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COISTE FIOSRUCHAIN CHORAS SCOILEANNA CEARTUCHAIN AGUS

R

SAOTHAIR I.UAI<ASC/~IL , 1970

REFORMATORY A N I )

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS SYSTEMS -

- - I<L:I'OR*r, 1970 % -

% -

PREFACE

S E T T I N G U P AN11 h l l ~ M I 3 I ~ R S I l I P OF C O M M I ' I I ' E vii

10. Jurisdiction aver Children and Young Pcrsnns and Recornmendalions 67

I I . Missrllaneous and Kecotnn,elldalions 80

APPENDICES

(o) Functions o f t l x Minister i;,r l idtwatio~~ under Children Acts 84

(4 ) Groups or Oag;tnizatiuns icr whnm Con~n~ittec Wrote Seeking lnformalio~t 90

iii

I'upe (P) Sunmsry of Returns 10 Qucstionr~uire issued by tltr Com-

mittee on Reforn~atory and Ir~dustrial Schools and of other relevant data 9 2

(8) Reasons for which o Child may be Inken into Care Under Section 58 of the Children Act, 19011 1 ZS

(h ) Punishments Applicable to :r Child Under ~ a w I26

( X ) Places of Drtention u d e r Src~ion 108 of Cl~ildreo Act, 1908 128

( I ) Rules and Regulations for the Certification of Industrial Schools 129

All children need love, care and smurily if they are to develop into full and mature persons. Fur most children this is provided by a warm. intimate and continuous relationship with their parents. brothers and sisrers. Children in institutionshave for the nlost part n~isscd this happy relationship. If they are to overcome this deprivation they must. therefore. be given love, alTection and security by those in whose care they arc placed.

The recommendations made by the Cornn~ittre in this report are based on the assumption that all those engaged in the field of Child and Family Care agree that this must he their fundamental approach to the work they are undertaking.

C O M M l ~ l ~ l ' l l l i O N I U I F O I < M A T ( ) I ~ Y A N D INI>US'I'I1IAI. S C I 1001.S

In 1967 thc Governn~ent set up a Omn~i t l ec to a r r y out a survey of Kefornlatory and industrial .%la,t,ls. The iaauyral ineeting of the Committee was held on 20th October. 1967.

'l'hc terms of reference for the Conmiltee were:

"To survey the Rclorn~atory and lnduslrial Sfhools systems and to make ;I report and rccomnrendations to the Minister for tidualion."

The Minister subsyue~~ t ly agrccd 11131 the Comn~iltce's inquiries should include all children in a r e .

The following persons were appointed to the Conm~itlee.

Chairttmn: 1)istrict Justicc Iiilcen Kcnndy. 55 Lansclowne Road. 13allsbridge. Ihblin 4.

Members: Mr. John Ilurley. I1.A.. I Iris Grove. Mount Merrion. Co. Vuhlin. Mr. h l a n I ,. Lennon. Sanla Marinella. Ollinglon I'ark. Sulton. Dublin. Miss Margaret McCivcrn. 8 Crcn~ure Drive. Glasnevin. Dublin I I. An llr. P. A. 15 Raghallaigb. Manager. Artnne School. Dublin 5. Vr. John Ryan. I:.K.C.I'.I.. D.P.M.. St. Augustine's. Obelisk I'ark. Blackrwk. An 1%. Caoimhin Ni Chaoimh. B.Soc.Sc.. Dip.Soc.Sc. Little Sisters uf the Assutnption. Mill Road. Corbally. Limerick. Mr. Rarry I k l y . M A . B.Conm~. D.IIA.. P.C.I.I.. P.C.. " Paradiwr ". 161 Suttun Park. Suuon. Dublin. Dr. J. G. O'Hagan. Scnior Medical Olliccr. Department of Health. Dublin 1. Antoin 6 Gormnin. I'sycholugis~. Department of Eduw- lion. Dublin I. Rist&d Mac Cond~ri~dl~il . Assistaut Principal Olliccr. Vepartntcnt of justice. Uublin 2. Secretary. Richard O'hmovan. Deparln~ent of Educa- tion. Dublin I.

1.1 The Claild Cdrc Syslan i n Ireland has evolved irorn various systems o l aid to l l ~ c pour. 111 Ihe libst cenlury thc oldesl provisions for ~ h c social proleclion and w r e of children were found in enacln~ents whioh dcall will1 poor rclief and referred prinlarily l o neglrcled and orplmued diildrcn. 'I'lley were Acts such ;IS Lhc Abandunurcnl of Children Act. 1861. and lhc Ollenccs against the Person Acl. 1861.

I n uhe middle of the 19th fentury lhc only public provisiun for children was i n wurkl~ouses (even l a l ay some children are kept i n Counly Homes). SU~YXIU~IIIIY. voluntary i ~ ~ s l i l ~ l i u n s conducled by Religious Orgnnis;~tions i lnd c h a r i u b l ~ persons provided i n some measure for the cure of Juvcnilc Ollcndcrs. 1Bcsc i n ~ ~ i l u l i o n s receive? no assislancc from Public Moneys and were 11o1 subjccr 1u inspcclion or supervisiun b y any Slale Aulhurily.

The altilude iuwardr children was such that a child. on allaining the age of sevcn ycars. was subject l o llie snnle pcnallics as an d u l l even l o the cxtrcnlc penally o f dcalh.

Only by slow drgrecs was il rccognised lhal lhc acl.ions of n child. whioh in law might bc considrmd criminxl. are ditlcrcnl, in k ind and degree. iron1 the criminelily o f lhe adult and ned. lhercfure. dillerent Irwtn~enl-hence flre Kef,rrrnarory Schools (Youlhful Olfcnders) Act. 1854. in England. whioh was exlended l o Ireland by IIIC Rcform:wry Schools Act. 185%

1.2 Whal h i s A c l did. in ellrcl. was 10 certify a nul lher of cxislinlg volunlary inslilutions and homes as suilable for l l ~ e rcccpl im o l youlblul olfcndcrs comn~i l~e t l by ihc courts. I1 also pruvided icu the i n q n ~ l i o n o f l l w c insliluliaws aral for grimts from p h l i c funds ior ~IIC mainlenanco o f such cl~i ldrcn.

A1 one period Cherc were ten Koforn~;story Sch<,ols (livc for girls) ccrlified but owing l o the decrc:rse in olic number o f conmil lals over Ihe years many of the sc l to ls surrendered tlteir certiliwtes until, i n 1944. l l~erc were o d y twc~ left vi,:-SI. Joitph's. I..imerick. for girls. conduclcd hy uhc Sislcrs uf [he Gocd Shepherd. and St. Conlclh's for boys a1 Uaingean. Ollaly. wnduc~cd hy the Order of h e Ohlalcs o f Mary Immacul;~le.

In 1944 SI. A ~ n c ' s Schuol. Kitmacud. Co. Dublin. which is con. dueled hy lhc Sisters o f Our I d y of Charily of Refuge, was ccrlilicd as ;I Reformalory School hrr lhc reception of youthful ollenders and was inlended l o dcal with girls will1 marked tcndcncies to scnoal immoralily. This sollool was. i n 1949. also regislered as an 1ndul;lri;tl school.

1.3 Shortly after the Rofarfnatory Scltool systcnl w~ introduced rhc ncccssity for a dillcrcnt lypr: of school to carer specially for neglected. orphaned a d abmdo~icd children was realised. 1.0 this need lhc Indwr ia l Scl~ools were established. rust in .%olland and were extended to Ireland in 1868.

~ ~.~ On b e introduction o f the system to Ireland LIIC 1 . ~ 1 Au~t~ori t ics

were unwilling lo contribute to (he e s ~ a h l i s h n ~ c ~ ~ l of t h w schools o r

even lo contribute to Ole mainlunance of the cbildr~m. AS a rcsult various Religious Orders were rquested to undert;ikc the work. Where a n Order was willing lo d o so. and where they p rov idd suitable premises. those premises were certified as f i t for the r s e p ~ i o n of d~ i ld ren in care.

During the following years the number of ccrtifid Industrial Sohools increased until. in IHY8. there were w v c ~ ~ ~ y - o n e s c l ~ o o l ~ certified and caring for approxin~ately 8.000 children. S i x ~ ~ - o s c of these were in the Twenty-SK County area. five bcing for Pro~estants and Gfly-six for Catholics.

Over the years various factors such a s lhc dccline in populalion. improvements in living standards. improved social services. adoplion and boarding-out have r c d u c d the number of children bcing admilted to industrial Schools. At cha p r s e n t time the numbcr of Certified Schonls has been rcducd to 29 schools certified for 3.750 children and now catering for some 2.000 c h i l d ~ n .

1.4 The following is a list of Rdormatory and lnduscrial Scl~ools with details of children in each on 30th Septcmbcr. 1969.

(Junior Boyd Paluac Wcrl Sirlcrs of hlry so 1)roahrda Sirwn oi c ~ ~ ~ ~ I ~

of St. Vinrcnl dc Paul 21

Clvpuluin SI. hlicbcl'r 40

2

dumber Health P

Cnscl --- -

6 - 2 - s 4 n

IS

4 1 19

Ordcr is Charge

jirlers of Mc8cy Sincrr o f hlercy sis,crr " h l , ~ ti-1

Shsphcrd s i ~ m M < W

Si>tcn ol hletry Sirtcrs d c ' l k r r i l y Sirtrrs4Our lndl

o f Clrmily 01 1<cr,,gc

Siarrr or Mercy Siwrs hlcrcy Si,lc~s of hlrlcy Sirlcrr md McKy Siskrs c K ~ ' I ~ ~ i 1 y

m h r ul ~lunlary C U U ~ --

-.. I,

24 4

. . 5

2 -~

I 6 1 -.

. -

I I

.- I3 3

I

-

J .-

2 2

1.5 There is now no Cenified School under I'roleslanl Managenlent in ihe Stme. the last havina been closnl in 1917. Children. oll~cr than . ~~-

Roman Ca1holics. who c o k before the Courts are enlrustal. through the local Gardai, to lhe charge of the local paslnr of their own denomination, ivho sees to it that they are placed in lhc care of suit- bble fan$& or sl-hnols.

1.6 Under [he Miuisters and Secretaries Acts. 1924. the admioislra- lion of IrNh Industrial and Kefor~l~;tl<,ry Schools was placed with tlle Minisler for Educalion, will1 w h o n ~ i t slill rests. T h e funclions of the Minister. w l ~ i c l ~ arc S I I O W ~ at Appcl~dix A. are laid down in the Childrcn Act. 1908. with minor amcndmcnts by the Children Acl. 1941. and the Children (Amendment) Acl. 1957.

While the 1908 Act was a1 the tinlc a new c l u r t n for children. the nlaey advances over the years in I I K lield of child care and in the

3

attitudes of the public madc it imperative that the whole conccpt of child a r e be exanlined afresh.

1.7 The late Mr. Donogh O'Malley, then Minister for Wuatiw. realised not only the lin~ited nature ot the powers vested in hint by the 1908 Act. but also that the Act was not suitable to an era of changing conditions. Jle felt Ihat the Conln~unity was not doing all it should to help undcrpriviligcll children. particularly those who had to be placed in these schools and. wnsquently. he advised the Guvern- ment to set up this Cornmiltee to examine the problem and to sup- gest alterations and improvements in ibe system, which would bring it into line with nlodern thinking on the matter.

