Areas with the highest rates of children in care have the lowest levels of investment in family support services, according to an unpublished report commissioned by the Government.
The national review of family support services - used by around 500,000 people annually and which cost the State in excess of €200 million - found that health authorities were not meeting their statutory obligation to provide sufficient support to families and children in crisis.
The report, obtained by The Irish Times, said there was a clear possibility that a better developed system of family support could result in less children being placed in care.
It revealed that the eastern region had the highest rate of children in care (78 per 10,000 children) and the lowest rate of family support services. By contrast, the western region had the lowest level of children in care (25 per 10,000) and one of the highest rates of family support.
It raised concern that the bulk of funding was being directed to late intervention that often dealt with crises rather than prevention.
There was considerable frustration at the system among professionals trying to meet the needs of families and children, the report found, and little evidence of any over-arching vision or principles driving the development of the service.
Promoting the Well-Being of Families and Children: A Study of Family Support Services in the Health Sector in Ireland was commissioned to help guide the future development of the service. It was written by a team of independent consultants based in the UK and Ireland.
Family support services, which include mediation, counselling and childcare, have a number of aims including the promotion of stability in family life and the prevention of marital breakdown.
The report acknowledged there has been a dramatic increase in the level of investment in family support services. Yet, there was little sign that services were being expanded sufficiently in the area of prevention and early intervention.
Directing large amounts of funding at late interventions, child protection and children in care seemed to have done little to change the situation in which health authorities were struggling to respond to crises and recurring problems. "As a strategy this manifestly is not working," it said.
The report makes a number of recommendations, such as striking a balance between prevention and late intervention.
