Opening Statement by Gordon Jeyes, Chief Executive

From Survival to Sustainability Opening Statement by Gordon Jeyes, Chief Executive, Child and Family Agency to the Health and Children Committee 17th July 2015

1. Organisational Structure 1.1 The Child and Family Agency has now been in existence for eighteen months. A new legal entity has been successfully created from existing resources at a time of austerity. Establishment did not distract from service provision. Indeed, there is clear evidence of improvement. Delivery in 2014 included 20,000 children and 15,000 families who received Family Support Services, 3,700 children and families supported in matters of school attendance. There was an increase in the number of children in care with an allocated social worker and those in care with a written plan. There was also a 15% increase in the number of young people receiving Aftercare Services. Tusla was subject to a number of evaluations during its first year including: . Internally by Tusla Quality Assurance . Through HIQA inspections, individually reported on and contained in HIQA Annual Performance Statement 2014 . By the Controller and Auditor General

1.2 Accountability has been strengthened with clear line management responsibility. Internal quality assurance and integrated performance reports are now being produced to inform service improvement initiatives. From its inception Tusla has made considerable efforts to be open and transparent in all communication about its responsibilities and activities.

1 JCHC 1.3 Budget allocation has traditionally been influenced by historic operation and practice. Not least as a consequence of this, practice still varies in some parts of the country. It is now intended that as the Agency moves from establishment to sustainability the allocation of a budget based on needs analysis will be a priority.

1.4 From a policy perspective there has been progress with the introduction of the Child Protection and Welfare Handbook and the production of Alternative Care Guidance. A School Attendance Strategy has been developed and will be available to all schools in September.

1.5 Tusla services continue to be restructured in line with the Service Delivery Model. The success of this model has been evidenced during HIQA inspections where Areas where service delivery most closely mirrors the model have been found to have stronger evidence of improvement. Further progress is required to ensure a consistent, efficient and quality service throughout the country.

1.6 In summary, against a challenging background, Tusla has survived and services improved. The establishment of Ireland’s first Agency dedicated to the needs of children and their families has been possible because of the political will to do so and because of the extraordinary efforts that individuals and teams have made to ensure that it happened. There has been much learning in the first year of the Agency about what organisational structure will best enable it to move from establishment to sustainability. As we move forwards, a key priority for the next stage of Tusla will be to ensure consistency of quality services, based on assessed needs and supported by an organisational structure which can deliver on the ambitious goals of Tusla’s Corporate plan.

1.7 During extensive staff and stakeholder consultation regarding the organisational structure there was a strong welcome for the new Agency but an acknowledgement that further change is necessary if Tusla is to move from a surviving organisation to a sustainable organisation. In particular there is a need to focus on: . The importance of Tusla having a responsive and inclusive identity and culture

2 JCHC . The need for enhanced and modernised information and communication support . Arrangements to ensure best practice is consistently delivered . Clarity regarding roles and responsibility within governance and management structures . Effective resources allocation . Capacity to learn from leading international best practice.

1.8 Certain guiding principles have been agreed and key discussion points (see appendix 1) explored. A report on this consultation will be considered at the Board meeting on 31st July. At the same time the Board will consider proposals for revision to the operating structure to strengthen governance and ensure a sustainable fit for purpose organisation

2. Business Plan 2015 2.1 Introduction In accordance with the terms of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Tusla has approved a Corporate Plan for the period 2015-2017. In addition the Business Plan 2015 is the first detailed annual statement of what is to be achieved to meet overall core outputs and strategic objectives. Progress will be highlighted across the five immediate priorities as outlined in the corporate plan. (see appendix 2)

