Tusla, Care Orders & the Social Care System
What is a Child Protection & Welfare Report?
A child protection and welfare report is made to the Child & Family Agency (Tusla).
A person makes a report if they have a concern about a child and they have information that points to the child being harmed or being at risk of significant harm.
Under the Children First Act 2015, Tusla are required to investigate all child protection and welfare reports.
Why do people make a Child Protection & Welfare Report?
In the past, children have been hurt. Now, in Ireland, there are laws to protect children from harm, such as the Children First Act 2015.
A mandated person is anyone working professionally with children. For example, a doctor, teacher, or social worker.
The Children First Act 2015 requires all mandated persons providing activities and support to families to fill in the child protection and welfare report form if they are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of a child and if there are indicators of harm.
What is meant by harm?
Harm or hurt can mean different things. It can be
- Physical, like an injury,
- Emotional, like being threatened or frightened,
- Sexual, like someone using their power to involve a child in sexual activity,
- Neglect, where a child does not have the basic things they need, like not having enough food, not being washed, or being left alone for long periods of time, or
- Wilful Neglect, where the child is intentionally not cared for or given the things they need, such as food or medical care. Wilful means that the parent had the ability and resources (such as money) to care for the child but they do/did not care for their child.
Risk means unsafe situations, or people behaving in ways that are likely to be dangerous.
What are indicators of harm?
Indicators are signs that point to something happening.
There are different things that can point to a child being harmed or at risk of being harmed.
Sometimes indicators of harm are things a person notices about the child, how the child behaves, or what the child or parent says.
Here are some examples:
- The child having one or more physical injuries which are not as a result of an accident
- The child being unwashed for a number of days or smelling of urine
- The child being frightened or worried
- The child talking about a situation that happened to them
Would someone tell me if they were making a report?
You may or may not be told if a Child Protection & Welfare Report is being made about your child.
A person will tell you unless they are worried that they will not be able to support you properly or give you all the right information, or if they are putting themselves at risk.
Why would someone make more than one report about a child?
People must, by law, make additional reports if they have new information that points to the child being harmed or being at risk of significant harm.
This means a person may make more than one report on the same child, which can be about the same concern or a different concern.
How can the person making the report say that a child is being or has been harmed?
People have to make reports if they have information that points to the child being harmed or being at risk of significant harm.
Social Workers from Tusla or Social Care Workers working on behalf of Tusla carry out an Initial Assessment to see if the child is being harmed or at risk of being harmed.
More information on the Initial Assessment can be found here.
What happens if a Child Protection & Welfare Report is made about my child?
All Child Protection & Welfare Reports have to be reviewed by Tusla to see if they meet the threshold of significant harm. Where a report meets the threshold, a social worker from Tusla or a social care worker working on behalf of Tusla will carry out an initial assessment with the child’s family.
There are some circumstances where there is no initial assessment, for example:
- Where a report does not meet the threshold, or
- Where there is such significant risk to the child that Tusla choose to take immediate action.
The initial assessment will involve talking to the people connected to the child, such as parents, teachers, and G.P.
The social worker will identify is if a child is at risk of harm, if a child is having difficulties, or if a family requires support.
When would concerns about a child be reported to the Gardaí?
Gardaí are responsible for investigating crimes.
Gardaí are required to investigate if a crime has been committed against a child.
Gardaí will investigate if a child has been or is being physically or sexually abused, or wilfully neglected.
Get in touch
If you are a parent who’d like some support through childcare proceedings, freephone or email parent.advocacy@barnardos.ie, the Parental Advocacy Service, delivered by Barnardos.
Our independent & confidential service is open to all parents of children in care.
1800 333 355.