care, education, health & well being ...care and support annual report 2016/2017 oberstown...

Annual Report

2016/2017

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Annual Report 2016/2017

Oberstown Children Detention Campus: Annual Report 2016/2017 01

Contents

Preface ......................................................................................................................................... 2

1.0 Mission, Vision, Values ...................................................................................... 4 1.1 Overview of operations ................................................................................ 6

2.0 Governance ............................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Organisational structure............................................................................ 8 2.2 Board of management ..............................................................................8 2.3 Organogram ........................................................................................................9 2.4 Strategic plan .................................................................................................. 10 2.5 Policy, accountability and inspections........................................... 11 3.0 Care of Young People ..................................................................................... 13 3.1 Overview of population ............................................................................ 14 3.2 Model of care.................................................................................................... 14 3.3 Oberstown stakeholders ......................................................................... 18 3.4 Participation of young people in decision-making........... 18

4.0 Oberstown Staff................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Developing the workforce .................................................................... 20 4.2 IT developments .......................................................................................... 20 4.3 Health & safety ................................................................................................ 21

5.0 Communications & Engagement ....................................................... 22 5.1 Internal communications ....................................................................... 22 5.2 External communications..................................................................... 22

Appendices - Oberstown Data and Statistics ....................................... 25

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As chair of the Board ofManagement of OberstownChildren Detention Campus, Iam pleased to present ourannual report to the Ministerfor Children and Youth affairs,Dr Katherine Zappone, TD, inaccordance with section 174 ofthe Children Act 2001. This isthe f irst report of the Board ofManagement for the newCampus, established under theChildren (Amendment) Act2015, which came into effect on1 June 2016. As a result, thisreport covers an 18 monthperiod from 1 June 2016 to 31December 2017. The AnnualAccounts will be presentedseparately to the Minister inaccordance with section 173 ofthe Children Act 2001.

This newly formatted annualreport provides backgroundinformation about OberstownChildren Detention Campus. Itsets out current legislativearrangements for thegovernance and managementof the Campus and explainshow the Campus is heldpublicly accountable, includingthrough independentinspections and externaloversight. The report presentsdetails of Campus operationsand developments over thetime period, including thedevelopment of our workforceand internal and externalcommunications. The CEHOPmodel of care is explained asthe basis for how young people

in Oberstown have their rightsmet in the areas of care,education, health, work onoffending behaviour andpreparation for leaving.

In addition to detailingoperations on Campus during2016 and 2017, our reporthighlights some keydevelopments, challenges andachievements. A particularlyimportant highlight was thedevelopment and launch bythe Minister for Children andYouth Affairs of the Campus’f irst Strategic Plan. Designed toinform and guide all aspects ofCampus development over theperiod 2017-2020, the StrategicPlan commits to the pursuit off ive goals namely:

1. Providing the best possiblecare for young people;

2. Developing our people andour organisation;

3. Implementing the policies,procedures and standardsconsistent with the bestmodel of detention foryoung people;

4. Enhanced communicationsaligned to our values andmission;

5. Delivering robustgovernance at all levels anddriving effectiveaccountability.

With associated actions andcommitments, the OberstownStrategic Plan 2017-2020 bringsclear direction to the

Preface

02 Oberstown Children Detention Campus: Annual Report 2016/2017


development of the Campussuch that all of our priorityactions and activities now servethese goals. Although theimplementation of theStrategic Plan will be reviewedat the end of 2018, there havebeen some especiallyimportant achievementsduring the lifetime of thisannual report including:

n The adoption of the f irstCampus Strategy to promotethe participation of youngpeople in decision-making atall levels;

n The development of aCommunications andEngagement plan toenhance internal andexternal relationships;

n The adoption of a new policyframework covering allaspects of Campusoperations;

n The collation of data and thedevelopment of IT systems toensure young peopledetained in Oberstownreceive the best possiblecare;

n The development of systemsto enhance the performance,training and support for staffand management.

A vital element of the StrategicPlan 2017-2020 was to ensurepriority attention is given to theneeds of young people inOberstown. The Annual Reportthus provides information onthe personal and social

adversity experienced by youngpeople who are referred toOberstown by the courts andhighlights the high levels ofunmet, complex need withwhich they present in all areasof their lives from mentalhealth to substance misuse,poor educational experiencesto childhood trauma. Thisinformation provides importantcontext to the work we do inOberstown, but it is alsoimportant for publicunderstanding of the youngpeople who end up in ouryouth justice system and indetention.