1.8 Since the Con~mitta: commenced its deliberations, a number of induarial schools have closed down. In the same period. the capila- tion late in lndustrial Schools was raised from 67/64, per week to 82/6d. in July. 1968, and in Kefwmatory Schools the figure was incieased from 7116d. to 86/6d. These rates were doubled in 1969. Recognition as a Special Scl~ool* h a been extended to the school at St. Joseph's Convent. Limerick. and St. Conleth's. Dings.

In making its enquiries the Committee ma formally on 69 o m - sions. It also set up a nuntber of Sub-Committees drawn from its own n~en~hers which met on many occasions.

During the course of tile inquiry all Industrial and Reforntatory Schools in the State were visited by nlen~bcrs of the Committee, some more than one . Visits were also jxpaid to Local Authorities and to a number of voluntary homes and foster homes and to other institutions, both Stale and voluntary. throughout the country. During t h s c visiu the Committee took the opportunity of having informal discussions with many of the children in h e various Homes.

In addition Committee members examined the Child Clre systems in operation in Northern Ireland. England, Scotland. Wales. Sweden. Denmark. The Netl~erlands :~nd Austria and also. tlrr~ugh the m u n a y of their Embassies herc. and the Department of External Allairs, received inforn~ation o s the systents in countries other than these.

Advertisements wcre placed in the daily newspapers inviting all interested parlia lo makc sub~nissions to the Committee. Ollicial and voluntary bodies wcre also asked for comments and suggestions and mcnloranda were received from many of them. The Comminee also met and received verbal evidence from other interested people ur bodics. All these are listed in Appendix B.

A bibliography of many of the authoritative reference books. book- lets and official publications studied by the Committee is shown in Appendix C.

1.9 To assia its investigations the ~omn~i t ted: -

(a) Conducted a survey of all schools involved. the numbers uf children catercrl for. their ages. backgrou~rds and the slalf- ing and other arrangenlents made for ~I ICI I I . A sumnlary of the results is showt~ at Appcndix E.

(b) Con~missiond fronl Rev. Fr. O'Doherty. JJrof&wr of Logic and Psyuhology. University Colli;ge. Dublin. a survey conducted by the Doparuncot of I'syd~olo!g in the University of:-

(i) Mental handicap und ducational bdckwardoess in such schools.

(ii) I h e facilities availahlo for the ulucation of d~ildrcn in such schools.

(ti) Educational problems in Industrial and Reformatory SahWlS. (See appendix P.)

(c) Issued a query to all l.ocal Authorities and Health Authori- rim in order to obtain decails of children admitted lo schools hy t h r s Authorities and their subquent placement.

1.10 7he Committee would like to express its gratitude lo the Managers and Staliof Schools and Hon~cs. to thochildren inlerviowd. to the various Government Departments and Local Auuhdritics, to Authorities abroad, 2nd to the many voluntary groups and individuals at home who gave so frcely OF their knowledge. advice and co- operation in a manner which facilitated tho preparation of this report.

The Committee would also like to thank the Ministers for FAucation Mr. Brian Irnihan. T.D.. and Padlaig 0 F d t n a . T.D.. for the .facilities accorded to tho Committw during iho course of its enquiries and deliberations. They ;tko wich to thank the Secretary to the Committee Richard O'Donovan and other ollikers of thc Department of FAucation in particular Deamn Moulton who in addition to assisting pho Sccreiary also acted as xcretary to many of the SubCommittccs.

, . . I ' : 2.9 All laws relating to Child Carc should be examined. brougllt

. . upto-date and inwrpomted into a co~npositc Children Aft.

2.10 The ace of criminal responsibility should be raised to I2 years. CHAPTER 2

SUMMARY OF MAJOR RECOMMENDA'TIONS

?.I The wh& aim of the Child Care system should be geared towards the prwention of family break-down and the problems wnscqucnl on it. Thc aomrnittal or admission of childrcn to Residential Care should be considered only whcn there is no utis- factory alternative.

2.2 The present institutimal systen~ of Residential C'are s h d d be abolished and be replaced by group homes wl~icl~ would approximate as closely as possible to the normal family wi t . Cnildren from the one family, and children of dillcrent ages and sex should bo placed in swh group homcs.

2.3 We find the present Reformatory system completely inadequate. St. C a n l d s Rcfonnatory. Daingcan, should bc c l o d at Ehc carliest possible opponuoity and replaccd by modem Special Schools con- duned by trained sta8.

2.4 The Remand Home and Place of Detention at t~reselit housal at Marlborough House. Glasncvin. Dublin. sbould be closed forthwith and replacad by a mom suitable buihling with trained child carc staff.

2.5 The stall engaged in Child Care work, who have responsibility for the a r c and training of ahildrcn, their, mental and motional devclopmcot. should ba fully [ r a i d in the aspels of Child Clrc in which tbcy arc working.

2.6 We raxgnise that education is one of the most important formative influences on thc children with whom we are concern&. whether lhcyare deprived or delinquent. All childron in Residential Care or otherwise in care, should be educated to the ultin~ate of their capacities. The purpose of the education they rxeivc sl~ould Ix tu help ohem to develop as adequate persons. To achieve this md. thcy will neod facilities ovcr and above those available to children rcared in thc normal family.

2.1 Aftercare, which is now practically non-existent. should lorn1 an integral part of the Child Carc system.

2.8 Adn~inistrative responsibility for all aspects of Child C;lrr should be t r a n s f e d to i$c Department of Health. Responsibility for the education of children in care should remain with the Department of Education.

6

2.11 The present systcm of paymcnt to the Keforn~atory and Industrial schwls on a wpitation h;rsis should be dixontinued. Inhtead the payment should be made to tho schools on the basis of a budget subrnitwl by the shoolsand agraxl to by lhe Central Authority.

2.12 An irjdependcnt advisory body with statutory powers shwld be established .to ensure that rhc highest slandards of Cd~ild Care arc attained and maintained.

2.13 There is a notable lack of research in this Geld in this country and if work in the arca is to develop to nied thc n d s of Cl~ild Care. there should bc continuous rescad.

3.1 Our information on the children who come into care was obtained from a survey which was carried otu by the Con~n~i t t ee relating to children in Industrial Schools and Reformatories as of February 1st. 1968, front the annual repofis of the Department of Education and from the University College. Dublin. survey rderred to earlier in lhis report.

3.2 The returns from the Conminee's survey indicate that Indus- trial Schools cater for childrcn in a relatively wide age-range. from a fcw months to 19 vears.

T h e following histogram shows the distribution of children in 2 - y e a age-groups:

Therc were 0.4%. 10 childrcn. under I year and 0.3%. 6 clrildreo. between 18 and 19. the ages of 1 % . 21 children. were not returned by the schools.

The bulk of the children are in the usual school going age-grc,ups. There are relatively few children under 1 year-I0 childrcn o r 0.4% of the total. Just ovcr 27, of the children were over 16 which is t l ~ e usual upper age linlit for payment of capitalion grants in the schools. There were only 9 childrcn ur 0.4% over the age of 17 which is tltc

8

age limit beyond which payment of capilatkm grant will not be made under any circumstances.

Approxin~alely 51% of the children were girls and 49% were boys.

Our idormation secnls to s u g c s t that a large number of pre- schwl children are a c c o n ~ m o d a t d in hun~es and instilutioos other d u n Industrial SCIIUOIS. Only sowe of these are approval by the Minister for Ilealth. We were unable to obtain full information lrom all the unapproved homes (see Appendix E).

3.3 The reasons why children are c o n ~ n ~ i t l a l to a r e in Industrial Schools are stated in the annual reports of the Dcpafin~mt of Educa- tion. T h e latest libwres available to us are for lY68/69. W e give these below. Figures as published for previous years are given in Appendix E.

'I'n,,,, I

Most of the children. as may be seen lrom this and other tables in the appendices. are con~mitlcd because of lack of proper guardianship while a largc proportion of boys :ue con~mitted for indictable ollences and under the School Attendance Acts. The ligures d o not include children placed in the schca,l under the H u l t h Acts. About 460 of the childrcn in care in Industrial Schools at present have been placed under the Health Acts, in b e majority of cases a s a result of broken homes. bercavemcnt or prolonged illness in their fandies. A number of children are placed in care for relatively short periods due to difliculties i n Ihc h o n m such as illness.

3.4 i n our own Survey we made some enquiries about the background of the children in Industrial Schools. The results showed that only about 18% of children were klnown 11, the school to have parents who were m a r r i ~ d . alive and living together. Ilowever, only in 1.5% of cases were the father and nlother both known to be dead. 30% of the cl~ildrcn had one parent dead, in about 51% of cases the schools mid they did not know whether one or the other or both of the parents were alive or d u d . Appruximately 19% were known to be illcgilinlate.

11

m u d reports o f the l)eparl t~~cnl of Muc;ltion. are given at 3.5 Tho returns from Industrial Scl lwls &owed the PI- or o"+ Appendix E, of the children as indicated in the followiog hble: The table helow indicates the reneral classification of offences of

1'~et.e 2 which boys and girls commitled to Reformatory Schools are convicted.

I'L,cc of or&," 'l*ul.r 3

I 7 ; I ,',6,ns;nv

3.6 In Reformatories the ages ranged from 13 to 18 for boys and 11 lo 17 for girls. The following histogram shows the distribution of children in one year age-groups in Boys and Girls Reformatories:

Leinster: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Dublin City and County) . . . . . . . . . . . .

M~mter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (cork City and~oun;;) . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cornaught . . . . . . _ _ . . . . ~ancaal,.~onaghan. C a m . . . . . . . . . . . . Great Brllam, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Na Horns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Na'lnlormation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FIG. 2 . - n

--- 32

(;;)

U p I 4

I2 17

3.7 The reasons why childrcn were committed to Reformatories are set out below. Again these figures arc ibc latest available to us and refer to 1968169. Figures for previous years. as published in the 10

3.8 I n thc Reformatories the m;tjosity of children had bulb parerlls alive. Approxinlalely 7% wcrc known to Ix illegilin~ale. I n a b u t 19% of cascs i t was not know11 whether one or other or both of the p;irenu were alivc. Alx,ut 55';(, of cases wcre known to the school to have parents who wcre alive. married and living together. The informadon on fathers' occupations returned in the survey il~dicated that most o f the fathers of the children for whom returns wcre available were from the lower inwnie group.

3.9 A t the time o f our survey about 44% o f the boys and 29% of the girls in Reformatories were staled to be from Dublin City and - County. About 28% o f the boys and 13% of the girls were slated to he f r o n ~ Cork. Limerick or Waterford.

3.10 11 is known th;it i n ovcr 80% o f the cases i n Industrial Schools and i n over 50% of the cases in Reforniatory Schools there is some known element of deprivation such as bereavmicnt. separation or illegitinlacy.

3.11 The results o f the survey carried out by Universily Collegc. Ihb l in . indicate that a very high proportion o f the children "I care in the schools are generally backward. This backwardness is noted in the area o f atlainn~ents. intellectual ahility and i n certain specilic areas such as perceptual and spatial ability. Indeed the indications are that there niay he a cerlain number of the children who arc mentally handicapped. I n general i t would appear that the children have poor linguistic skills and are poor rwdcrs. 'I l l is linguistic deficiency carries ovcr to other scholastic subjects where the child. because he cannot read or exprcss his thoughts ad~yuatcly. is again at a loss. Almost half of the children tested i n the shools fell n~arkedly below !he average i n each lest given. (Sce Appendix F.)

