Tusla delays in Garda vetting have potentially placed children at risk of abuse, Hiqa finds

Tusla delays in processing Garda vetting notifications have potentially placed children at risk of abuse, an inspection report has found.

A review of staff procedures around possible abuse in the Sligo, Leitrim, west Cavan and Donegal area was conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).

It identified several concerns, including “substantial” procedural delays, as well as delays in communicating with affected families and in identifying children who possibly had contact with alleged abusers.

Tusla is required to carry out assessments of child abuse allegations. This “substantiation assessment” considers all evidence to decide if an allegation is founded or unfounded.

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While not a criminal investigation, in cases where an allegation is founded, a determination is made that the suspect poses a potential risk to a child or children.

This national standardised process which came into operation in June 2022, reviewed by Hiqa, is called the Child Abuse Substantiation Procedure (Casp).

Of five examined standards, two were considered substantially compliant but three non-compliant.

Hiqa inspectors said Tusla’s policy on the completion of forms used to notify the Garda National Vetting Bureau of concerns about adults resulted in delays in notifications being sent.

This, it said, meant Tusla was not operating in line with its requirements under the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012. Its Casp team had escalated such risk to Tusla’s national forum, “but it was slow to be addressed”.

Children and families were dealt with sensitively, but often with delays, while public information leaflets were considered complex and only available in English.

The inspection also noted inconsistent documentation on Casp files relating to children and, because of cases awaiting a preliminary enquiry, there were delays in identifying children who had contact with alleged abusers.

The purpose of preliminary enquiries, Hiqa explained, is to help determine what action is required to address the needs of, and risks to, a child.

“The procedure did not provide guidance on how to identify or respond to cases of possible or confirmed organisational or institutional abuse, and the absence of such guidance gave rise to the risk of such cases not being identified,” Hiqa said.

In terms of delays, inspectors said assessments were not completed within Tusla’s time frames and no Casp cases were concluded within 14 months of commencement. “There were substantial delays at all stages of the process,” it said.

While there was often good reason, such as challenges in engaging with alleged victims and abusers, “the procedure overall was not efficient, and therefore not person-centred”.

“This inspection indicated that children were not always at the centre of the implementation of Casp.”

The report also said files were not “consistently evident” as to whether a child was safe and protected.

It did say staff and managers were knowledgeable and dedicated and that there were clear lines of accountability.

“Oversight of the service was achieved through good-quality supervision practices. There were delays in the implementation of other governance mechanisms, which, at the time of inspection, management was in the process of addressing.”

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