There is no doubt that theCampus experienced somevery serious challenges in 2016and 2017. These aredocumented in this annualreport which also highlightsexternal reviews undertaken inlate 2016/early 2017 to assist thefuture direction of the Campus.Careful analysis of theserecommendations is nowcomplete through the work ofthe Review ImplementationGroup which presented its f inalreport to the Minister forChildren and Youth Affairs inDecember 2017. Extensivework has also been underwayin Oberstown to ensure theimplementation of theserecommendations and thereviews have all helped toshape Campus priorities in thedevelopment of the CampusStrategic Plan 2017-2020.

Throughout 2017, there hasbeen clear and substantialprogress made in bringingstability to Campus operationsto the benefit of both youngpeople and staff. Althoughchallenges remain, the Campusis now on a solid footing fromwhich it can move forward inthe fulf ilment of its mission toprovide the best possible carefor young people in detention.It is important at this point toexpress thanks to all ourstakeholders who havesupported the Campus indifferent ways during 2016 and2017: my fellow members of theBoard of Management; theMinister for Children and YouthAffairs and the Irish YouthJustice Service; members of theOireachtas; the localcommunity; our partnerorganisations and all those whohave supported and taken aninterest in our work. Specialthanks are also due to the staffof Oberstown, right across theorganisation, for theircontinuing commitment andto the Director and hismanagement team forproviding the Campus with thedirection it needs to ensurethat young people detained inOberstown receive the bestpossible care.

Professor Ursula KilkellyChair, Board of Management

03


Oberstown Children Detention Campus: Annual Report 2016/2017


1.0 Mission, Vision, Values

04

Mission

To ensure that young

people detained in

Oberstown Children Detention

Campus are supported to move

away from offending behaviour

to make a more positive

contribution to

society.

Vision

To provide safe, secure and

appropriate care for young people

to meet their health and education

needs to support them to address their

offending behaviour and prepare

them to return to their families

and communities following

release from detention.

Full strategy available on Oberstown.com



05

Values

We understand that the core

values of an organisation should

meet the needs of all stakeholders,

including young people, employees

and the organisation generally in line

with national law and policy.

At Oberstown, our

values include:

Respect

Learningand

reflection

WorkingTogether

Honesty andIntegrity

Commitment to quality

care and support




Statutory frameworkUnder s. 158 of the Children Act,2001, the principal objective ofOberstown is to provideappropriate educational, trainingand other programmes andfacilities for children havingregard to their health, safety,welfare and interests, includingtheir physical, psychological andemotional well-being. Accordingto s 180 of the Act, young peoplein Oberstown are in the care ofthe Director who has 'likecontrol over the child as if he orshe were the child's parent orguardian' and who shall ‘dowhat is reasonable…in all thecircumstances …. for thepurpose of safeguarding orpromoting the child’s… health,development or welfare.’

National policyNational government policy,Tackling Youth Crime, the YouthJustice Action Plan 2014-2018,commits, as a high-level goal, toprovide a safe, secureenvironment and necessarysupport for detained youngpeople to assist their re-integration into the community.The Action Plan commits to theprovision of evidence-based careand development opportunitiesto enable young people to returnto their communities to play aconstructive role in society. ThePlan also requires thedevelopment of integratedservices and the adoption ofvarious measures to complete

the new national detentionfacility in Oberstown.

Law reformOn June 1 2016, the Children(Amendment) Act 2015 cameinto force creating a singleentity –the Oberstown ChildrenDetention Campus(Oberstown).1 The new Board ofManagement came into effecton that date also, as appointedby the Minister for Children andYouth Affairs, Dr KatherineZappone, TD. Throughout 2016and 2017, Oberstown helped toachieve the fulfilment ofnational policy commitments toend the detention of children inadult prison. Specifically, inMarch 2017, the Minister forChildren and Youth Affairs, DrKatherine Zappone TD,announced that all youngpeople under the age of 18sentenced to detention by thecourts would be sent toOberstown.2 Since that date,Oberstown has accommodatedall young people remanded orsentenced by the courts within its licence of 48 boys and 6 girls.