11

0.12 Obxrva t im on visits t i , scl~ools, logctlier with verbal r~po r t s on case lrislories: cvidcocc bubt~~itted by various interested prsoes and the lindings of the U.C.D. survey indicated fhnt these children. i r r e s p d v e of the reasons fur their adn~ission, are children who suller from deprivation.

Deprivation may result in many handicaps. which a l l s t the cl~i ld's full developn~eal. Research has shown that a most importunt factor i n childhood and lalcr dcvulupment is the qunlity and quantity o f personal relnlionship available to the child. By having good ioler- personal relationships the child, and later the adolescent. is enabled. to develop good relationships with other persons in a context broader than his immediate family. The child who has not experienced good personal relationships will. i n time, be lacking i n emotional. social and inlelleclual stability and development.

The conditions which may give riw to inadequate personal rcla- tionships arc many-socially or culturally inadyoate parents. familics where there is some emotional stress, various n~enral o r physical illnesses o r wl~ere for any reason there is only one remaining parent. families where pcrn~anent o r periodic Goancia1 crisis obtains. Under such handicaps the parents or parent cannot o r wi l l not cope und the child is placed in care.

3.13 Heretofore much of the en~phasis has been on provision o f c ra lu re comfons and accon~modation for children and on ~ f e - guarding them from moral and physical dangers. Too l iule enlphasis has been placed on the child's o d s to cnnble tun1 to develop into maturity and to adjust himself satisfactorily to the society i n which he lives. I f we do not re-orientate our thinking so as to lay primary emphasis on this point any expenditure of time, training or h a n c e on the Child Care problen~ wil l not produce the results we are seeking.

3.14 The total number of children in care in Industrial and Re fo r~~ la - lory Schools does not represent lhc total numbcr o f children i n a r e . We set out below some ligures which give an estimate o f the total number of children in care and which would give some indication o f the extent of the problem.

4.1 I n listing tile limitaliuns of the prcscnt u l d d care syslenl insohr as i t concerns Reformatory and industrial Schools. il may seen1 that we are criticising those responsible for running l I ~ c schools. This i s not the intention o f this Comn~ i t t e : indccd. we are very much aware that ,if i t were not for the dedicated work o f nlany of our religious bodies the position would be a great d ra l worsc Lllan i t is now. The fact remains. howcvcr, that the prcsenl systcn~ is far l ronl satisfactory and bofore we can inakc rmon ln~e~~dat iuns for its in~provenlenl We must indicate clearly what we ice1 r yu i r es to k impmved.

I t is also clear thet l l ~ c rulcs and regulations for the certification of Industrial scl~ools do not conlorm with l ~ ~ d e r i l thinking i n the l i r ld of c-hild care and rcquirc antcnd~nenls.

The Ohild Care .\yrtenl lms cvulved ill a h:tpl~:rz;mI and a ~ w t c u r i h way and has not altercd radically down tho years. I t nliay have bwll admirable at one time but i t is now no longrr suited l o the requirements o f our modern and more scientilic age and our greater realisation of our duly to the less fortunate n~einbers of society.

TABLE 4 - . Indunrial Sclm4r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hefurmam~y Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inrcilulions (olllcr than Irhlmlrial Sclluulr) approvcd by lhr Minister

lor Hcallh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Voluntary Homcs which bavc no1 anplied Tor approval. . . . . Iluurded-Oul and at Nurse . . . . . . . . . . . ,

4.2 Our visits. disousions and surveys have given us concrete and valuable information. One point which emerged clearly from these studies is that td~ere is, i n general, a lack of awareness of the needs of mhe child in care. By Ll~is we do not mean physical needs wllicll are, i n the main, adequately i f unirnagin:~tivcly catcred for. We &re referring t o the need for love and security. A l l children experience these necds from their earliest days: the child who I ~ r s sullcrcd dcprivatiun has ;m cvcn greater need for them i f hc i s l o overcome h e handicap which alrnost inevitably results from deprivation and bowme a fully developed and well adjusted individual.

'Ibis lack o f awareness is. we think, due to lack of professional training i n Child Care. Most o f l l~nse working i n Induslrial schools and Rcformatorics have no propcr qualifications for their work. Their only previous experience may have been i n teaching. nursing o r mission work and to cxpact them to put into p rac t ia the principles o f Qhild Care without adequatc training is expecting the impossible. "It i s a fallacv t o think that any motherly woman with common

-- 1W169

2.073 129

658 611

1,357 wnse can su&ssfully undertake &ch work: This is an unnalis?ic and misleading over-simplificnlion. which ignores the understanding - and the skills r c q ~ ~ i r c d to care ftrr other people's emolionrlly unsclllul i f not disturbed and unhappy ch i ld rc~~. Neither afreclion nor conmon sense are suflicient by the~nsclvcs."*

."Rcsidmtial Child Care-Facls and Fallarics,'. 1)innagc and Kellmer Pring (hnrrms).

I3

4.3 Not anly itre lhc n~ajority of those cngagerl in Residential Child Carc untrained but IIICI ' are no active adcqu;lle courws in this country to give prolessio~t~l t~aining in Illis scnsitivo lield. There is a diploma course in Child (.'m in [he U.C.D. c:tlendar for thost: who hold a degree or Diplonu but for some years now not enough applications bave been received to enable ~ h c course to bc held. The minority in residentid Cltild Care who have been trziinod. have becn traincd abroad, generally i n llritnin where ~ h c Ilunne Oflicc runs long and short term courses.

Even where a member of lhe Residen1i;ll Staff of an Industrial School or Reformatory may be trained, a further difficulty may arise h e r e he or she is subordinate to somebody who is untrained. We have come across one case at lean where the Manager of a school took no active pan in bhe running of the schwl except to veto the proposals made by the trained member of #he staff. This was pmbably due to a lack of appreciation of the reasoning bdtind the proposals. The frustrations which such a'situation could cause to staff may be imagined but the damage whiclr il could do lo the children in care is incalculable.

4.4 I4 is of prime imporlance that all tho.% engirged in Ohild Care must be fully aware that the child's needs come first and that they must be equally aware what thc child's needs are. For this purpose they must be trained in Pheir work and the provision of trained s~aR should take prcccdence over any other recommendations. This is not to say that orher recomnrendations should not be carried out while staff are being trainat but that amangememts to train staff should be made wilhout delay.

4.5 We recommend that an independent advisory body with Statutory powers should be set up at the earliest possible opporlunity. The fundamental purpose of this body would ba to ensure that Phe highat standard of child carc should be altained and constantly maintained.

(a) We feel that uhe function of the body should be to act as a Watch Dog Committee: and to concern itself with any a r a s of weakness whioh may appear during the development of sewim and to make ~raommendations for the eradication of those weakncsscs.

(b) T o enwurage the initiation of training courses both general and in-service and to advise on the requirements for different posls in the field of ohild care.

(c) To arrange that facilities should be available to suitable persons for research work in child care thus ensuring ghat mhinking on all aspects of this important work should remain fluid and progressive.

(d) To make the public aware of and interated in the develop- mcnts in the child care field.

14

(e) T o foster and encowago co-opcratioo and courdination between Phe various W i m and pmsons. both voluntary and ollicial, engaf l in h e dilfcrent a r m of child care work.

The nyxnbers of the h a r d should be drawn from appropriate disciplines, professions and vowtioos so that h e thinking which would bc cha~lnall~d into the child w e licld would coluc frulll varied amas of Lhougi~ and expricnw. . As an interim measurc it sl~ould be possiblo to arrange h i t members of Ole dillcrent Orders and Local Autborily personoe~ engaged in the work of child care sl~ould attend the British Home O l b courses. 'I'k- courses have been attended by Religious Orders in Britain engaged in similar work and ham proved very successful.

4.6 From our invertigatims, we are aware that most of these schools are very inadequately s taf f~d. In alnlost every wsc the same slaff tncmbms are rcquired to pcrlorm the duties of teaching. su~rvision and residential carc which means that they are onduly, lo all intcnts and purposes. 24 hours ;t day 7 days a wertk. This is highly undesirable and c:tn only he to l l~e detriment of both stal1 and ohildrcn.

Some of the Orders in charge of lndustrkl Sohools and Refornln- tories mu engaged in olher work which is d more direct concern lo then1 and which comes nlore inlo the public eye. There appears to be a tendency ,to ga f f the sohook, in par1 at least, with d~ose .who are no longer required in olher work rather than with thoso speoially chosen for Child G r e work. All stan involvrd in child carc musl be cardully sela~ted and carefully trained for the parlicular aspczt of llto work in which they are involved. There should not k the slightest implicalion that those involved in this most dinicult task are in some ways inferior to those in similar professions and carcers.

4.7 All of the Industrial Schools and Kofornlatrrrics in the Slalc :Ire h o u d ,in old buildings. swne of wllioh were built lor purpmrsooter than that for which they arc now hcing used. In fact. none of the present buildings were built specilically for use as child care institutions altl~olrglt in some cases cerhin xdaptations lmve been made. The present buildin~s are has i~dly unsuitable for us% as Residential Homes for children in care. k i n g m u ~ h loo instilulional in characler.

Apart from the institutional nature of the buildings, we found an institutional approach to the care of the childrcn in many of Che Whools we visited. This is harmful to the development of the children in care. For instance, childrcn oP a passive or introvert nature can merge into the institutional background to such a degrec that their emo1ion;d ;!nd mentd problems may go unnoticed and untended until they arc f o m d to face an outside world which requires an initiative and aditptahility they do not possess. In fact, the institutional life will probably have aggravated the problems they had hefore admission to the inslitulion and created ncw ones for them.

One of the dangers of lnrge institutions is that Phcy tend to become dqxnonalised. This applks to schools dealing with normal childmn

IS

from nornlal honres with fundan~entally sound backgrounds. I t applies even more so l o children who w m e from unstable backgrounds or those who have been deprived o f d ~ c love and care o f parents. In nlany cases these children have received emotional scars of a deep and abiding nature. Tbey tend to merge into h e i r background. to allraot as l i t l l e nrrtioe as possible. t o exhaw any form of individualily becau*. I ~ i l l ~ ~ - ~ t o . the exercix of individu;tlity m;ty .have lad them into trouble.

I f the needs o f the deprivml child are to be adequately catered for md if he is to rcceive the love and care whiclr are necessary for his development. then every &on must be made to eliminate the institutional aspects o f a l l schools or Residmt id Homes. This applics to lhc psychological as well as to the physical aspsts o f institutionalism.

4.8 We are aware that Residential &re for deprived children is. at best, a substitute care and should not be resortat to i f there is a satisfactory alternative. There is. however, no reason why Rcsidential Care should be an inferior form of care. l 'he aim should be to find out what are the most beneficial aspeas o f grnup l i fe and to see that they are incorporated into any system evolved here.

