Prevention, Partnership and Family Support Cavan/Monaghan

Tusla: New Child & Family Agency Under the Child & Family Agency Act (2013): • Child Welfare and Protection Services, including family support services • Family Resource Centres and associated national programmes • Early years (pre-school) Inspection Services • Educational Welfare responsibilities including School completion programmes and Home School Liaison • Domestic, sexual and gender based violence services Notes: overall aim of the 1.5 hour briefing

Tusla: New Child & family Agency Child & Family Agency functions: • Supporting and promoting the development, welfare and protection of children, including the provision of care and protection for children in circumstances where their parents have not been able to, or are unlikely to, provide the care that a child needs • Supporting and encouraging the effective functioning of families, to include the provision of preventative family support services Notes: overall aim of the 1.5 hour briefing 3

Policy, Strategy & Guidance Documents PPFS Guidance for Implementation of an Area Based Approach to Prevention, Partnership, and Family Support Investing in Families: Supporting Parents to Improve Outcomes for Children 50 Key Messages: Supporting Parents to Improve Outcomes for Children What Works in Family Support? Commissioning Guidance Meitheal- a National Practice Model for all agencies working with Children, Young People and their Families Notes: Explain that this is one overall programme of work that has been funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and is supported by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre in NUI Galway through the provision of academic support.   Emphasise that the documents are all inter-connected and should not be read or applied in isolation. For example What Works in Family Support? is a resource that will support the implementation of the Commissioning Guidance; Implementing the Commissioning Guidance will support the Implementation of an Area Based Approach to Prevention, Partnership and Family Support; The roll out of the Meitheal Model complements Investing in Families: Supporting Parents to Improve Outcomes for Children and will be informed by the 50 Key Messages: Supporting Parents to Improve Outcomes for Children. The Briefing will present on each document individually drawing on key points.

Prevention, Partnership and Family Support Notes: In this section we are going to provide an overview of Area Based Approach to Prevention, Partnership and Family Support.  

Investing in families/ 50 Key messages Notes: In this section we are going to provide an overview of these two documents Investing in Families and 50 Key Messages.

What Works in Family Support Notes: This policy document provides a comprehensive account of national & international programmes & services for children and families which have been evaluated. It is not a systematic review of the literature/research available on evidence based FS programmes & services.   It is to be used as a resource to the commissioning processes within TUSLA Child and Family Agency as outlined in the Commissioning Guidance. Examples of evidence based programmes include Incredible Years and Strengthening Families. Implementation and fidelity to programme design are essential for the successful introduction of an evidence based programme in your area. 7

Commissioning Guidance Notes: This section will deal with the Child and Family Agency Commissioning Guidance. This Guidance outlines the approach of the Agency to commissioning. The aim of the Commissioning Guidance is to ensure that the total resources available to children and families are applied to improving outcomes for children and families in the most efficient, effective, equitable, proportionate and sustainable way.

Meitheal National Practice Model Notes: Briefers to explain that we are now going to focus on the National Practice Model known as Meitheal. This section of the briefing will provide an introductory overview of Meitheal, a two day standardised national training programme on Meitheal will be rolled out later in the year.  

The Local Area Pathway in the context of the National Service Delivery Framework : Develop an integrated system of children’s services that will have formal linkages with external services and that will establish processes and procedures that have children’s well being as their focus at all levels; Have clear and consistent referral pathways for children and families which are based on assessed need and with responses appropriate to meeting these needs. Working with clarification around thresholds for assessment and intervention. Ensure each referral is dealt with in an efficient, effective and proportionate manner and that families are directed to appropriate services in a timely and competent manner. Support and encourage referrers to exercise their judgement in an effective way and work collaboratively to use their resources in the best interest of children. Provide a framework for information sharing between core Agency services and other services.

