Tusla - An Ghníomhaireacht um Leanaí agus an Teaghlach - Child and Family Agency
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COVID-19 Tusla Initiatives

Initiatives that Tusla teams are involved in around the country

Tusla West 

Tusla Dublin Mid Leinster 

Tusla Dublin North East

 
Limerick, Carlow and North Tipperary 

Donegal 

Galway, Roscommon and Mayo 

Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan
Dublin South 

Laois and Offaly 

Longford and Westmeath 

Kildare and Wicklow
Dublin North City

Cavan and Monaghan

Louth and Meath
 

West

Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary

Tusla staff in the Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary area have been busy working with local partners including:

In addition, they have also been working with numerous community partners to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society continue to receive the support that they need at this difficult time. These community partners include:

Donegal

Tusla staff in Donegal have been working with partners to create a dedicated free Parent Support Line to listen to and support parents throughout the county, at a time which can be quite challenging for many parents and families. The number for the support line is 1800 112 277 and the service operates Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm.

Tusla is also a member of the Donegal Community Response Forum. The initiative, which is led by Donegal County Council, involves partnership working with all the statutory and voluntary partners in the county to ensure a coordinated and focused response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The local Prevention Partnership and Family Support Service (PPFS) and Social Work service teams have also been working closely with funded partners and the network of family resource centres in the areas of youth provision, parenting and family support to ensure that services continue to be provided to children, young people and families across the county.

Galway, Roscommon and Mayo

Tusla teams in the Galway, Roscommon and Mayo have been working with local partners to help the most vulnerable in society. These partners include:

Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan

Tusla teams in the Sligo, Leitrim and West Cavan areas have been working with local partners including:

 

Dublin Mid Leinster

Dublin South

Tusla staff in the Dublin South Central area have been involved in a number of initiatives to support children and families. These includes:

  • Family support staff linking in with families and children in the community and providing supports to children
  • Children in care teams linking in weekly with children in care
  • Local fostering teams doing weekly support calls to carers
  • Providing support to a number of statutory organisations such as Dublin City Council in respect of a community response to COVID-19

The Children and Young People’s Service Committee (CYPSC) in the Dublin City South area has created a range of information on support services for families and children. These include:

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) CYPSC has been involved in a number of initiatives including:

  • Working partnership with University College Dublin (UCD) Community Engagement, Intel and Microsoft Ireland, to provide a total of 47 laptops to children and young people in homeless hubs to enable them to continue their education
  • The launch of a new website to make youth mental health services visible and accessible to young people. The website was co-produced with young people who have lived experience of mental health difficulties and services. 
  • A new pilot programme to support young people who are not attending school due to mental health difficulties has commenced delivery online supported by DLR CYPSC, St John of God’s CAMHS, Dublin Dún Laoghaire Education Training Board, Tusla Educational Support Services (tess), National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and HSE Psychology.

Laois and Offaly

The Laois Offaly CYPSC has funded Clara and Tullamore community and family resource centres to deliver 240 resource packs to children. The packs included crafts and games to support children in the area to play and be creative during the lockdown period.

CYPSC also funded Laois Partnership to provide toys to children in direct provision centres in Laois.

Longford and Westmeath

Tusla Prevention, Partnership and Family Support (PPFS) staff sent small care and activity packages to local children by post. The packs included small gifts such as sweets, diaries, hairbands, and stress balls.

PPFS staff have kept in contact with young people they support by phone or by using video communications. They are also posting out worksheets and discussing activities with young people to help them through this time.

The Midlands Aftercare Team has sent out personal care packs to young people in aftercare and are very conscious about keeping in regular contact with these young people who may have a limited support network.

Wicklow and Kildare

Wicklow CYPSC has been involved in a number of initiatives, including:

  • Electronically launching the Wicklow School Refusal Pack which is a guide for schools, students and parents/guardians on the best way to manage school refusal and highlights the relevant resources and services that may be of assistance
  • Working with the Community Response Forum to ensure that the emerging needs of children, young people and families are being raised, for example, digital and food poverty

Tusla staff in Kildare have also been working with local partners through the local community forums and through the Kildare CYPSC.

 

Dublin North East

Dublin North City

Dublin City North Children and Young Persons’ Services Committee (CYPSC) has been working with statutory, community and voluntary partners to address needs and gaps for children, young people and families during COVID-19. These initiatives include:

  • Partnering with the Balseskin Resource Centre and Barnardos to fund educational packs for 50 children under the age of 12 who live in the centre
  • Early Learning Initiative partners ABC Docklands distributing more than 40 ‘My Place to Play’ mats in the last six weeks to support the development needs of children living or born in emergency accommodation, such as hotels
  • English classes provided to families via video by Hill Street Family Resource Centre
  • Supporting food distribution in partnership with local schools
  • Providing online training to support foster carers
  • Family resource centres operating services online, including email and telephone supports, as well as coordinating and assisting food and resource delivery

Cavan and Monaghan

Tusla teams in the Cavan and Monaghan area have been involved in a number of activities including:

  • Distributing more than 500 family activity packs to families across Cavan and Monaghan
  • Providing more than 1,300 hot nutritional meals to families and young care leavers prepared at the Child Wellbeing Centre in Castleblayney
  • Working with local Child and Family Support Network (CFSN) and Cavan Monaghan CYPSC to carry out a survey asking parents what they know about services that are available in their local community, what is the best way for parents to access information and what parents feel they need at this current time.

Louth / Meath

Tusla staff in the Louth and Meath area have been involved in creative and often preventative initiatives including:

  • Providing ‘My Place to Play’ to parents of babies living or born in emergency accommodation, and refuges.
  • Providing advice to families on baby safety in the home
  • Putting together hampers and activity packs and delivering them to vulnerable families in conjunction with local partners
  • Developing and sharing an online safety guide for parents with the help of the Child and Family Support Networks, CYPSC and schools
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