Budget & staffDuring the period of this report,there were 270 employeesbased at Oberstown, which canaccommodate up 54 youngpeople at any one time. Theservice has an annual allocationof €21m – €16m for pay, €5m fornon-pay related costs.

1.1 Overview of operations

1 S.I. No. 273/2016 - Children Act 2001 (Amalgamation of Children Detention Schools) Order 2016.

2 S.I. No. 110/2017 - Children (Amendment) Act 2015 (Section 3(11)).The Children Act, 2001, as amended by the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, extended the children detention schoolmodel to all children up to the age of 18. Announcement from The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, DrKatherine Zappone TD regarding ending practice of sentencing under 18s to adult prison. Available at:https://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=4165&CatID=11&mn=&StartDate=1+January+2017



Development of the Campus A new €57m campus was completed in 2016 with theopening of residential units and a fully operational newschool, gym and other facilities. The development of theCampus continues to evolve with retrofitting andremedial works taking place throughout 2017.

2012: Capital funding for a new campus to amalgamatethree detention schools at Oberstown is announced.

2013: Construction on the Oberstown developmentproject begins.

2015: First new residential units become operational andthe new school opens in September 2015.

2016: On 1 June 2016, the new Oberstown ChildrenDetention Campus is established.

07




08

2.0 Governance

2.1 Organisational structure Responsibility for youth justice in Ireland is vested in the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.Oberstown operates under the aegis of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, as part ofthe Irish Youth Justice Service, an executive office in the department. Oberstown is governed by aBoard of Management, including representatives of government departments, nominees fromstaff and the local community and five members selected via the State Boards appointmentprocess. There are two sub-committees, the Governance sub-committee, and the Finance, Audit &Risk sub-committee. Work in these areas included monitoring and reviewing the 2017 FinancialAccounts and Risk Register and the development of a Governance Handbook for the Board ofManagement. The Board is chaired by Professor Ursula Kilkelly.

Board Member Term Governance

Sub-Committee

2.2 Board of Management membership

Fionnuala Anderson June 2016 – July 2016

Fiachra Barrett June 2016 – Dec 2016

Tadgh Delaney July 2016- Member

Michael Farrell June 2016- Member Chair

Diego Gallagher June 2016- Member

Jim Gibson June 2016-

Elizabeth Howard June 2016-

Charles Irwin June 2016- Member Chair

Dan Kelleher June 2016- July 2016

Ursula Kilkelly, Chair June 2016- Member

Laoise Manners Jan 2017-

Fiona Murphy June 2016 – June 2017

Sinead O'Herlihy June 2016- Member

Don O'Leary July 2017-

Pat Rooney June 2016-

Liam Walsh Nov 2016- Member

Emer Woodful June 2016-


Finance, Audit & Risk

Sub-Committee


09

2.3 Organogram

Board of Management

Director

Residential Services Manager

Night Unit Managers

Night Supervisors

Care Services Manager

Risk / Safety Services Manager

(Deputy director) (Deputy director) (Deputy director)HR Manager Occupational

Psychologist LogisticsManager

Head of Care Health & Safety AdministrationManager

Nursing staffFacilities Manager

Policy and

Communications Procedures Central

SecurityRecruitment

HouseholdManager

External Agencies

Catering

Manager Chaplin

Activities Coordinator

Social worker

Young Persons Programme Manager

Residential Social

Unit Managers

Chief Operations Manager(Deputy Director)

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Finance




10

2.4 Strategic Plan

In January 2017, Oberstownadopted a short-term ActionPlan focusing on five key areas:Young people, staff, standards,communication andaccountability. The managementof the Campus began to shape awork plan around these prioritiesand throughout the Spring andSummer of 2017 the Campus’first strategic plan was developedby the Board in consultation withstakeholders including staff,young people, the Irish YouthJustice Service, external agenciesand the Board of Management.

Adopted by the Board in October2017, the Oberstown StrategicPlan 2017-20203 was launched bythe Minister for Children andYouth Affairs in December 2017.

Under the strategy, the five keystrategic objectives driving theoperations of the Campus until2020 are: providing the best carefor young people; developing ourpeople and organisation;implementing policies,procedures and standardsconsistent with the best model ofdetention for young people;enhancing communicationsaligned to our values and missionand delivering robust

governance at all levels to driveeffective accountability.

