A new report calls for earlier supports for children and parents in order to prevent cases in which children have to be removed to a place of safety by an Garda Síochána.

The research, from the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway, was commissioned by the child and family agency Tusla.

It covers anonymised data from 452 of these cases, known as section 12s (‘S12s’), relating to 392 children and young people, between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

Risk

Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 is invoked when a member of an Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that:

• There is the immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of a child, and
• It would not be sufficient for the protection of the child as a result to await the making of the application for the emergency care order by Tusla under section 13.

After carrying out an S12, the gardaí must, as soon as possible, deliver the child or young person under 18 into the custody of Tusla.

The research finds that parental issues and behaviours were the reason for most of the cases, with 88 linked to parental drug or alcohol abuse.

Training

Those aged from 15 to 17 had the highest incidence of S12s, and the report says that further work needs to be done to respond to the needs of this age group, including training for staff from Tusla and the gardaí.

Of the 452 individual S12s recorded, 347 were already known to Tusla. A social worker had been allocated to 224 cases.

The S12 reports included 31 that involved children or young people who were in care, with most of these in foster care.

Extended family

The report’s lead author, Dr Carmel Devaney, said the report highlighted the need for increased emergency placements for young people who had been removed to a place of safety by the gardaí.

"Critically, it recommends giving an Garda Síochána the power to access support from extended family members in these circumstances, which would lessen the use of inappropriate placements for children and young people," she said.

The report’s recommendations for Tusla include:

• Working more closely with parents to reduce the risk of a repeat S12,
• Investing in Prevention, Partnership and Family Support (PPFS) services to stabilise families,
• Developing emergency responses to complex cases, such as children with additional needs, including disability, and teenagers who have behavioural challenges or who misuse substances.

The research was commissioned in 2017 after the publication of Audit of the Exercise by An Garda Síochána of the Provisions of Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991, prepared by Dr Geoffrey Shannon (pictured) for the Garda Commissioner in 2017.