A critical analysis of early intervention in the Irish child protection and welfare system
Canavan, John Mc Gregor, Caroline
Canavan, John
Mc Gregor, Caroline
Loading...
Repository DOI
Publication Date
2024-09-30
Keywords
Type
book part
Downloads
Citation
Devaney, Carmel, Canavan, John, & Mc Gregor, Caroline. (2024). A critical analysis of early intervention in the Irish child protection and welfare system In Elizabeth Fernandez, Penelope Welbourne, Bethany Lee & Joyce L. C. Ma (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Child and Family Social Work Research: Knowledge-Building, Application, and Impact. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Abstract
Although early intervention is now established as a strategic orientation and operational component of many Child Protection and Welfare (CPW) systems the underpinning research field is as yet diffuse and underdeveloped. In spite of the intuitive value of these approaches, policy makers and managers remain resistant to a fundamental value shift or significant investment towards early intervention. Based on a reflective account of an evaluation of an early intervention practice model in the context of Ireland’s statutory CPW system, this chapter identifies learning on undertaking rigorous evaluation research in this areas and explores the challenge of generating evidence about early intervention to serve as the basis of policy and practice change. The chapter firstly frames early intervention conceptually, inclusive of its value as an organising principle for services, its parameters, and boundaries, as well as the challenges in establishing its evidence base. We also consider its application in CPW systems responses to the needs of children and young people, and the risks they face. Because of its significance for practice, we include attention to the literature on risk and risk assessment here, with an emphasis on the challenges of evidencing risk management practices based on early intervention and prevention of harm. The second part of the chapter offers a case study based on longitudinal mixed method evaluation of ‘Meitheal’, an innovative, early intervention model, operated by Tusla, Ireland’s Child and Family Agency. Here we describe and contextualise the Meitheal, presenting a real-world examination of early intervention in practice drawing on selected findings from the research. In the third part of the chapter, we reflect on the technical issues involved in implementing the evaluation study, before continuing with consideration of the challenges in establishing an evidence base for early intervention, its place in the CPW system and challenges in sustainability.
Funder
Publisher
Routledge
Publisher DOI
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International