2.5 Policy,accountabilityand inspections

2.5.1 Policy During 2017, Oberstown beganstreamlining and revising all of itspolicies and procedures. All of thenew and revised Oberstownpolicies now adhere to a settemplate, distinguish betweenpolicy and procedures and arefully in line with legislation andinternational best practice.New policies were adopted in the following areas: SingleSeparation; Care; Health & Well-being; Safeguarding;Dignity & Privacy; Anti-bullying;Medication Management;Handcuffs; InformationManagement and Supervision.

In October 2017 the Board ofManagement signed off on astatement of restrictive practices.The statement sets out theOberstown position regardingthe use of any type of support orpractice that limits the rights orfreedom of movement of ayoung person. Restrictivepractices include singleseparation, physical restraint andthe use of handcuffs.

2.5.2 Accountabilityn Reviews of OberstownIn late Summer 2016, Oberstownexperienced substantialindustrial relations difficultiesand during strike action on 29August 2016 young people

3 Oberstown Strategy. 2017 -2020, available at: https://www.oberstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Oberstown-Strategy-2017-2020-1.pdf


Minister for Children Katherine Zappone and Chairof the Board of Oberstown Professor Ursula Kilkellyat the launch of the Oberstown strategy.


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caused substantial criminaldamage to the Campusincluding the destruction by fireof one of the residential units.Subsequent engagementbetween staff representativesand management resulted in theForde Framework Agreementwhich committed to thecompletion of a number ofreviews relating to the health andsafety, security and behaviourmanagement of young people.Separately, in September 2016,the Board of Managementcommissioned a review of theoperation of the Campus againstinternational best practice andstandards with a view to enablingthe Campus to move forward in asupportive and developmentalmanner. These reviews were allcompleted during the course of2016 and 2017.

n Review ImplementationGroup

In March 2017, the Minister forChildren and Youth Affairsestablished a ReviewImplementation Group toanalyse all of therecommendations from thevarious reviews undertakenduring 2016 and 2017 andproduce a comprehensiveimplementation plan.

The group was chaired byProfessor Ursula Kilkelly, Chair ofthe Board of Management ofOberstown, with representationfrom Oberstown management,staff, trade union, the Irish YouthJustice Service and an externalexpert in child development.Throughout 2017, this groupcollated and analysed the

hundreds of recommendationsfrom the various reviewsundertaken and a final reportwas presented to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on schedule in December 2017.By the end of 2017, most of theserecommendations were foundeither to have beenimplemented or were in theprocess of being implemented.

n Protected DisclosuresOberstown has in place aprotected disclosures policy. Inline with this policy the Board ofManagement report on any suchdisclosures for the annual reportperiod. During the period June2016 to December 2017, noprotected disclosures were madein line with the policy.

n High Court judgmentFive young people took legalaction against Oberstown withrespect to their treatment. Thejudgment in this matter washanded down by the High Courtin November 2017.

According to the judgment,young people had their

constitutional rights breached ina limited way, as they weredeprived of physical exercise andcontact with their families duringperiods of separation. The lengthand conditions of theirseparation had not breachedtheir rights but their rights werealso breached as a result of anabsence of proceduralsafeguards relating to separation,particularly inadequate formalwritten recording of decisions.Measures to respond to thejudgment were put in placeimmediately and more robustoversight of single separationand other restrictive practices inOberstown is now in place in linewith legal requirements.

n Joint Oireachtas CommitteeIn October 2016 and November2017, the Director and the Chairof the Board of Managementappeared before the JointOireachtas Committee onChildren and Youth Affairs. The2016 appearance related to theoperation of Oberstown, whilethe 2017 appearance was inrelation to the HIQA inspection ofMarch 2017. Both appearances





covered a wide range of topicsincluding: care of young peoplewith mental health concerns;restrictive practices andeducation. The Director’sopening statements and the fulltranscript of the sessions areavailable on Oberstown.comand Oireachtas.ie.

2.5.3 Inspections The Children Act, 2001 requiresthat inspections of DetentionSchools be carried out annually.Inspectors from the Health,Information and QualityAuthority (HIQA) are authorisedto carry out independentinspections of Oberstownagainst the Standards andCriteria for Children Detention

Schools, issued by theDepartment of Education in2004 and adopted in 2008 bythe IYJS. The Standards arecurrently being revised, inconsultation with young peopleand other stakeholders, toensure they are in line withcontemporary and internationalstandards of children’s rightsand welfare and youthdetention.