National Service Delivery Framework Notes: Before focusing on the policy documents, deliverers should talk through the TUSLA Child and Family Agency National Service Delivery Framework. The development and implementation of a single, transparent, consistent and accountable National Service Delivery Framework (NSDF), focused on improving outcomes for children, is a key component of the Child and Family Agency. Providing support to a child or young person and their family is not the exclusive responsibility of Children and Family Services. The statutory services such as health, education, An Garda Síochána, local authorities and the community/voluntary sector all have a responsibility and a contribution to make in the protection and welfare of all children. This will be achieved through the development of a Local Area Pathway and development and roll out of a national practice model known as Meitheal which will deliver a standard and consistent approach on how we support and intervene with children and families.   11

The Purpose of Local Area Pathways To create a collaborative network of community, voluntary and statutory providers so as to improve access to support services for children and their families. To inform the commissioning process of deciding how to use the total resources available for children and families in order to improve outcomes in the most efficient, effective, equitable, proportionate and sustainable way. To operate the Meitheal – A National Practice Model for all Agencies working with Children, Young People and their Families. Meitheal is about preventative support where children have unmet additional and/or complex needs that need to be responded to but a referral under Children First is not required.  To provide a clear framework for action co-ordinated by a lead practitioner and led by family requirements through the Meitheal Model.

Prevention, Partnership and Family Support Manager Local Area Pathway Area Manager Prevention, Partnership and Family Support Manager Child and Family Network Co-Ordinator 1 Cavan/1 Monaghan, Monaghan North Network Monaghan South Network Cavan East Network Cavan West Network 4/12/2013

Meitheal in Cavan/Monaghan Partnership - Tusla, ISPCC and Barnardos Sharon Casey PPFS Manager Tusla Cavan/Monaghan. Kathryn Corrigan Barnardos (Cavan) Janice Wedlock ISPCC (Monaghan) Family Support Workers (4) Bernie, Antoinette, Sandra, Maura

Area Based Approach Picks up cases of unmet need that do not meet the threshold for social work Coordinator/Lead practitioner meets family/individual & gathers initial information. Directs family/individual to local service/s Utilisation of Common Assessment Framework - Meitheal Provides parenting skills, practical support, advice & guidance, befriending, advocacy Supports key workers/Lead agencies engaged with families.

Meitheal is an old Irish term that describes how neighbours would come together to assist in the saving of crops or other tasks. In this context Meitheal is a National Practice Model to ensure that the needs and strengths of children and their families are effectively identified and understood and responded to in a timely way so that children and families get the help and support needed to improve children’s outcomes and realise their rights. It is an early intervention, multi-agency (when necessary) response tailored to needs of an individual child or young person. .

Based on the My World Triangle: The Meitheal Model looks at the whole child in a holistic manner, in the context of his or her family and environment. Standardised approach: Supported by standardised documentation. Normally targeted towards children with unmet needs: It takes into account strengths and resilience as well as difficulties and needs. Meitheal can be utilised by trained practitioners’ from different agencies: It is a national practice model for all services and agencies who come into contact with children and their families in the course of their work. Based on Parental Consent: The decision to participate in the Meitheal Model is voluntary, parents are involved in all aspects of the Meitheal Model, from the decision to enter the Meitheal process, to the nature of information to be shared, outcomes desired, support delivered, agencies to be involved to the decision on when to close the process. A Meitheal meeting cannot take place without the involvement of at least one parent. The Lead Practitioner role is central: The family is supported; and the response to the child’s needs is coordinated by a Lead Practitioner. A Lead Practitioner can be drawn from any of the members of the Child and Family Support Network

Notes: The background to the Meitheal Model and the My World Triangle can be traced back to the North Lincolnshire and the National rollout of the Common Assessment Framework, under Every Child Matters. The My World Triangle was utilized by the Scottish Executive under the Getting it Right for Every Child Programme. The two pilot sites in Ireland who operated the My World Triangle, Limerick and Sligo/Leitrim, reported that families found it user friendly. The My World Triangle adapts an ecological approach looking at a child’s health and development needs, what they need from people who care and look after them and the wider world and community