It is increasingly difficult to recruit social workers and it may be necessary to train mature students for the job, the Eastern Health Board childcare report says.
Not only are young graduates attracted to other jobs, but social workers are leaving because of the stress of child-protection work and violence or threats of violence, it says.
It therefore takes too long for busy social workers to investigate reports of child abuse. But investigations will only be carried out quickly if the EHB can recruit more social workers, it says.
The report also details what it calls an unexpected finding regarding the "out of hours" social work service for young people with nowhere to stay.
This service tries to find a bed for the night for children and teenagers who present themselves at Garda stations in Dublin city centre. Last year social workers in this service dealt with more than 3,000 cases, many of which were repeat visits by the same children and teenagers.
An analysis of the visits to the service in the last quarter of last year showed that just over half the young people used the service only once and appear to have returned home or to care without leaving again, a finding which the report describes as "somewhat surprising".
At the other end of the spectrum was a young person who sought help 40 times over three months.
Arrangements are currently being finalised with the Salvation Army to operate a night reception centre where the young people can meet social workers instead of going to Garda stations.
Other findings in the 1998 report include:
There were 41 suicides in the 15-24 age group in the region in 1998 compared with 32 the previous year.
The waiting time for speech and language therapy ranges from four months to three years.
There is a 15-month waiting list in some areas for an assessment by an educational psychologist.
The EHB was notified of 1,719 suspected cases of child abuse last year compared to 2,082 the year before. These included suspected sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect.
41 per cent of notified cases of abuse were confirmed.
The number of children fostered by relatives continues to grow.
There are too few refuge places for women and children subjected to domestic violence and not enough childcare workers to help refuges cope with as many as 34 children in a day.
The EHB received 384 applications from couples wishing to adopt children from abroad but only 69 assessments were completed. Of these, five were refused.