Inspections can be announcedor unannounced. The themes ofthe inspections, as set out in the2008 standards, are: Purposeand function; care of youngpeople; child protection;children’s rights; planning foryoung people; staff and

management; education;health in care of young people;premises, safety and security;tackling offending behaviour. Afull announced inspection ofOberstown took place in March2017.

The Department of Educationcarried out an inspection of theOberstown school in December2017.

A number of other bodies havean oversight role with respect ofOberstown. The Ombudsmanfor Children has a remit toconsider complaints of youngpeople in Oberstown under theOmbudsman for Children Act2002, as amended.


13

3.0 Care of Young People

The journey is split into three keyphases: preparing for the youngperson’s arrival; arrival and reception of the young person; theactivation of the young person’splacement plan, as guided by theCEHOP pillars. ”

“




14

4 https://www.oberstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Key-Characteristics-Q1-2017.pdf

3.1 Overview ofyoung people

Young people under 18 yearscan be sent to Oberstown bythe courts for a period ofdetention following committal(sentence) or when placed onremand awaiting a courtdecision. Between June andDecember 2016, there were 112young people detained inOberstown.

Of the 112, 110 were male andtwo were female, 32 youngpeople served committal ordersand 80 young people were onremand orders.

During 2017 there were 135individual young peopledetained in Oberstown.Of the 135, 133 were male andtwo were female, 48 servedcommittal orders, while 87young people were on remandorders.

Young people who come toOberstown have generallyexperienced significantadversity and disadvantage intheir lives. In 2017, as part of itsCommunications andEngagement Strategy,Oberstown began to publishanonymous data on the youngpeople in its care with a viewto documenting theircircumstances and increasingpublic understanding of thechallenges they face.

Research undertaken in 2017highlighted that young people

in Oberstown haveexperienced adversity andtrauma including the loss ofparents, neglect and abuse,and multiple careplacements.4 Some of thefindings of Key Characteristicsof Young People in Detention,Q1 2017, were that of the youngpeople in detention in thatperiod: 49 were not engagingin education prior todetention; 31 had been in careprior to detention; 38 had amental health need; 54 hadsubstance misuse problems.The report was the first step inan on-going process toprovide contemporaneousdata about young people indetention and provided abaseline to build on with aview to tracking trends andpatterns in the future. Thefindings confirmed that youngpeople in detention have awide range of complex needsoften requiring a holistic,multi-agency response.

3.2 Model ofcareThe care provided to youngpeople in Oberstown is basedon a model with the followingelements: Care, Education,Healthcare, work onOffending Behaviour andPreparation for leaving(CEHOP)5 as set out in s. 158 ofthe Children Act, 2001.

Find research aboutyoung people onOberstown.com



Young people address theiroffending behaviour throughprogrammes that allow them toconsider the consequences of theirbehaviour and think about the victims of their crime.

“

”

15




When young people arrive tothe Campus, staff develop anindividual and comprehensiveplacement plan for everyyoung person. These plans,which are constantly reviewed,cover strengths, needs andnext steps in the f ive key areas.

3.2.1 CareThe CEHOP framework is usedat each stage of a youngperson’s journey, from entry toexit and the practicalexpression of the framework onthe ground is the Journeythrough Care (JtC) process

(inset). The Journey throughCare (JtC) refers to the stages ofa young person’s journeythrough the OberstownCampus. The journey is splitinto three key phases:preparing for the youngperson’s arrival; reception of theyoung person; the activation ofthe young person’s placementplan, as guided by the CEHOP pillars.

Upon arrival to Oberstown, eachyoung person’s care needs areassessed in detail by aprofessional care team.Individual care is provided by amulti-disciplinary team withtraining and expertise in therange of care services thatyoung people require.

3.2.2 Education The provision of education andaccess to appropriate trainingprogrammes is a core elementof each person’s Journeythrough Care. Learning atOberstown takes three mainforms: structured, such asschool, specialised, such as riskreduction programmes andinformal, such as daily life inthe residential unit. All youngpeople attend school whilethey are in Oberstown.

