Tusla protects 350 children deemed to be ‘at risk’ of harm before their birth

1 Tusla has taken steps to provide protection to 350 unborn children deemed to be at risk of significant harm over the past three years. New figures provided by Tusla show it placed 100 unborn children on its Child Protection Notification System (CPNS) between January 1 and December 17, 2018. The figures, provided in response to a Freedom of Information request, show that the 100 children placed on Tusla's CPNS last year followed it placing 143 unborn children on its CPNS in 2017 and 107 unborn children on the protection notification system in 2016. "Tusla will place an unborn child on the CPNS only where there is an assessed risk of significant harm for the baby when it will be born, and part of this assessment would be level of co-operation of the parents and their understanding of the future baby's needs and their past ability to care for a baby if this is relevant," a spokesman for Tusla said. Health and social service staff will be offered new training in how to handle cases of children whose parents, or carers, suffer from misuse of alcohol or other drugs. It is estimated up to 1.4 million people in Ireland have a harmful drinking pattern. "In order to protect, support and safeguard our children we must ensure those in the frontline are fully trained to spot signs of danger," said Children's Minister Katherine Zappone. Speaking at the launch, the Minister of State for National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne, said: "This is a hugely important collaboration between the HSE and Tusla, placing a spotlight on the serious issue of hidden harm." To view this media, you need an HTML5 capable device or download the Adobe Flash player. Follow @Independent_ie

• Mayra Rodriguez
• Posted on January 26, 2019
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