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Rise in deaths of young people engaged with child protection services last year
26th July 2024
Deaths of vulnerable children rose to 29 last year, including four by suicide
A total of 29 children and young people in care, aftercare or known to child and family services died in 2023, an increase of six on the previous year.
Of last year’s deaths, 18 were due to natural causes, while five were attributed to accidents and four were deaths by suicide.
Two of the children were in care at the time of their death. One was in aftercare, while 26 were known to social work services.
A total of 13 of the deceased children were less than one year old, while seven were aged between 11 and 16, and five between 17 and 20.
The findings were highlighted in the annual report of the National Review Panel (NRP) which was published yesterday. Since 2010 the NRP has been notified of 70 young people who have died by suicide.
“A lot of these young people have had various trouble in their lives, but a lot of them had been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services at various stages,” said NRP chair Dr Helen Buckley.
“What our annual report this year – and probably for the last several years – has highlighted is that there really is no service for young people with suicidal ideation.
“CAMHS don’t treat children with that kind of emotional instability. They reserve their eligibility criteria mostly for young people with what they call treatable mental illnesses, like a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia.”
The NRP was established in 2010 to review deaths of children and young people in care or known to child protection services. While administered by the child and family agency Tusla, the panel operates independently.
Since 2010 there were 315 deaths of children and young people in care or known to social services. While 139 deaths were by natural causes, 70 occurred due to suicide, with 23 of these in care or aftercare.
Many of the young people who died by suicide had been referred to CAMHS. However, suicidal ideation alone does not meet the eligibility criteria for accessing this service.
“Notwithstanding the variability of CAMHS services, some of which are more responsive than others, it is clear that referral of young people with suicidal ideation to CAMHS continues to be generally ineffective,” the annual report said.
Earlier this month Tusla’s 2023 annual report showed that there were 91,924 referrals to its child protection and welfare service last year, an 11 per cent increase on 2022.
A total of 47,260 children were referred to family support services, while 5,615 children were in care at the end of 2023. Of those, 90 per cent were in foster care.
As many as 2,904 young adults were in receipt of aftercare services at the end of 2023, while 432 separated children seeking international protection were received into care or otherwise accommodated in 2023, 55 per cent more than in 2022.
“Since Tusla was established in 2014, child protection and welfare referrals to the agency have doubled,” said its chair, Pat Rabbitte.
“Today, the agency is challenged by the growing complexities of our work, evident from the demand for specialised services and supports, such as those for special care and separated children seeking international protection.
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