Once we have recogniscd the fact that. while Residential Care is not the most desirable form of upbringing for a child. i t can still be extren~ely benekial to those who are denied any other fo!m of up. bringing. we can then proceed l o the ~ns ide ra t i on of what is the best fornl of residential a r c for such children. Modern thinking on this matter. and we are i n agreement with this thinking. is that any form of residential w r e should approximate as closely as possible to the normal fanlily unil. Consequently when children have to be placed i n such care, those from one family should. where at al l possible. be kept together. The effect on a child of being parted from one or both parents can he terrifying i n its resulls. I f i n addition he is deprived of the companionship o f his brothers and sisters- possibly the only familiar figures left to h im i n his world-the sense of loss must be aggravated and the ill-effects consequendy greater. We feel. therefore. that only the gravest reasons should justify the separation o f a family.

4.9 I n order to create a normal fanlily almospbere Residential Homm should be broken up into self-contained units with groups of 7-9 children i n each unit. l 'he term Industrial School. which has auluired unfortunate connotations over the years, should be dropped and replac~d by the term Residential Home.

These Residential l l on~es should I= administered by trained s t d l capable of understanding the children's needs. e m o t i o d as well as physical. and of wtering for t11er11 adequately.

The units should be run by houseparents or. where this is not feasible, by a house~notl~cr. They should he run on the same lines as a nornlal home. The ideal situation would be that the housenlother should look after lhe running o f the unit and the houselather should

16

go out to work i n tlie ustral way. 'l'lne chi ldr~m should he brought into the everyday activities o f the unit i n the same way as they would if they were i n a good family environment. Every eliort should be nude tu ensure con~inuity o f stalling in these I l o t~~cs .

4.10 We bavc 1v.A enpcrimrc of meeting cl~ihlrcn win, Ivad so l i l l le contact with the cwtside w,wld 111;tt l lwy wurc u t t i f i W : ~ r ~ . that fucd I d lo be paid for or that lcttcrs Ired to he stau~pcd. Thcy were not per- mitted k, undertake any the day-lo-day 1 ;ds pcrfaml~ed lty normal children which hclp to n u k c then> r c i ~ l i x how s w i ~ of the 11orlna1 activities of socicly are cur ied out. S~lch c l l i l d~cu most sulfcr severe handicap when faced with the prohlcm o f l ife oulridc [he institution. We wish to enlphnsise thal every uni l i n a reside11ti:tl centre should be independent o f o t l m unils i n t l ~ c centre. 'l'hcre sl~ould be no such thing as 1 comnwn:il dormitory or refectory. Children should sleep in b~d roon~s i n their own unit with not more t l m three and i n more cases unly one i n a I x d m o n ~ . Meals could and should be selected and prepared by the lwusenlother in charge o f the unit and should he e;llcll ill the unil.

4.1 1 A t present nwst of the scltw~ls c:rtcr f<,r girls only or fur buys only or. in cert;h cases. fur girls and young boys. This n m n s tllal many nf the childrcn s p c ~ l their forc~utivc ye;rrb wilhout any social experience of mee$bers of the oppobite sex. When they cntcr society at large thcy are then at ;I gravc disadvantage. Thcy have nb stall- dads of bchaviour to judge hy. thcy c:rnnot mix casily will, metnkrs of the opposite scx and are, ;IS a result. retardal in their gcncral developmcnl.

This is obviously highly undesira1,lc and the solution is t l~at childrcn of both sexes should 1% reared. not otdy in the aawc centres but in the same units. I'urtl~ern~nre, the children i n a p;~rlicul;tr unit s l ~ ~ u l d come f r nn~ dillerent nge groups. 1x1 this wily the reseml~lance l o the patlern of the twrtaal B w i l y group is stretugthe~rcd and children could be afforded an opportunity of lcarning the value of a,-operation, inter- dependence and love. This system would avoid the position whereby a boy aged say 7 o r 10 is rcn~oved from familiar surroundings and persons and transferred l o a strange new l ~ o n ~ c in an all-male atn~osphere.

4.12 The Committee is aware th;il many prnc t iu l d i l l ic~~l l ies exist so far as the placenlent o f young babies is concerned. The fact remains. however. that the earlier an infant is placed into a secure and happy relationship with which he w n rcatlily identify hi~nself the better arc his cllar~ces of dcvel~q,in~; fully. Su we fcd that an inf:tnl should be aduptcd, lmardcd out gw : d ~ ~ ~ i l l c d 1,) a l < cs i~ Ie~~ l i ; ~ l l l w ! e 31 the earliest possible opportunily. Many expcrls i n the field uf infant and child a r e ;ire t ) f t l ~ e opinion tI1;it i f an id;,nt h;~s mlt Ixen placsd in secure slahle surroundi~lgs hel<,rc hc is one year old he may sulier from a sense of dcprivatic,~~ which may be very dil l irult Iu overconre.

There is the added dilliculty that some homes looking after young babies and. indeed. children of al l age-groups u p to 18 years of age

17

o r so. are neither approved by lhc D e p m n t of Health. nor a r t i hed by Ihe Depanmem o f Education. n c y may be quite admirable i n their way but. under prcvent legislation. are 1101 sub ja t to inspection. X s is very undesirable. We are not suggesting h t many of tbcse H o m a are not well run but the fact remaim h a t without inspection and u p l o d a l e advir\: such a Home could stagnate. We fael strongly. therefore. that dl I lon~es caring for children, i rmprc l i vc of the status rhey enjoy. should not only bc subject to i n s p a i o n but should be inspected regularly.

4.13 Children i~ care, especially those in long-tern1 residential substitute care, are disadvantaged compared wiuh d~ i l d ren who arc r e a d i n normal homcs and certainly when cornpared with those reared in homes that have stable family relationshjps and reasonable incomes. The main disadvantagzs Lhey are likely t o sulfcr are a lack of the experience of deep auachment to psrent ligures who provide security and will1 whom they can identify. a lack of the stimulation and companionship provided by brol~hers and sisters. lack of irccdont l o mix with children from other homes at play and at school. togcther with a lack o f many o f the amenities and privileges available l o children i n normal honles. I n general. they do not appear to have Ihe same oppomunilies as ot~her children or to be able to avail o f

.whatever opportunities lhcre are to the sameextat.

The aim of residential substitute w r e should be l o overcome the disadvantages as far as mssible. This means: in laat that children

~~ ~ ~~

i n m idcn t& l care must 'Ge overcompensated i f they are to overcome their initial deprivation and be ~ r o v i d e d with mual i tv of onnortunitv. . * .. ~ ~~~

~vercompensa~lion means a p l h n e d enrichment o f olje envimntne;. I t should be viewed as a preventive measure in earlv cliildhood and as an alleviation measure later on. The enrichment pr&ran~nre should not only be concerned with providing physical and malcri:~l facil it iw -buildings, home furnishings. graded play aluipn~ent. holidays. oo1ing~-but should be concarncd especially with .ahc quality o f the personal relations. Therefore, both bhe attitudes and professional competence of those rmponsible for children in care are important and we s t r w again the i m p o n m a o f careful seleclion and training. I t must be borne i n a ~ i n d that lllese homes are not boarding schools as we know them but are substitutes for natural homes. The children in care are completely dependent on the residential home staff to r al l the love, understanding. sccurity and religious formation they need as well as for support in making their way i n life. unlike children in hoarding schools who h v e . normally, a backfiround of farnilv life.

care and those wmcerncd with providing nlu&ion. A S well as trained child care staff this type of programme wi l l rcquire lle continunus involvement o f skilled professional persol~nel such as doctors, psychologists, social worken. counsellors, remedial and special teachers who wi l l work as a team.

18 I

4.14 We feel l h a ~ cltildrerr i n care ahuuld enjoy llhc riglvl l o pcruulal property and be encouraged to lravc i t . Only in this way a n a resp~xl far property and a real is~t ion of its purpose dcvelop i n childral. I f one ha neva owned personal possessions of any kind. no srattcr how small or insigniticant. i t is impossible 10 understand why anothe's pcrsonabpossession should bc respecl~4. Again. the childrcn bhuuld ba given p r k e l nmncy and. willt in the usual restrictions o f a11 ordinary lmuc. shg,uld IK ;,llowcd qxnd i t :IS :~nd how Ubcy plc:lsc.

4.15 There kas b a n ;t tendency. now mercifully dis:lppeari~lg. towards an institutional style of clothes for children i n induslrial schools or refurmalories. This tendency is to be deprecaled as i t serves only to give a child the in~pression that he is sonletl~lng apart from and inierior t o othcrs in ordinary homes. Dress should not. therefore, be institutional in eppearancc and uniforms should not be Worn except i n cases where the children anend an oolsidc school wbich prescrihcs a p;irticul:~r unifr,rnl.

I n this nlalter ternagczrs in par~icular should be er~col~r;iged 11) excrcise their inclividuill~l)~ i n h e choice o f their clo~lling. A l l 100

s w n dlcy wi l l be l l l rnwn 01) l l leir own resources i n such m;,llcrs and in nlntlers of even greater importance. and i t is essential 111at they should h;tw gxinnl .sc,rnc cxpcricnuc and jurlgclnenl in ;lli:lirs SI,

close to thoir everyday lives. Children should also be encouraged to look upon the clothes given

to them as their personal property and to look afler h e m accordingly. I n order to do this we feel that all children but. i n panicular older children, should have private clothes kxkcrs a n d lockers f w olller personal ellects.

4.16 I t should be p r t o f tllc fullcli<,n of a I IUSI I~ IC~ 11, encourage and. in conjunction wild, the sol~ool. to o l k r to the childrcn conditions which prmnotc their nnnn:tl day-to-day development and train thrnl in skills, nl;!lwers 2nd rerp~~l ls i l~ i l i l ics ;t(lprcy?ri;tlc l o tllcir stage of development. I n this way they wil l ,lx: nwrc cnp:,hle t d

coping with the inlricncic? o f an ordinary swia l existence i n all outside world. Wi th this purpose i n mind houseparenls shadd encourage childrcn to join i n as many outside aclivilies as possible. I n his way they wil l n~eet others from different environments but often with similar problems and wi l l come .(o realise tdml many o f chore problenlr are p a n of the normal process of maturing and are not just problen~s occurring to them because of their own particular situation.

4.17 I n lhe ch:ipter o ~ l e<luc;il iw we advncale that wherc at all Inssible children i n care should attend cchools outside the Hnn~e . We a l . ~ feel that they s l ~ W l d hc cncnuragcd 11, avail lllemsclves of all the local vocational. educational and recreational facilities in the area in which they live. This means using the local public libraries. music classes, art schools. swimming pools, tcnnis courts and playing fields.

19

4.18 'l'his process o f iwcgr,ttion Ylrrmld go even l ud l c r . l'llcy should lx cncour;tgcrl 10 makc friends outsidc t l ~ s Rcs idcnM Homc. l o bring tlfiem a,, lhcir h ~ m e or unit as well i ts .lo a m p 1 invitxtions from l l ~e i r friends l o visit ~ l t c i r homes. I n Il l is way t l ~ y can learn gradually. and willlout conulious ellon, l l ie a d 01 inlegratin8 into society. 'l'his is very important ns many o f these children have never known what a norm:rl l ~ome o r society is like.

4.19 Whcrr new I ~ u i l d i ~ ~ g s Ior Reridcnlial I-lames arc bring planned t l ~ z units sllould be built ?*.parately %om one another lhus giving those living in thorn a bcltrr opportunity o f achieving their own individuality.