2.2 Corporate Objectives (Short Term 1-3 Years): Key Achievements

2.2.1 Tusla’s Child Protection Processes and Systems are responding to Children at Risk in a timely manner:

a) Implementing Children First

b) Rapid Improvement Plans

c) Integrated Performance Reporting

d) Dealing with Complaints

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2.2.2 All Processes and Systems underpinning Children & Family Policy and Service are evidence informed

a) National Policy Catalogue

b) Empowering Practitioners and Practice Initiative (CES)

c) Ongoing development of Partnership Prevention & Family Support

2.2.3 Tusla providing a targeted range of Family & Parenting Supports

a) Parenting Strategy

b) Development & Implement a Commissioning Strategy

c) Develop a Revised Alternative Care Strategy

2.2.4 Attendance, Participation and Retention in Fulltime Education is embedded in Service Delivery for all children

a) Educational Metrics and MTP

b) Alignment of Educational Welfare Services

2.2.5 Fit for Purpose Organisation to deliver on our Strategic Intent

a) Development of a Review and Reporting Mechanism

b) Framework for Major Emergency Management

c) Research Strategy

d) Communications

4 JCHC 2.3 Corporate Objectives (Years 1-3): Key Challenges & Work in Progress

2.3.1 Tusla’s Child Protection Processes and Systems are responding to Children at Risk in a timely Manner

a) National Out of Hours

b) CPNS

c) NCCIS

2.3.2 Tusla will provide a Targeted Range of Family & Parenting Supports

a) Psychology Services

2.4 The vast majority of Business Plan targets are being met, despite the fact that corporate support capacity is well below comparator organisations. Whether through HSE shared services or through other alternative routes the Child and Family Agency cannot be sustained unless key functions such as IT and Estates, which are but 2 examples can be resourced. The former NEWB boasted 2 hardworking members of staff for ICT. They now form the entire complement for Tusla, an organisation of 4,000 staff members with a critical need for data recording and management. A team of 120 in HSE managed Estates. The Tusla complement is 2 to ensure the maintenance and upgrading of premises fit for staff and suitable for the children and families who daily attend in crisis situations.

3. Quality Assurance 3.1 Performance reporting Tusla have taken a number of steps in 2014 and 2015 to improve performance reporting and monitoring to further enhance governance and transparency and to support continuous improvement. In May 2015 the first quarterly integrated performance report was submitted to the Board and Department of Children and 5 JCHC Youth Affairs. This report contains integrated performance and activity information on services provided by Tusla including financial, human resources, quality assurance and legal information with a view to to supporting deeper analysis of service performance. While the Quarter One report demonstrates improvements and good performance in many areas there are still issues in relation to variability and consistency nationally.

Tusla has moved to a national monthly performance and activity dashboard system where key performance data is presented to the Senior Management Team and Board. It is planned that this system will be rolled out to all service areas in the Agency. A copy of the April dashboard is provided in Appendix 3.

3.2 Quality Assurance and Risk Management The Agency’s quality assurance strategy is on target for roll out in Quarter One 2016. The strategy describes what a high quality service looks like and how services can be measured against it for the purpose of service improvement and risk assessment.

Risk Management systems and structures in Tusla are supporting the identification and management of risk in the Agency. The Corporate Risk Register identifies a number of high risk areas. These include the capacity to manage the number of cases awaiting allocation, ICT resources and capacity and management necessary to support the requirements of good governance.

3.3 Proportionate intervention Tusla has introduced a Proportionate Intervention Framework to ensure a timely, proportionate and coordinated response where the quality of a service is considered to be in need of improvement. The main purpose of the intervention is to significantly improve the quality of a particular service within a clear timeframe. The triggers for such intervention are significant underperformance following internal quality assurance measures or external reviews from regulatory bodies such as HIQA.

6 JCHC 4. Summary The integration of three distinct organisations into a cohesive agency has been challenging but much progress has been made in developing a single entity for the provision of services to children and families. Tusla is a significant step forward from past practice. There is clarity of information regarding services currently being delivered, there is clarity regarding the reforms required and it is clear too that improvement cannot be achieved without investment. At a time of austerity, commitment and dedication have delivered an extraordinary range of improvements. Going forward, the capacity to build on these improvements, to provide a consistent service the length and breadth of the country will require continued dedication but also sufficient resources. Investment in Ireland’s children is vital and sufficient investment is required if Tusla is to move from survival to sustainability, putting Children First.

Gordon Jeyes Chief Executive 17th July 2015