Integration of Children’s
Policies
Sylda Langford
Office of the Minister for Children
Irish Youth Justice Service
Biennial Conference
Slieve Russell Hotel
6th and 7th March, 2008
Background to
Creation of OMC
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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1998)
Creation of National Children’s Office (NCO) and
development of National Children’s Strategy 2000
- 2010
Review of Youth Justice Services 2004 - 2005
December 2005 Government decision to establish
OMC based on international evidence that good
outcomes for children required joined-up services
for children and families
Minister for Children to attend Cabinet meetings
Key role of the OMC
The key role of the OMC is to support the Minister
for Children in:
 driving implementation of National Children’s Strategy
(2000 – 2010);
 implementing the National Childcare Investment
Programme (2006 – 2010);
 developing policy and legislation on child welfare and
child protection;
 driving implementation of Children Act 2001 (children
before the Courts);
 implementing Towards 2016 commitments in relation to
children's services.
Office of the Minister
for Children
Responsibility for harmonising policy issues
that affect children in:
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early childhood care and education,
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youth justice,
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child welfare and protection,
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children and young people's participation,
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research on children and young people and
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cross-cutting initiatives for children.
Policy Task
Clear Articulation of National Policy:
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Published in The Agenda for Children’s
Services: A Policy Handbook, December, 2007
No new policy; policy restatement based on
internationally accepted best practice
Connecting with family &
community strengths
Purpose of the Agenda
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Set out strategic direction of policy in
relation to children’s health & social services
Assist policy-makers, senior managers and
front-line practitioners to
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Engage in “reflective practice”
Identify their own role within the national policy
framework
Encourage other Depts/Agencies to adopt a
similar approach in their children’s services
Building on existing policy
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Key messages:
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Whole child/whole system approach
Focus on better outcomes
Supporting families is the central concern
“Agenda” provides the means for managers
and frontline staff to direct and evaluate
their service delivery against this strategic
direction.
Promoting good outcomes
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Policy formulation needs to be driven by the
pursuit of better outcomes
Desired outcomes are achieved by the
implementation of policy within services
Understanding and commitment to an
agreed set of national outcomes is required
Shared responsibility at all levels in all
agencies for achieving agreed outcomes
Better outcomes through policies
and services working together
Even better outcomes through
policies, research and services
working together
aspired
for
OUTCOMES
achieved
POLICY
SERVICES
ACADEMIC/
SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
Seven national service outcomes
for children
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healthy both physically & mentally
supported in active learning
safe from accidental and intentional harm
economically secure
secure in the immediate and wider physical
environment
part of positive networks of family, friends,
neighbours and community
included and participating in society
Five service characteristics to
achieve better outcomes
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A: Connecting with family & community
strengths
B: Ensuring quality services
C: Opening access to services
D: Delivering integrated services
E: Planning, monitoring and & evaluating
services
Access to services
Planning, monitoring & evaluation
Getting there together
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Each Dept/Agency has its own policy and
organisational focus and concerns
Needs to be supplemented by the shared
pursuit of whole-child approach
OMC will lead this by
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Directing partnerships within its own area
Promoting co-operation in other areas
Developing a cross-departmental service plan
for children’s services
Why focus on children?
Theoretical Rationale:
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the ‘whole child’ perspective
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Child as active participant in own development
Importance of family and other relationships
Formal and informal supports
multiple dimensions of child’s development
Renders certain distinctions redundant e.g.
care v. education, learning v. recreation,
detention v. special care
Inter-agency planning, collaboration and
co-operation logical follow-on to ‘whole
child’ policy framework
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Our work to date has been service-led
Work must be led by the outcomes we
hope to achieve for children
Policies and services must be developed
from there
All aspects of child well-being are
interrelated
Continued
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Cannot respond to child well-being in single focus, with
fragmented actions and interventions
Need to develop policies and plan services (and in some
cases deliver them) with colleagues working in different
sections and agencies to our own
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Training required – interpretations can be coloured by
specific professional training and agency culture
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Stop any practices / actions which make no difference or
carry the risk of poor / bad outcomes for children.
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If systems cannot help children, we have to change the
systems
Added value of OMC
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parties working strategically together
multiple players strategically tackling ‘old
chestnuts’ together – HSE, IYJS, Garda,
Courts, Probation, Dept Justice, Equality
and Law Reform, Dept of Health and
Children, Dept of Education and Science,
Dept Environment, Heritage and Local
Government, CDBs
Continued
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The Agenda for Children’s Services: A Policy
Handbook provides a common shared vision
of aspirations and expectations for children
across universal and targeted services
New Strategies of IYJS and Probation Service
illustrate cross-agency working in practice
flowing from harmonisation of policy issues
within OMC.
Challenge to us in 2008
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challenge of leadership and management at all
levels
challenge to enable and support front line
workers to play the key role they should be
playing
challenge to put the child and family at centre of
services – must adapt and work together outside
our silos to achieve the best possible outcomes
for our children
OMC will measure success
through:
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National Longitudinal Study of Children in
Ireland
State of the Nation’s Children Reports
(every two years starting in 2006)
National Data Strategy being developed
under Towards 2016 to inform data
around children’s lives.
Conclusion
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we are at the very early stages of crossagency strategic developments for children
every successful journey begins with the
first steps and we have taken these first
steps of joined up Government in Ireland
for the sake of our children.
Integration of Children’s
Policies
Sylda Langford
Office of the Minister for Children
Irish Youth Justice Service
Biennial Conference
Slieve Russell Hotel
6th and 7th March, 2008