Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is managed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and is a separate entity to Tusla.

For individual children who were accessing the CAMHS Service whilst also known to Tusla Kerry, they were offered a range of supports through Tusla including community family support and social work services.

In October 2020, Tusla Kerry constituted an Inter-agency Liaison Forum with CAMHS, the objective being on both agencies to work collaboratively to contribute to the overall delivery of an effective service.

With the recent ‘CAMHS: South Kerry Look Back’, Tusla Kerry’s Family Resource Centres in the South Kerry Area have been providing direct community based support to a number of the identified 43 children in the Look Back Report. This support is ongoing.

Kerry Children's and Young Peoples Services Committee has an established working group on child and youth mental health which is chaired by an Assistant Director of Mental Health Nursing from the HSE. This group is working to ensure that appropriate services and supports are available in Kerry to meet the mental health needs of children and young people. A particular focus is on strengthening the links between services and communities to ensure smooth transitions into and out of services.