A partnership approach toeducation is taken and thepurpose-built school is run bythe Dublin and Dun LaoghaireEducation and Training Board(DDLETB). At the school, allyoung people have access to

16

5 This approach was developed by Oberstown in light of the legislation, regulations, standards and best practices associated with meeting young people’s needs within thedetention environment. For an overview see: Bamber, J., Brolly, C., Mills, E. and Farrar, C. (2016) Lessons from the literature – Building relationships with detained young peopleto improve pro-social outcomes. Oberstown Children Detention Campus (Oberstown), Dublin



17

subjects that are part of thenational curriculum. All teachersare professional, qualified andexperienced and encourageeach young person to completestate exams and continuevocational training. Educationaloutcomes are measured in anumber of ways includinglooking at improvements inliteracy and numeracy, toparticipation in stateexaminations, with the ultimateobjective of equipping youngpeople for their successfulreturn to the community.

Outside of school hours, youngpeople have a timetable of

activities including football, artclasses, pyrography, gymaccess, pool and snooker,cooking, textiles and music.

3.2.3 Health Young people in Oberstownhave access to medical servicesdelivered in a designatedmedical suite. The health andwell-being suite is managed bya clinical nurse manager, whoworks with two nurses and asocial care worker. Services alsoinclude access to a GP and adentist, as required.

In Oberstown, the clinical andtherapeutic services provided

by a psychologist, drugscounsellor and speech andlanguage therapist are madeavailable to young people byTusla’s AssessmentConsultation Therapy Service(ACTS). ACTS works as part of amulti-disciplinary teamproviding clinical services toyoung people who are referredbased on a mental healthscreening.

The National Forensic MentalHealth Service providespsychiatric services to youngpeople in Oberstown, alsoworking as part of a multi-disciplinary team.




3.2.4 Offending behaviour In Oberstown, a young person’sprogramme coordinatorsupports the delivery ofprogrammes for young people.The coordinator is responsiblefor ensuring that young peopleaddress their offendingbehaviour through programmesthat allow them to consider theconsequences of theirbehaviour and think about thevictims of their crime.Oberstown also works with anumber of external partnersand state agencies to helpyoung people address theiroffending behaviour.

3.2.5 Preparation forreleaseFrom the moment youngpeople arrive to Oberstown theyare being prepared for release.Every young person has aplacement plan that not onlylooks at their time in detention,but to the future. PlacementPlanning Meetings (PPMs) takeplace every six to eight weeksand are attended by youngpeople, their unit manager, keyworker, parent/guardian andother professionals who workwith them. Issues such asmobility trips, home leave andplans for the future arediscussed at these meetings.Key stakeholders are also key tothe smooth transitioning ofyoung people from detention tothe community.

3.3 OberstownStakeholders Oberstown works with a rangeof external agencies indelivering services to young

people while they are inOberstown and once they haveleft, too. (See graphic on page19.)

3.4 Participationof young peoplein decision-making

The Strategy for theParticipation of Children inDecision-Making (available onOberstown.com) wasdeveloped and approved bythe Board of Management inOctober 2017 in consultationwith Professor Laura Lundy ofQueen’s University Belfast. TheStrategy provides for youngpeople to participate indecision-making on Campus invarious ways, in line withnational policy and Article 12 ofthe Convention on the Rights

of the Child. It makes provisionfor the establishment of aCampus Council to provideyoung people’s views toCampus management on theoperation of the Campus. Inlate 2017, the Campus Councilwrote to the Minister forChildren and Youth Affairsinviting her to meet with themto hear about theirachievements in Oberstown.The Campus Council also actedas an advisory group forconsultation, undertaken byHub na nOg (the nationalcentre of excellence forchildren’s participation) in theDepartment of Children andYouth Affairs on new nationalstandards for the inspection ofchildren in detention.Implementation of theOberstown ParticipationStrategy is monitored quarterly by the Board ofManagement.



19

Ombud

sman

for Ch

ildren

GardaíProbation

Tusla

YAP

Tallaght West ChildhoodDevelopment Initiative

ACTS

National ForensicMental Health Service

Extern

An Crinan

Le CheileEPIC

Oberstown Stakeholders




20

4.1 Developingthe workforce

More than 270 staff memberswere employed by Oberstownduring 2016 and 2017.

The Campus managementteam is comprised of a Directorand deputy directors forResidential Care, YoungPeople’s Care, Risk and Safetyand General Operations. A HRmanager and logistics mangeralso report to the Director. Staffinclude residential social careworkers; night supervisorofficers; unit managers,catering staff; household staff;maintenance andadministration staff.

