From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone TD, has today launched a pilot programme for leaders in human and social services in Dublin’s North East Inner City. It will link the latest research and thinking about how to improve social programmes, to the collective planning and implementation expertise of participants.
The Executive Leadership Programme will provide a supportive, deliberative and collaborative space in which to turn ideas into actions in Dublin’s North East Inner City. The programme will examine what it means to be evidence-informed, what this can bring to improving outcomes, and what is required to bring about positive change.
The Minister stated:
“I welcome this pilot programme to demonstrate how developing leadership skills strengthen and enable capacity building within services and organisations. This allows for better communication and collaboration while developing an integrated service delivery framework to continue the work of the North East Inner City Initiative. This programme will also build on the work of the Quality and Capacity Building Initiative to support those working with children and young people in the area of prevention and early intervention."
Michael Stone, Chair of the North East Inner City Initiative’s Programme Implementation Board stated:
“I am pleased by the announcement of the pilot for an Executive Leadership Programme in Dublin’s North East Inner City. I was appointed Chairperson of the Programme Implementation Board by the Taoiseach in July 2017 and I am committed to the implementation of the actions as set out in the Mulvey Report – “Creating a Brighter Future”. A key part of the regeneration of the area is creating a platform for leaders to continue to grow and improve their skills with the idea of providing a knowledge exchange platform to build capacity and improve outcomes for children and young people in the North East Inner City.”
The Quality and Capacity Building Initiative (QCBI) has been developed by DCYA to maximise the impact of prevention and early intervention for children and young people. Four key areas have been identified to achieve this goal. QCBI aims to enhance the use and availability of data and evidence; support capacity development; and ensure quality at the levels of policy, service and provision.
DCYA also plays a role in the structures set up under the North East Inner City (NEIC) Initiative on foot of the Mulvey Report. The pilot Executive Leadership Programme provides an opportunity to support work in the NEIC and the Minister fully supports collaboration with services and organisations to enhance skills in prevention and early intervention, communications and taking on an evidence informed approach to improving outcomes for children and young people.
ENDS
The former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, on behalf of the government, requested Kieran Mulvey to report on the challenges facing the community of the North East Inner City (NEIC) after the gangland violence that occurred in 2016. The North East Inner City Initiative arose out of the Kieran Mulvey report published in February 2017. The Report identifies four priority areas: a) tackling crime and drugs; b) maximising educational/training opportunities and creating local employment; c) creating an integrated system of social services; and d) improving the physical landscape in the area. The NEIC Initiative outlines the actions that should be taken by the departments and agencies to aid with the regeneration of the area.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) is actively involved in all the structures of this initiative. Creating an Integrated System of Social Services is chaired by DCYA which is one of five subgroups. It was tasked with the coordination and advancement of actions relating to children, family and youth services. The Subgroup met for the first time on 25th August 2017 having invited members from prominent organisations or services in the NEIC and representatives from the Children and Young People’s Services Committees, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and the Health Service Executive.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has aimed to ensure alignment of existing initiatives as well as the development of other responses which add value to the actions to achieve maximum impact in terms of integrated service delivery relating to children, young people and their families. These actions seek to review the services in the area and identify gaps or areas for development which could be assisted by resourcing and alignment. DCYA is working to ensure that the Dublin City North Children and Young People’s Services Committee (CYPSC) will have a key role in this regard.
More information on the initiative can be found on www.neic.ie.
The QCBI aims to deliver better outcomes for children and young people by taking a coordinated approach to enhancing capacity, knowledge and quality in the area of prevention and early intervention. The QCBI will ensure that key groups working with children, young people and their families know what works, how it works and provide an evidence supported approach to apply to this work.
The QCBI focuses on enhancing a number of key areas as they relate to children and youth sectors:
The initiative seeks to secure a return on the investment and impact in the area of prevention and early intervention in Ireland over the past decade. It will achieve this by resourcing the key areas so that those working with and for children, young people and their families are supported in doing the right things, in the right way and at the right time.