Where o ld buildings 11avl: to .he adapted a r e d ~ o u l d he taken to ensure that thc adaptatinn doec not take l l ~ c form of 111:1kr-shift partitions but should result in modcrn selfcontained units with their own bedrooms. bathrooms. lavatories. kitcl~ens. living-rooms and entrances.

4.20 I n some instances ill arcas abroad which we have visited we l ~ave found that those engaged in Chi ld C u e work hove p u ~ h a x d l~ornes in ordinary housing whemes and have transferred a number of children to those houses in the cam of houseparents We also understand that at bast one Indunr ia l SIlhool here is at p r a m engaged i n initiating a similar scheme.

4.21 Whether children in residential care are ccr~lrcd i n Residential l lomes o r i n private .Ilouxs run b y trained stall i n an m l i na ry housing cstatc uhc aim is the same-to approximate as closely as possible to n n(1rnia1 fanlily almocpl~ere. while rc-alising, of course. !hat no form of care can ever equal the advantages of n red home. The smaller thc rcsidenlial care units are the belter ihe ohnncc of appmniniating to the u.wd family group. '1:hcre slmuld not hc more than 7-9 children in cvery unit. Where practimhle. and cerl:~inly in m y n w devclopmenl. l h e x units should not he grouped logethcr lhus forming a new institution. I n well populated areas the units could he purchased o r mn ta l houses i n ordinary housing areas. Administration should not pmve difficult i n such circumstances hut there might he some adminislri~live diliicullics i n rural areas. Where i t is essential to adapt an existing building there should not he more than 3 4 units i n any one ,building. We visualisc that with the decreasing numherz a d r n i l l ~ l to rcsiJentia1 care due to increasd adoption, boarding-out and s i x i d w~. I f im f i lc i l i~irs, the numbers in each Flomc should decrease l w l we rwlise thilt there will illways h e n number o f children wlw IIIIIS~ 1,c carcrl fnr i n llcsideotial llomes.

4.22 I n their visits a r a l Contlllilta: l ~ ~ e n ~ b o r r have visited Reridcnlial tlomes operalillg on the family unit hasis. I n some caws they were new hu i l ~ l i ~~ j i s . i n other casm they were old bu i ld ing which had hcen adapted. I n all wsw: lhey were i m p r a s d wit11 the success of this syslcrn. 'l'hc children secmecl happier than those

20

living i n "inrtilutional " rurroundir~~s. 'l'hcir lwhaviour was, lor lhc mosl part, the beliaviour one would expect frnm ohildren reared in an ordinary fuuiily. Wlmtever oFrational ditlicultirs the system might clrale the ellrct O I I the ch~k l tcn ilppci~rc~I 1%) I?(: w r y I ~ c 1 1 ~ 1 i ~ i i l l . Again we must ernpll;~sisc tlrat this was t~ut due mcrcly to the physical tlillerencobetwccn llrsse centres and tllo o ld style Institution but also lu the trailled and cnligl,tcrwd imltitt~dc of IIILISC in c h ~ r g c of 'the I i uma .

4.23 A t prewnt most o f thc sohools are institutional but in a snlall numbar laudable elforts ;$re being n~ndc to hrexk the residonlial portion of the schools into units. We feel that h s c eellorts must be intensified and must spread to al l Industrial sc11n)ls.

We aro aware that i n somc cxcs 1111: nature nf the buildings r n i ~ h t make i t dil~icult i f not imprs ib le 10 ndnpl tho present schools l a , lhc unit syslenl-in olller cases i t nlighl prove unnccessnrily expensive to do so. The question then arises w l~e t l~er i t n~ igh t not Ix betlcr to close thnsc part icd;~r schn,ls and opcu r i m Homcs conforming with lllc foregoing rccon~nienclslionr. Every c : ~ wil l have l o be considered on its merits nnd the futuro 01 each .schold decided accordingly. I t is obvious, however. that no alatter what decisions are taken a deal of capitalexpenditure wi l l be involved.

4.24 I t is recommended. !herefore, that whcrc considered desirohlc. grants should be riven to them for buildinc ou room as in tbe cme - - - . . of xhools and hospitals. I l m e grants will. inevitably. i n the earlier stages o f the scheme. hove to be ucnerous as nlanv of the buildinns inv&ed would require fairly dra&c alterations to bring them i nG line w i l ' l~ modern thinking i s this field.

R tnyr im: inro l < ~ . ~ i d ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i d Ccwc

4.25 As the systcm operates 21 p r m n t :I child is often :~dmittcd 01

committed l o the care o f a schnol nlanager who knows little i f any- thing about the ohild's background. This n o lead to great dilliculties ~ar l i cu la r l r in the case of delinoumt children o r thost with dclinoucnt or anti-&id tendencies. 1% ohild may he retarded. suicidal. homicidal or homoscxual but the School Authorities have no wav of knowing &his and hy the time h e y learn i t much dnmngc may have been done.

4.26 We feel. tl~ercfore. l l ~ a t hefore a o l ~ i l d is admitted to Residential Q ~ r e he should have the benefit d tncdical, psychiatric and psy- cl~ological assesment to arccnain where hc can he suitably placed with most ndvsnt:tge I#> I~imsell. IY<>r tllis purposc cvery l lcu l lh Authority should have nnc centre dm igna ld as ;I Recoption and Asscamcnt centre which may also hc a Rcsidmti:~l Ilome. I n referring to I l ea lU~ Authorities we are acting upon the assunlptinn that 1leaRl1 Authorities will, as recomnlcnded in tho Health Di l l (1969). be based upon regional rather than Local Authority areas.

2 1

- - - This Krceplion and Asscss~ncut Centre would receive all new cases. and be responrible fur u~l lcxt iag the background inforntation required for the assessment o f l l ic child and his suhs~quenl placement.

4.27 The expcricnn o f those in charge of Industrial Sch(m1s and Reformatories has shown that the absence o f p rsona l records containing evcn mininu1 infornlation in respect o f the children has led to many dilliculties for t l ~ e school and fur the ol~i ldrcn tliolnsclves. On occasions i t cannot evco be ascertained where or when a chi ld was born. whelher he was haptisrd, or who his parents were. i t is imperative. Ihcrefore. that ihe records i n rspect o f eaah child in a School or &Ire should be as complete as ponible. For this reason we recommend chat before a chi ld is ~ h c d from the Receotion and Assessment centre the following records should be obtained where available (a) Birth. Baptisn~al and Confirmation Certificates (b) a report o f the ahild's s&ial background (c) a scl1001 report and (dj any other personal records. These records should accompany .the child when he is placed in a suitable Home.

4.28 During his period i n care a comprcl~rnsive record sllould be kept o f each child including his nledical history. school progress and results of psychological tests and any other reports relevant to the child. A t first glance this might seem like a ruconln~endation lo pro- liferate form filling but we h;tve seen from our studies how imporlant such docutncntation is i n the work o f rehabilitating children i n care. These reports should bc n~adc ;ivailable to visiting doctors and specia- lists and. where a child is transferred from one Home to another. copies o f I t i s person;~l recgmls m d a ful l sumllury o f his case history should go with him. 111 this way continuity o f trealnicnt can be ensured. We n e d hardly add that al l such records should bc treated as confidential and III;I~C ;tvail;~ble only to authorised persons.

4.29 The in~plernentation o f thc foregoing rewnin~cndations on residential czire and parlicolarly those relating to h e breaking up o f schools inlo small grnups will require a ~ i i u c h greater stali Lhao at present employed i n runlling institutional style schools, T l ~ i s stan wil l also require specialised training. However. we must face the fact h a t unless the approach to the problem of child care is professional and whole-hcarkd. a grave injustice wil l be done.

These are childrcn who arc totally dependent on the wn~mun i t y and we fed that. once the public is aware of t l~e i r needs, i t wi l l be prepared to meet these l o ll lc full.

I. The Rules and Regulations for h e cerljf iwtion of Industrial Schools do not conform with modern thinking in the field of child care and require amendments. (3.1)

2. The person i n charge of every l<t%idential H o n ~ e should be a trained and active executive. l 'hc preseut system whereby the Manager o f a school may take no actual part in thc day-lo-day rut)- ning o f the school sltould be dismr~tinuctl. (4.3)

3. Thc stall engaged in Child Care work who have responsibility for the w r e and training of clddrcn. their numa1 and emotional developnient should be fully trained i n the aspects of C l ~ i l d Care in which they arc working. (4.4)

4. A n independent advisory l d y with statutory powers should be established to ensure that the highest standards of Child Care are rtvained and ~nainlaincd. (4.5)

5. There is a notable lack o f rcswrch i n h i s field i n this country and. i f work in this a r m is l o dcuelc,p l o meet the needs o l Cltild Care. thcre should Ix continuous rese;troh. (4.5)

6. When childrcn have to he pl;mxJ i n Residcntinl &re. tln,se f n , , ~ ~ one faniily shuuld. where at all possible. I,e kept together. (4.8)

7. I11 order l o create a home ;~t~nospl~ere t l ~ c cl~i ldren should bc reared in self-caotained units i n grvups o f not more than 7-9 children. In well populated areas these units could be purcl~ased or rented houses i n dillercnl housing arcas. (4.9. 21)

8. The term Industrial School should he replaced by the tern) Residential Home. (4.9)

9. Each hon~e unit sl~ould 11ave l~ouseparents who would he re- sPnsible for the day-to-day running of the unit as a home. Wlvxe this is not feasible every home should have u I~ousenlothcr; continuity of st& i n these units is fund;mc~ttal. (4.9)

10. There should be no suffiestion of a dormitory system i n units. Children should sleep in hedroo~ns with not nrore than three and. ill

CIISCS. only one i n a hedrooni. (4.10)

7.3

II. Units should hnuse hot11 sex= as in a normal home and children sllould be of dillercut age-groups. (-1.1 1)

12. Babies coming into care sl~ould be admitted to a group home. adopted or boarded out n l l l lc mrliesl possible oppo r tu~ l y . (4.12)

13. A l l homes catering for children in care should be su'bject l o regular inspeclion. (4.12)

14. The approach todeprived children i n Rcsidcntial Care should be one of over-compeosati<~~~. (4.13)

15. The children should enjoy the right to, and be encouraged to have, personal property. This m a n s that they should he given pocket money, and should have some say i n the choice of their clothes. (4.14. 15)

16. Children should be encouraged to join in as many outside recreational activities as possible and l o use local facilities such as swimming pools, temis courts. and playing fields. They should also be encouraged to mix with friends from outside and allowed to bring then1 to their homes as well as to accept invitations to visit their friends. (4.16-18)

17. Every ellort should IK: made to foster the individuality of the children by allowing then1 to encounter and cope with c i rmm- stances existing outside the h ime as much as possible. (4.16-18)

18. When new buildings are being planned, units should be separate from one another. (4.19)

19. Where old buildings have to be adapted this adapt:itiun should take the form o f modern self-contained units with their own bedrooms, bathroom, lavatories. kitchen. living-room. dining-room and enlrances. (4.19)

20. Where i t is necessary to alter existing buildings not more than 3 4 units should be in the one building. (4.21)

21. Grants should be made available for building purposes as i n thc case of schools and ho\pitalr. (3.24)

22. Drfore a child i s admitted to Residcntid Care he should be assessed to ascertain whcrc he u m be suitably placed with most k n d t t to himsell. (4.26)