A human resourcesdepartment was established inOberstown in 2016. Thedepartment is led by a humanresources manager andcomprises six staff allowing forall aspects of the humanresources function to bemanaged on the Campus, in

consultation with theDepartment of Children andYouth Affairs and theDepartment of PublicExpenditure and Reform. TheHR department coordinatesstaff training, including childprotection, implementation ofthe CEHOP framework,managing behaviour andhealth and safety.

During 2016 and 2017, asignificant number ofrecruitment campaigns tookplace, increasing the workforceto its current complement.

4.2 ITdevelopmentsSignificant investment hasbeen made in new IT systemsfor the Campus, including a HRsystem to support the rosteringand management ofattendance across Campus andthe recording of training,annual leave, sick leave,and assault andinjury leave.

This means that up-to-date,accurate data is now availableon all aspects of staffengagement at Oberstown andthis information is taken intoaccount in Campusmanagement and Boarddecision-making.

During 2017, work on a casemanagement system todigitalise all Oberstown’srecords was advanced. Thesystem includes a bedmanagement component andgathers data on young people’sjourney through care inOberstown. When fullyoperational, the system willmake recording, recordkeeping and management ofinformation at Oberstownmore efficient and effectiveand will provide a wealth of

4.0 Oberstown Staff



21

useful statistical information onyoung people in detention,enabling staff andmanagement to take thisinformation into account.

4.3 Health &SafetyA Deputy Director for Risk &Safety was appointed in May2017 and a permanent Health &Safety Officer position wasplanned . Oberstown alsoappointed an investigationsofficer to investigate allincidents and injuries and reportto the Health and SafetyAuthority and the State ClaimsAgency.

A daily incident accident andassaults meeting provides anoverview of all incidents,accidents, assaults and near misses on Campus.

Information on injuries arerecorded and analysed on aweekly basis.

A new safety policy and safetystatement was developed andcommunicated to all staffduring 2017. A risk managementpolicy was approved by theBoard of Management andassociated procedures weredeveloped. A comprehensivecorporate risk register alsoreceived Board approval inNovember 2017 and is reviewedand updated as required. A

critical incident plan wasdeveloped to assist managers inthe response and recoveryphase of incidents on Campus.A review of the Oberstown firesafety policy was also wellunderway in 2017 inconsultation with the Office ofPublic Works.

The strategic goal of achievingISO Accreditation by 2019 in thearea of Catering and SafetyManagement System was alsoapproved by the Director inSeptember 2017.

Oberstown staff graduate from CISM cert.



During 2016, the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)Service was launched in Oberstown. CISM refers to a package oftechniques and tools put in place to assist staff to address stressthat may arise following a critical incident. The package includespolicy, procedure, workshops and a peer support team. The peersupport team now comprises over 40 staff members, fromdifferent roles across campus, who successfully completed acertificate in critical incident stress management in Carlow IT. Therole of the peer supporter is to provide a confidential, easilyaccessible and highly responsive ‘psychological first aid’ service tofellow staff who are experiencing emotional distress arising froma critical incident at work.


Improving internal and externalcommunication was a significantcommitment throughout 2017and the Campus dedicatedinternal and external resources tothis area. A press off ice functionwas put in place for the Campusin 2016 and a Communicationsand Engagement Strategy wasdeveloped and approved by theBoard of Management to overseethis activity in October 2017.

5.1 Internalcommunications Town Hall meetings were held tolaunch the OberstownCommunications & EngagementStrategy, and to give stafffeedback on the strategic planemployee survey completedduring 2017. The internalnewsletter system was digitalisedduring 2017 allowing for morestreamlined communication andfor tracking of statistics.Additionally, the Chair of theBoard of Management keepsstaff apprised of relevantinformation from boardmeetings, and bulletins from thecampus communicationsmeeting are also sent outcampus wide.

5.2 Externalcommunications During 2016 and 2017, Oberstownexpanded its website as a sourceof expertise for external audiences.

A publications and resourcessection hosts a wide range ofinformation relating to youthjustice, while a news and mediahub provides up-to-date news,press statements, high-resolution

file images and a medialanguage guide. The guide, ‘NotJust Language’ –dispels themyths and stereotypes that canbe used in relation to youthjustice, and makes it easier to usethe correct language andterminology when talking aboutyoung people in conflict with the law.

