Reorganising Child and Family Support Services: Discussion Paper

Abstract

Services for children and families in Ireland have long been divided across political Department lines, particularly at the national level. On the ground, services have developed in an ad hoc manner, responding to local needs without a comprehensive national framework that helps to join the dots between the myriad services children and families engage with across Ireland. The division of services which often target many of the same children has led to fragmented service provision which fails to put the child at the centre of its work. Resolving this fractured approach to children and family services is the key to developing services which will deliver better outcomes for vulnerable children across Ireland. We must move beyond bureaucratic silos and reconsider how we deliver services based on the needs of the children and families we aim to support.