23. For this porpmc cvcry Region should have one Centre desig- nated as a Reception and Asscsslnenl Centre. This Cenlre could also be a Residenti;rl Honle (4.26)

24

24. 'I ' l l ib Hcccp~ion i t l d A~XWIIL~II~ CCIIII~ WLUI~ rcccivc all new cascs and lbe respw~rildc lor ccrl lcc~ing the h x k g r u u ~ d infon~~i t l icu~ rrquiretl lo r the asscsslneot 01 thc c l~ i td ;tnd his sul~scqt~ct~l p1;lcc- ment. (4.26)

25. Belyre a child i s placed into llcsideutial <:,re irmn ;t lleceplion and Asscssmcnl Centre ccrtain recolds concerning hinl s110uld I1c obtained. l'hese sllnuld include Birth. Ibpt is~ual and Conlirnlation cerlilicales, a social b;rckgrirund report. a school report. othcr personal records. These rca,rds sllould accon~ptny llts child WIIW placcd. (4.27)

26. A comprehcnsivc rccord h ~ u l d be kcpt or evsry child ill Residential Care including mulic;~l case history. school progress reports. psychological t c m and m y uthcr relcvant rcpnrts. (4.28)

5.1 A t pre\snt at l c ; ~ three Ciovcrntncnt Dqx~rumcnls wc involved i n thc administration o f t l x Chi ld Care sptcm. 'l'lre Dcpnrtment of Education deals with ohildrcn committed through the Courts to an lndlusuial school o r Kefurn~alory and with ol~ildr~n in Ranland Homes. bhe D q x m n ~ a n t of Health dwls wiuh children adn~il ted to care under lhe tlu:dth Acts. and those lloardcd-Out under the Childrcn Acts and l l ~ c Department o f Justice is responsible for l l ~ e Adoption Board and for nlinurs conlmiued l o St. Patrick's and Sl~anganagh Inslitutiuw. ' l ' l~erc is. inevivebly. an overlapping in the functions o f the klmc Dep;trlmcnts and anomalies have ariscn wkwe children in similar circun~st:~nccs have been de;~lt with by dilferent Depar~ments under dillerent Aok.

We feel that suoh a wastaful and unsatis(aclory position sllould 'not continue l o exist :md that as far as is possible al l Chi ld Care work should br: administered by one Department. For tjl~is reason we recon~rnend t l ~ c .wlting up o f a Child Care Division which would cater for all aspects of Chi ld Care i.e. Prwention. Boarding-Out and Fosterage. Renland. Admissinn and Comn~i t la l to Resident.ial Core. and After-Cue. While tile queslior~ o f Adoption is not, slriclly speaking. a matter fnr the Con~mittee i~ is an in~portanl part o f the Child Care systern and, fur this reason, we fael that the Adoption I h a r d and its functions s l~ould also be transferred to the (Ilhild C t r c Division.

5.2 We Would hope I11:lt. i s any reorganisation of the Health services as envisaa~d under the ncw Henlth Ilill. a ful l Family Care system would evolve because o f the various interrelating iactors in the family which react o n the ohild.

The Report of Public Services Organisation (the Devlin Report) remmn~ended. and we agree, U~a t the Department o f Social Welfare Iw ;tmalganlalml with lhc I)q,;rrlnlenl u f I lua l t l~ . This would cnahlc Itla Dcpa~lmcnt o f l lca l th 10 operate a unilicd 1::lrnily C;m system. That Depanment and the He:llth Aulhorities :rlready have responsibility for many aspects o f Chi ld Care and i t seems that ihat I)cp:~rrt~~enl could inore rctdi ly :~ssimil;~lv the < , t l~c r aspects from the two orher Departn~ents than the r r v c r x .

This would mean th:~t, sg, far as lndus~r ia l Schools and Reior- tnatories are conc~med. the Chi ld C u e Division o f ol~c Department of Health would :~cxcpl responsibility for the residential aspcts o f the Kesideoli;~l Ilonles. Special Schuols and I < e n ~ m ~ d Hon~es, but the Depanmcnt o f Education would retain its responsibility for educaljon of the children. This position already exists i n uhe case o f many

21,

5.3 lllc Ad~~~in is t r : t l i ve Suuculre t , i l l w C l ~ i l d Carc 5ystc111 s11uu1d work along the following lines.

(1) Dcparumcnl o f l leallh.

(4) The Statutory Advis%,ry k d y as r e c o n ~ n ~ c ~ ~ d u d in p:~!:!gr:~pI~ 4.5.

(5) l'he He;~l th Authority, including i t s n~edical. dental, psy. chiatric and ancillary sclvicu. We feel.in Illis conncclioll that all cl~i ldren i n care, w l>r t l~c r rrsidcnl.i:ll o r othcrwirc. slaould b;. eligild~. for frcc nwdic:bl and other s~.rviccr.

(6) 7 ' 1 1 ~ Rcsidcnti;~l Ilomcs. h4:bn;tgcr itnd St:tll. i ~ d u d i n g :t

social k c I I : I s . l l c rc again we nlllrl c n ~ p l ~ ~ s i s c Ihe in~porlancc ; t n ;xtivc ~ n : s n : ~ S r , Ir:3ilul it1

the field o f Chi ld C;m with control over a11 stall cmployctl tl~erc. As we Ihvc nlcnlionetl earlier thc \ y s l ~ m whereby 1111: M:wagr.r of a Rcforntatury or 1ndutri:il School I IUC~ 1101

be capahlc o f or invulved in the running 1,f tho scll~url and yct may Imvc :I l i n d say it, : ~ t y policy decision is diwslrwu and must hc discot~linoed. We do n<,l w i h 10 suggcst 11131

Slate or public agencics :alone shuuld provide scrvices for children who come into care. The community as a whole should be ,involved atxl we w d d suggest that sincc thcsc are children who ;Ire lotally dependent on the puhlic t.l~nl they :me worthy of the ful l interest and support of the public. Religious Orders and volunt:lry groups who are at present contributing so IIIIIC~ to IIIC field o f Child Care sl~ould col~l inue t o do so and every ellort shc~uld be made to encourage an even greater parlicipation b y various groups i n chis work. Onc cmnut expect any one Departn~enl or

27

--- -P --.--'

I Clbild Care Syjlam on its own l o be able to wtcr for al l the needs o f the cl~ildren. or to make up lo r inadaluaoies in other sectors of lhc socid services.

5.4 'IYlese arc not drlinil ive proposals but nicrcly i n d i c : ~ ~ ~ w l n t for~t t we think lhe :~dminis~ral ive stmelure should take. We itp-

preciit~e that. pnrliculnrlg i n the cnrly stages, l l ~c r c wi l l be dillicultics in pruviding t11e I ~ i i i w x l >tidl i n IIIC o u ~ ~ ~ l x r s r cqu i r d bttl a c e r l ~ i n ilt itc~u~tt of this could be uwrconte by increased co-operalion between the various Orders and org;rnisalions engaged i n this work.

/ l ~ . ~ / ~ l ' ~ l ~ ~ f l

5.5 l'he system o f inspection o f industrial Schools a i d Koforni- a l o r ~ s bas. so h r as we c ~ n judge. been totally incffcstivc. I11 other countries the lnspectoratc ;icts as a l ink between those in the held and those in G n l r a l Autl~onity. In this way thc system ensure& that no one suhool o r centre is working in isolation. unaware of develop- mcnls i n other regions. l 'h is has not becn the pusition 11crc. The Depanmcnt of Educnlion is bound by rrgulnlion l o onsure that .xhools certified by theni ;IS Industrial or Kclorn~;ttory Schuols are inspwtcd o ~ ~ c :I year. Y c l thcrc is only one inspector etttpluycd by them for tltis purpose wtd he is. in foct. the Adntioistrativc head of thc Rcfornts~ory and Industrial Scliools Branch o f that Dcpart- nient. His time is. primarily. taken up with the adminismation of his Branch rather than tltc inspection o f vhe schools.

We are ul isf ied that llte statutory obligation to inspect these rrhools at least once a ycnr has not always been fulfilled but even i f i t had this would not have been suflicienl. If the results o f inspection are to bc fruit ful tltc inspeaions ntust be reasonably frequent. 'l'herc must be ~ttcclings wlterc ideas are exchangml and rliscasscd- they should not bc merely fxult-finding missions.

5.6 To allot this msk tu one man on a part-lime basis is oI~viousIy unrealistic. We have heell ;tdviscd by tllusu i n othcr counlries who operate such a system III:II. c,n the basis o f 111c ligures given o f those a l present i n IZcside~ttinl (?;,re. approximalely live or six inspectors would k required l o opcrale a proper insp~rtorate based on a centrd aulliorily such as thc l :m~ i ly Crre Division. In lhis way. cvery d t o o l or Residenliiil l lo tne could be visited frequently. Every child's case history could he pcriodisally r c v i e w ~ ~ l . l 'hcse visits might be made to inbpcct a particular aspect o f the running o f the h o m w n other mxasions they could be 21 hour visits to study the ordinary routine of the IWII~. l:aulls, grievances, suggestions and requests could bc exanl iwd i n a general context and the inevitable r ou l t would be an ovcrall and continuing intprwenicnt in the system.

5.7 For many ymrs the Department o f Education cniployal a Medical Officer whose function was to look ;tfler Industrial Schwls

28

and Reforntatorics. Some years back the post 1,ccmtc vacant and has nut since been filled. A l l children coming into Kesidcntial Care are deprived children: a large propnrliwi a;e physically. ntcolally or alucalionally remrdcd and I ~ C Y shouid IK: given lirst class n~udical facililies. The prescnl ge~~er i t l n~cdir:tl f i t~ i l i l ics allu!d~d IIIC cl~i ldren in a r e &vend on the individual managers of lhe schools wlto have to pay lor Ihent. I n srmc cases lhcse f;~cilitics arc ;tdaluato-i~t ol lms hey arc nut. Wc fecl sln,~igly lhal such :tn imlx)n:tnl aspect of c l~ i ld wre should not bc left l o a hit o r ~ttiss arrangcntettt of this nature. As we have nienlional previously. al l children i n cure should be entitled l o lu l l and free medical treatntesl.

Fi,,o1lce

5.8 Payment lo llte Managers o f Heforntalory and lndu\trial Scltouls in respecl of ~.hildren con~n~i t tod to t l ~ e ~ n under tlte Children A c ~ s or admit l~rl under the l l e a l l l ~ Ar ls is u!:bde on ;t calrilalion lrasis. [ill 10 the Is1 July. 1Y6!t. lhe St:m paid 42/6(1. wcckly in llte case 01 Induslrial licla~ols. the he; t l~ l~ au~ltori ty wl~cltcc the child c;mc paid 401.. Kcformalory Scl~o~rls h1;tna):crs rcceivml 451- from t l x S I : ~ . 4116d. front the ltcttl~lt ; t~~l l lor i ty c c , ~ t w ~ ~ t u l . ' l ' l~ is SUIII 11;uI 10 cover a l l expenses incurred i n rnainl;ainittg the chi lcl- i lol l~ing. fot,lwcnr. food. gencral medical and dcnlal r u e (al~ltt,uglt IIK n~ajor i ly 01 the children come from h u n m where lhcy would 11;lve becn ertlilled to free medical services) ;tnd certain education costs. acco~t~nn>dalion and the maintenance of. in most cases, old buildings.

