this school as in the case of boys at Finglas. The school and assessment centre would have to be administered directly by the Department of Education as the religious orders at present caring for girls have intimated that they do not wish to be involved in a custodial school.

The recommendation of the Interim Report that additional accommodation for homeless boys267 was required was called into question, as the memo outlined that with a view to confirming the extent of this problem and the extent to which it could be dealt with through available facilities, the Eastern Health Board were asked to consult with the various agencies already providing these facilities. As a result, some doubt has arisen as to the exact numbers to be catered for. It has been found that the numbers fluctuate. Some of those who appear to be homeless are not, in fact, so. They sleep rough for a few nights and then go back to their respective homes, only to be replaced by others, who in turn follow the same pattern. Some of the children who were thought to be homeless are itinerants and roam about at night until their parents come to collect them. Of those who were identified as positively homeless there were a number who would not in any event be suitable or amenable to normal hostel accommodation, even if there was a place which would take them. The problem as now understood might most appropriately be dealt with on the following basis: – (a) by the provision of a ‘casual’ hostel facility by the Eastern Health Board; (b) provision of the special secure school for boys; (c) making better use of existing hostel facilities; (d) making further progress with the steps being taken already to deal with the problem of itinerants.

By the time of the publication of the Interim Report of the Task Force on Child Care Services was published, the broad principles that were to inform child welfare policy for the next 20 years or so, particularly in relation to alternative care, were largely established. However, a number of difficulties remained in relation to the provision of secure accommodation for young people, the function and purpose of the juvenile justice system and overall Ministerial and Departmental responsibility for the childcare system. The numbers of children in residential care were continuously declining and foster care (particularly with the establishment of the Fostering Resource Group, a dedicated team of social workers in the Eastern Health Board in 1977),268 increasingly became the favoured means of the meeting the needs of children for whom alternative care was required. Section 4: Implementation, 1976-2001

1970s, a range of implementation difficulties were emerging at a local level. One issue highlighted, but not fully resolved in earlier discussions, was the realisation that the relationship between Central Government and Residential Homes was altering. The regional health boards were developing childcare services and recruiting social work staff, and the number of trained lay childcare staff in residential care was growing following the establishment of a training course in Kilkenny in 1971. In addition, shorter in-service courses were established in Dublin, Cork and Waterford and later in a number of Institutes of Technology.269 The professionalisation of social work and childcare staff was placing a strain on the Religious Managers of the Homes and many of the structures for recruitment, staffing levels and pay had not always fully reflected these changes or as Mr Ó Maitiú had put it ‘naturally enough, these people are demanding the rate for the job’. A further issue was the provision of secure accommodation for children deemed to be ‘uncontrollable’ in open institutions, which although highlighted by both the Henchy Committee and the Interim Report of the Task Force, remained unresolved.

The death of 9-year-old HT in the Royal British Hotel in Princess Street Edinburgh on 3rd October 1977 brought about a review of the recruitment of residential child managers and staff. HT, from the North Inner City of Dublin, was placed in the care of the Irish Sisters of Charity in Madonna House on 5th June 1974 along with a number of his siblings. HT remained in Madonna House until 1st September 1976, when his mother removed him and two of his siblings. A further sibling was removed on 24th December. The children were allowed to remain at home under the supervision of Eastern Health Board social workers. On 3rd February 1977 it was decided that HT and two of his siblings be returned to Madonna House. On the basis that the placement was now likely to be a long-term one, it was decided to transfer the children to St Kyran’s Residential Home, Rathdrum County Wicklow on 5th September 1977. One of the staff members in Madonna House was John Dwyer, originally from Wales, who had been interviewed for a post of trainee child care worker in Madonna House in September 1976, responding to an advertisement for female care assistants. Dwyer, who had spent 10 years with the De la Salle Brothers in England and had trained with them as a teacher before arriving in Ireland, commenced employment in Madonna House in September 1976. From an early stage, Dwyer took a particular interest in HT with the result that the Manager, Sr Carmel, warned him about his over-involvement with the child. Dwyer accompanied HT and a number of his siblings when they moved from Madonna House to St Kyran’s in Rathdrum. On Friday, 16th September Dwyer brought one of the siblings from St Augustine’s in Blackrock to St Kyrans. He then departed from St Kyran’s with HT. The following day, Dwyer and HT boarded a flight to London and subsequently went to Scotland. In a hotel in Edinburgh, Dwyer drowned HT in a bath and then attempted suicide, but survived.271

On 1st November 1977, Mr O’Dwyer in the Department of Health highlighted in a memo to Mr O’Rourke, and the Secretary of the Department that while he did not believe that there was any justification for a public enquiry into the death of HT: The circumstances revealed in this case do focus attention on a number of issues in relation to residential care. It raises again the question of the extent to which the State should supervise the provision of residential care for children. It draws attention to the need to (a) quickly conclude discussions with the Conference of Major Religious Superiors regarding the appropriate staffing levels of the homes and the further training needs of existing child care workers; (b) further examine the qualifications and training of residential care staff, particularly those who have managerial or supervisory responsibilities; (c) review and if necessary, tighten up the procedures to be followed where children are allowed to be outside the homes; (e) lay down specific guidelines to be followed in establishing numbers of children present each night and the procedures to be put into operation where a child is missing from a home, including the arrangements for notification to the Gardaí.

He went on to note: It was decided early this year to adhere to the capitation system of financing, pending decisions on the future arrangements generally for the administration of child care. It was also felt that the nature of the care to be given could best be done by the present voluntary organisations with minimal interference from statutory authorities. That point of view is, in my opinion, still valid, but only in a situation where we have ensured that the managerial and staffing arrangements are adequate both in quantity and quality.

On 25th January 1978, Mr O’Dwyer submitted a more detailed report to Mr O’Rourke, and the Secretary of the Department on the implications of the death of HT. In the note he outlined the terms of reference of a review of the case: The Minister directed the officers of the Department should review the circumstances surrounding the abduction and subsequent murder of [HT] to identify any changes or improvements that should take place in the management, staffing, training and administrative procedures in children’s residential homes.

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.