As part of increased transparencyand external engagement in itsactivities, Oberstown held anevent, Building the Future, inMay 2017 to highlight its workadvancing the rights of youngpeople in detention in Ireland. Inline with the Oberstown StrategicPlan, 2017-2020 and theOberstown Communications and

22

Find all of Oberstown'scommunicationspublications onOberstown.com

5.0 Communications & Engagement



23



Director of Oberstown, Pat Bergin, addressesthe Building the Future event.


24

Engagement Plan, the eventwas designed to engagepartners and stakeholdersacross the youth justice sectorand was the first event of itskind for Oberstown.

In September 2017, Oberstownhosted a stakeholderengagement session onCampus with a view to sharinginformation and buildingunderstanding aboutdevelopments in Oberstown,

and some of the challengesfaced by the Campus. Themeeting was attended by arange of interested partiesincluding the Department ofChildren and Youth Affairs, theOmbudsman for Children, HIQAand civil society groups. Thesession provided an opportunityto update stakeholders aboutthe Oberstown Strategic Plan, toshare recent research data, andto provide some relevantinformation about the restrictive

practices used in Oberstown.

During 2017, Oberstowncontinued to build and nurtureits relationships with itsneighbouring community,putting in place enhancedcommunication systems toensure they are kept up to datewith developments. Regularmeetings took place betweenOberstown management andthe local community in 2016 and 2017.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, is presented with portrait paintedby young people at Building the Future event by John Smith, Oberstown Activities Coordinator.



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Appendices

Oberstown Data & Statistics





1.0 Oberstown Statistics, June to December 2016

Admissions of Young People, June - Dec, 2016

During 2016, there were 112 young people detained in Oberstown.Of the 112:n 110 were male and two were femalen 32 young people were on committal ordersn 80 young people were on remand orders

1.1 Oberstown Statistics, 2017

Admissions of Young People in 2017

During 2017 there were 135 individual young people detained in Oberstown.Of the 135: n 133 were male and two were femalen 48 young people were on committal ordersn 87 young people were on remand orders


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2.0 Profile of young people in detention, Q1 2017



The data presented hereprovides an overview of thecharacteristics of young peopledetained in Oberstown duringthe first quarter of 2017. Theinformation was derived from aset of questions answered byreviewing the informationavailable on the files of eachyoung person in Oberstownfrom January 1 to March 31, 2017.

Population profileIn the first quarter of 2017, therewere 69 individual young peoplepresent in Oberstown. All of theyoung people were male.

Of the 69 young people indetention from January toMarch 2017:

n 36 were on remand ordersand 33 were on detentionorders.5

n 37 had multiple charges ofthe offence of Theft & Fraud.

n 13 had received a detentionorder of one year or more, andof these 5 were serving adetention order in excess offour years.

Background & FamilyOf the 69 young people oncampus: 46 were Irish, 16 wereIrish Travellers; 4 were EUnationals; two were African andone was of mixed ethnicity.Of this group of young people:

n 37 had suffered the loss ofone or both parents eitherthrough death, imprisonmentor no long-term contact.

Children in careOf the 69 young people:n 31 young people were in care

prior to detention.n a further 6 young people

had significant involvementwith Tusla prior to detention.6

Health & wellbeingOf the 69 young people:

n 38 had a mental health need,7 while 22 had at onetime been prescribedmedication (almostexclusively for ADHD).

n 54 young people hadsubstance misuse problems.

LearningOf the 69 young people: n 49 young people were not

engaging in education priorto detention

n 25 had some form ofdiagnosed learning disability

More detailed information on the full Q1 data report isavailable on Oberstown.com

5 Remand orders refers to young people who have been ordered to spend time in detention on remand or awaiting trial; detention orders refers to young people who have

been committed or sentenced to a period of detention following conviction.

6 Significant involvement with Tusla means that there was clear evidence of a long history with either the young person or their family.

7 Mental health data relates to actual diagnoses young people have received from health professionals during their lives, or in a smaller number of cases where there is clear

evidence of psychological concerns in a young person’s file. See appendix for more information.


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Notes



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Oberstown Children Detention Campus, Oberstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin, K45 AY66.

Phone: + 353 (0) 1 852 6400Email: [email protected]

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