Thus. the Mana~ers in c l ~ a r ~ c of tbe schnds were laccd with the lask of running t he inx~ i~u~ ions &I ;I t<~l;dly i ~ l adqua tc linancial provision and were forced 11, sopplen,c~~l lltcir inct~tttcs by wl~stcvcr ntmns possible lo cnable their work l o conlinuc.

What was worsc was lhat lhc serviccs :~vai lal~lc l o tlte children were. of necessily. o f a r;~lhcr limiled ~tature. When tlte cost of neccssitics had been deducted Ihcre was l i t l le i f any left over lo r provision o f those exlra compensatory facililies wl~icl t are cmisidered necessary for the rehabilitation o f dcprivcd children.

5.9 l'he c~pi tat ion 2r:tnl p;ayal,lc ill icspcct childrrn l us recen~ly been doubled with ellect fr<,nt 11tc is1 July. I1J(n'J, in ll le c;rsc < r l 11te Slate contrihulian. ilnd llte 1s t N < I V C ~ ~ C T . 196'1. i t t t l ~ e EIISC o f tlte health authority contribution. 'l'ltis zwam lhat ihe instilulions are now receiving f8. 5. 0. per week per c:rpila in Industr id Schools and f8. 13. 0. in Kcformatories. This will. undou1,tedly. ease the linancial dilliculties of those running the sclaxrls but we arc no1 s;rtisfinl that lhc capitalion syslent is the hcsl way 01 fin;sncing lhc sohonls.

5-10 No grants are made availit1,lc: for rn;~i~~lenance, renovation or ntodernisa~ion of prentises. As ~ l t e majorily o f the buildings i n use are very d d , many are now i n urgent need of subslantial repair and n~oderniwtion and their mere n~ai~tlerrance i n Itahitable condition is a wurcc of heavy expeose l o those Orders which are i n a position to

29

w r r y oul h e nwcss:try work. Fur the must part they arc o ld insululional type Iwildi~tgs. basically unsu i ld l u tlle purpusc w l l i c l~ lhcy are serving and ll lcir conversion lo collforlll wi lh lll<xlcrn Ihink. ing III~IY I~c quilt I x y ~ m d IIIC means o f lhe Or(1urs.

5.1 I \Vl l ik t h w i ~v l i t u t i t n~s which incorpcwalc ;I r c c c ~ g ~ ~ i w l prinwry ur pusl-primary hchoc~l :ue c l i ~ i b l c for 1111: ncw111:11 griinls i l ~ i ~ i l : ~ I ~ l c 181

sclmols generally. m, i i ~ ~ m c y is tttadc avili l ihle lor such purj)oses as payment of salaries It, iwllagers or ~ l o w l c a c l ~ i ~ l g slall. I)aymcnl 10 spa'ialist lwchcrs (cxccl>l i n lhc two schools previously referred to which have n<,w hue11 rcc<gnisetl as Special Schuuls and may now apply for tllc appuit l l l l lc l~l o f sptxialist le;lchcrs), lil?raries. l ig l~ l i l lg and beating, pruvisiun o l uluipment fur giilncs, arts and cr:llts. lelc- vision or o l l ~c r IC~SU~C-I~III~ quipn1~111. or the provis im~ 01 p u c k ~ l - IIIOII~Y. I n slwrt. KIILWI uwrilgers 111usI pruvidc fur al l the nccds 01 ll le pupils on a SI:llc su l~ \~ t t l l i im which was unl i l ~II-CIIII~ l i l l lc III~IIC

~ h a n f J weekly per pupil. '1.11e result is Ihal tllcy 11;1vc bcen unablc l o provide ;rdcqualely for

Illuse i n Iheir cllargc <,r 10 lakc x l v i ~11 l~gc 01 m ~ d c r n Iirxlings i t t (he realm of child care. ' l ' l~is lolal depe~~dancc on the capilalicm g m n ~ could lead l o ;I si1u;tli~rn where managers arc rcluclanl l o dischiargc pupils eligihle for rclcasc or even l o scnd them for ~)sycI~ological asscssmcnt (wit11 c o n q u c n t possibility o f transfer) or for i reammr l o other inst i luhns lxc:~ure o f the lit~ancial loss invulvcd. I n fact one school n1an3ger slalal that he could not "af lord to release children " for t11:il very reison. A system whereby the falc of the child is decided purcly on linancial grounds is obviously wrong and musl be allcred as soon as possible.

5.12 I'aymesl o f 1 1 1 ~ SIitIe porliotl o f 111' gr:tut i s m i~ t l c quarlerly. h a t o f the halt11 aull~ulrities half-yearly. Dillicullies arise for school managers as a result whcrc Ibills fall fur payment and wnnor Lx rnel until p;lynrenr e > f the ~IKIIII is r~ccived. '1'k i idd 10 the dilliculties dale of payment varies with 1111: heal111 aulhoritics and sumc aullmrities are dilatory in niceling lheir obligations. Wllere nlanagers are operaling on overdrafts lhc dillicullies wl t ic l~ may arise arc fairly evident.

5.13 k'aymcnl o f lhc otpi l ;~l iun granl i r l ropcc l of pupils conlmilted lo industrial schools ceases at agc 16 (17 i n uert:tin cases) while pay- men1 for those conimilted l a rcfornlalories cwscs a1 age I X . 'l'he result is t11al pupils arc 1101 enahled to con~plete their a l uw l i un or training at a trade. or 10 11roccd l o higher duca l ion except ;it 111e cxpcrlse of lhuse runnillg lhc schuols. ~ l l d c ~ d . CISL~ have conic 10 lhe notice of the Conw\itlcc where pupils were provided with secondary. and even university cduat~ion, by the scl~ools will loul the assislance of Slale aid.

5.14 The Commitlee is strongly of opinion lhat the system o f payment of grants on ;I c:tpi~;tlion basis ~ h u t ~ l d he d i scon~ inud ;lor1

3 0

5.15 Scparatc grants shodd he ;~wil;~l,le l o ccwcr new hu i ld i~~gs and maintenamx, rcnovatitm and i~~odcrn isa t io~ l o l existing buildings wltile grants for etluwtional purposcs should he wade available and paid direct hy the 1)ep;lrlment o f iducalinn.

I. l ~ ~ s p o n s i l ~ i l i l y f<lr CIII xsputs o f Child C:~tc ~ l ~ ~ ~ o l ~ l IIC trans. ferred to rhe Vcp:lr:~nc~,t of I lc;rlth. (5.2)

2. Respo~~sibili ly for l l ~ c cduca~ion of children i n Kcsid~nt ia l Care should remain wilh lhc Dep.mmcnt of Eduul ion. ( 5 . 2 )

3. A Child Care Division should be scr up i n 111e Ulparlmenr of Health will1 an IIIS~LZ.~II~~I~~. 11 is fell tlrat the Child Care Division should. in time. evolve ~IIICI a nic,re can~prche~~sivc 1:amily Care Division o f Ihc Departmc~~t . (5.2)

4. The lnspcclorate s l ~ ~ u l d no1 bc jusl an inspct ing body. but should i n the main be advisory and act as a l ia iwn be twun the Child Care Division, the Hc:rllh Authority. and Lliose responsible fur I h e aclual running o f the limm.. In this way uherz should be a lhree way flow of advice. suggestion and co-operation. (5.3)

5. All Homes and Schools should be inspcclcd lrcqucntly. (5.5)

6. Inspeclions should not be faultdnding misiions only. There should be meclings where iduas are exchanged and d i sused . (5.5)

7. The lnspecloratc should consist d five o r six inspectors. (5.6)

8. All children i n care should be enritlcd lo ful l and freo medical trealnicnt. (5.9)

9. The present syhlcn~ of payment to tho school on a capilalion basis should be dismnlinual. Inslcad. paynlenls should be made to the schools on the basis of a budgel submitkd by h e d ~ o o l s and agreed l o by the Ccnlral Aulhorily. (5.14)

11. Grants for nlucalional purposes should be made available and paid direct by the Dcp;~rln~ent of Educalion. (5.15)

32

J ~ v c n i l c l ~ ~ ~ l i ~ ~ q t w ~ ~ y

6.1 Juvenile dcliqucncy is not a new problcnl. ' I l lcru arc records going as far back as a few hundred yc :n U.C. conlaioing ;tccoullls of beh;lviour among t l ~ young which ~aig l l t Ix regarded as ddinquznt. The Romans had laws making spu5:t l pn,vision i8,r cl~i ldrcn wll0 had slolcn. and recagniaing IIKII ihu r c ~ ~ ~ u ~ s i h i l i t y of cllildrcu for such crimes was limilctl. A l l counlries. dcvcloped alld l l l l d ~ r - developed. i n the W ~ I and in lhc I k t . have the experience of bel~aviour among l l iz young. especi;~lly ;~dole!xenls. which olfcntls certain accepted s1:mdards. horrifies iho older gencrxtion and ol icn m u l l s i n special pltrases and n;rmrs designaling lhe groups ur bel~aviour involvd. I<xamples are "hooligatls". "Tcddy boy behaviour". "sliliagyi". "Mods and Rockers" and more recently "Hell's Angels" and "Skinheads". A problem is that rn;lny youllg persons may adopt a style o f dress, of manners o r o f behaviour which would not necessarily be delinquent but which might ho w regarded because o f the fashion for using labelling phrases. This is a prohlenl which is often ascrihcd to t l ~ c " Kcncraliwl gap" a phrailrc tlsud l o describe Ule misunderstsnding o f the young. their nrrds, aspirations and tastes by older parplo. As woll the range o f ac l iv i l in though1 o f as being delinquent varies from munlry lo c o u ~ ~ l r y , &at is r~zardcd as delinquency in onc country may not hc so regarded in anothm. Delinquency figurcsnlay rise or fall depending upon how striclly the laws relating l o ox l a i n ollenms are e n f o r d . The second United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Oflenders suggesml lhal lhe term " Jwonilc l)elincl~~c~acy " should not ba used lightly and recommended "(a) thal the meaning o f lhe term juvenile delinquency should be restricted as far as possible l o violalions of &e criminal law. and (b) that irrogulari l ia or mal- adjuslcd behaviour o f minors, hut for which adulls would not be pmucutal. should not h crcalcd."

6.2 Anolher point lhal is nflen n d c i s 1I1;tt illere is a lot o f hidden delinquency. much more pcrh:~ps lhan comes l o the sllcntion of the police o r courts. I l l i s hidden dclinquatcy may occur nmong all socin-econt,ni $II)II~$ iu~cl SOI~I~LI . : ~> l l l c r t 1 ~ 1 1 1 courl Or p(diW rccords reveal its existence. WIG ;~ctivities involved may be nlany and varied suoh as shoplifting. vandalisn~ of al l sorts. car 1helts. assaults. W. Kvaraceus slates ill a U N l 3 C O study "lltal a rel;~livoly large number d tan-age boys i n the US. admitled that they had committal serious ncls o f delinquency which diad never b a o m e a

33

matter o f cuurl r c~x r t l . ' 1 ' 1 ~ ~ were the runs o f middle a d upp.r- income families."' W. D. W:dl mentions thal " (,rovvu dclinquency is unly a crude nw:Iwr(: ( 4 tlte failure of home. d ~ u d OT s~ciety. and Ihal nlany delinqucnls gt, u~~dctcx lcd or are ncvcr I~rougttl before the cou r l~ . "~ Anothcr imporlanl point about hidden delinquency is th:11 not nearly as n l m y girls as boys arc ovrr u1Twially recognised :IS delinquent.

Dcliqucncy. Il~ereforc, is a very cooiplcx nralter. Indeed. this is perhaps the only crr loin :~nd the most important c u ~ ~ ~ n ~ e n t on i t . I t is found i n all counlric*, and yet is not fully understood by anybody and especially by those. in aud~or i ty who may be dealing with Phe problems at first hand-111e courts, sclioals, police. adrninistrators, and welfare workers o f one k ind o r another.

We think that despite the dilliculties there are certain fncts we should record.

First of al l delinquency is a vcry con~plcx matter.

I t i s not conlined to any one period o f l ime or group of countries. o r certain socioaononlic groups.

Despite renwval of some o f l l le obvious muses of delinquency i n x m e counlria+poor h w s i ~ ~ g . poverly. direas- the dcl inquc~~cy rate kccps rising.

Even 111ough hc n u y appear l o sharc nuny common taslcs for dress, mauncr and bohaviour with his peers in similar groups wilhin his own country and in otllcr countries, the individual delinquent is a unique prsnn. Generalisations are not helpful either in regard l o the manifestations or the cause o f delinquency.

6.3 What are l l ie wuscs of dclinquancy? Certainly. poverty a p p a n t o be a prime faotor involved i n the numbers sent to Reformatory Schools in Ireland. Yct. i f we are to learn front experience elsewhere, poverty and what may go with it--pour housing, lack o f parenlal supervision and car'-is not the only uuse. And. of course. we must remember that the number who go to Refomla toy SFhwls as suoh is not the only indicator o f the rate o f dclinqumcy among Ilia young.

AE we have mggrsted the causes in many countries may bc found i n unrealistic laws which tend l o inllale 111e figures for delinquency. They may be found also i n how tltese laws a m enforced and especially in .the arliludes of those involved in enforcing Lhem. I f lhose concerned wi lh e ~ ~ f o ~ ~ i n g the law-the wurls. policc, park rangers. others i n autltorily and tb r ~muhlic a1 largo-regard all those who dress. speak, group or even think i n a certain way as delinquent then one can expcrt l h i s l o inflate the figures for delinquency. Other

'Kvnnccur William C. "Juvrmlc l>clinqucncy". UNESCO 1964. 'Wall W. D. "Adolexcncc Scl~wd and Swicly". N.I'.E.K. l.onJun. 1908

34

factors that have hecn incnlint~cd arc broken homes. parcnls who provide insulticient care awl al le~tion. :tnd Iilms. 'f.V. progrilmm~s and books w l t i c l~ actively encourage certain types of bcl~aviour. A11 of lhese are import;tnt f;~clors in the causatirm of delinquency but we !hink. hat Ute nus st impor1:inl considcralion is l o aucmpt to understand 11m individu:ll 11ir11self i n his i i~ te r ;~c l io~~ with h e various factors i n his environn~cllt. Not a l l children or young pawns react i n the same way l o lhe S:1111(: S L ~ 01 c i r c u n ~ ~ l i ~ ~ ~ ~ c s . 'I-herefore. an understanding o f the y o u ~ ~ g iuld how they d c v ~ l o p esp~~i :~ l Iy intellectually, emotionally and scci;tlly is imporl;~t~l.

I t is only recenlly that hum:tn scienlists have become aware of Lhe processes involved i n n child's intell~-i.lual drvclopme~tt. I t has hecn established 111a1 this devcl<,p~ncnt follows i t certain sequence and that at the stage of adolcscencc the person rcaches a point where Itc is capahle o f queslioning 1,llc i~ rg :~n iu I ion of the world :IS he sees i t a ~ ~ d can think o f org:~nis:~tions rc0rL.r his 11c:lrl's dcsire. Therofore. h a t . ~hc young s l ~ ~ u l d be questioning is quile norntal. 'nlis capability is not fully devel<qxll at adolescence and the development rale varies from intlividu:~l 1 0 inclividu:tl, Tl!e awarelies5 of this new c:lp:lbilily may in ilsclf lead to a c z ~ l : t i ~ ~ cert:tinly taboo1 his own opinions ~ , l t i o l ~ lc:ds 11it11 10 r c j u lhc V;~IWY i ~ n d al~iI!~dc< of l ~ i s cldcrs. 'I'his ~ c j c c ~ i < m is likcly t t ~ he x c ~ u ~ ~ p ~ ~ ~ i c ~ l hy a heiglllenetl cntolio11;ll lone which illay ;lcId l o llle Imrrur ibf pircnls or others. A d d 4 l o 1 I t ; ~ l is Illc swi:bl unccrlainty o f llle young person so that he l i ~ d s his sccurily only amcmg his pccrs wlx, ;,re pnrbably thinki,,g : ~ n d acting ill tlle sanlc way.

6.4 There is a need .lo understud h e various environments in which young peoplc live and work. These arc h e hon~e. lhe school. the adolescent culture itself and ihc general ndult sociely. Many changes have occurred i n ;III ct~ur~lrics. including our own, over the recent decades and we think i t might he worlhwl~i lc mcntionin!: some which we think arc imp r l an f .

Parcnlal aulllu!ily does not hecw 10 Ibe as clrar cut as i t was.

There arc more educalion;d and vocalionnl choices avail;iblc to young p a ~ p I c :IS well as CVCI-chmging vari~l ies of lilstcs and IllannCrb.

More clti ldrm nrC growinj: up i n u rbm environment which is perhaps n l r w rcslriclivc :tml vcry <lflcll Inore unsafe t l l i l ~ l i t

rural or snlall-lown environment.

There is. gcnelally. a cun~plcte break bctwuen the world af work and l l lc Ilo81w i n llte urlmn enviramnlenl a, thal vcry fcw cl~i ldren sre their falhurs :#I w c ~ k i t ~ d IIIC COII~IIIIY (XI IIIC ~:~!II~I. is not r ~ d i l y :tvail:tI~Ic.

Many parcnls living i n poor cil-cun~slaoces may he just loo busy making ends me't l o 11:lvc lime o r energy l o r lhcir children. Somc- times they may be d i ~ a h l r d or ill, the fa l l~c r may be unentployed. oneor other of tlic parenls nmy be dcad o r have deserted uhc family.

35

they may. as parmts. 11:lvc Very l i l l lc to give to their children and i n many caws may not kllow how l o cope We do 1101 wish to suggest that a l l parents in p m r circumslanccs are dclicient i n sulnc way as parents, i n i a n we have muntioned hat a l l para ts :splx:lr to h:lve less influenu: over l'heir d~ i l d ren nowadays. but the point we wish t o make is that parents who have to struggle m i t l ~ poverty and i l l nss a.nd. perhaps. dcszrlion or k r e a v e n ~ e ~ ~ t are quite likcly to find i t muc l~ harder III:III uthers to m r e fur ;III~ to lwlp tllcir children.

Having said al l Illis i t is newsary t o stre% that the nlajority of children reared i n poor circumstances do not b s o n ~ e delinquent.

Pruvuur;,~g DrlLrqrtera:y

6.5 First of al l we think that treatment ;tnd prevention of juvenile delinqucncy as such wnrwt he wasidcred cunlpletely apart from h e general approach to young people. In practice, too. i t may not be always possible l o make a neat distinction between prevention and I rwln~ent .

6.6 The sch~rols have ;1n in~portant role tu play. Wlrat is taugl~t at school. how i t is taught, the slandanls expected. n ~ a y be such that they tend to create scltool " failures ". We do not wish to comn~ent i n any great detail on whxt schools might do but we fed we should nuke some conlnlents.

No educator would agree that the functiau~ o f the scl~ool is to so order things that a c e r l a i ~ ~ number o f children wust b e u m ~ e schwd failures. What is wught ill school should have rc1ev;mce and signi- licance for al l o f the pupils. What is relevant and signiliwnt i u swne a r a s and localities ZII;IY no1 be 5 0 in others. I f the main elfort o f the s c l ~ w l is directed towards helping bright pupils achieve ;I very high standard the average or dul l child may hc neglected o r l c d inferior. 'Fhe school curriculun~. wllich is too narrow, is quite likely to fail to involve some r>r many pupils because i t wi l l not appcal to a wide range of aptitudes and abilities. The school needs to provide guidance fur parents and pupils ill order to help them nmke eduwtional and vocational choices and to help detect as early as possible t l ~ e syrnpton~s which may indicate that a child. or indeed. a fanlily. is i n trouhle. Theie symptonls niay bc poor attendance, a drop in aohievements or a char~gc i n bchaviour.

We weluotne. tllcrclcw. Llle changes io [Ire primary scl lml cur+ culun~. the ellorts 111 1,ru:rJcn the xopc uf the curriuulun~ at post- primary lcvel. the provision o f guidance in post-prilnary scl~ools and making frec posl-primary ~ l u c a t i o n available to ;ill. We think. loo. that the ellorts bcing made to avoid early selcc~ion o f child re^^ fur one k ind of education or another and to eliminate as far as possible the c u l y distinction l ~ e t w c ~ n vocational and secondary a l uw t i on are wonhwhilc attcnqxs to change the system so that i t wi l l not tend to rcjwt, especially at IOU rarly :In age. and so create failurcs. We t k ~ k 36

thal guidance should he avi~ilnblc to parcots and pupils in pr i~nsry schools as well ;is lo those i n pnsl-priznary schools.

6.7 We think th:it all l l~ose i n uu~ lw r i l y who deal with chilJren in tllc coursc>f thcir work should lrevc rome extra Iraining which will help I l~en l to uuderstand yc,mg pw,ple hetlcr. This xpplics especially 10

Ganla Olliccrr.

6.8 l 'hcrc i s i t t1ccd lcr ellsull: Illat i l l l l k ~ n i l i ~ . ~ such ils pk~ygrUUt~~Is. uumnluoity centru, rccrcaliun crntrcs and pl:~ying lields are available for use hy ycwng people. Not alunc s l~uuld lhcsc fecilit ia be made available hut arrangunlrnts sl~ould hr: ride for helping people to use them. For instance. 1oc;al conm~unity centres could bc u d to accoou~aahtc wurses w l k h would llclp parents l o cope with family ~ ~ ~ a t t e r s . 'I ' lxrc is a necd for incrwscd suppjrt for yuuth clubs and l l ~ c provision of truincd youth club leaders who would help young people nrganise t l~e i r i ~c t i v i t i a and. i f possible. involve l l ~ e p i~ r c t~ t s in these activities. We du not wish to go into tlris i n detail but we do think thal the provision of out-of-school and oul-<>f-work amenities fur youtb ncrds w r y speci;rl considcriltion i n this country. We think that developnrent tlris l icld h;~s very great potential fur good especially i f i t involves a gcnuinc can~n~oni ty ellorl.

6.9 Finally t l l ne i s a neal for l~aving various social and welfare services available. This need has been ment iond i n other pans of the Report.

He/r,rmolorir,s

6.10 l'hc Children Act. IYOK, ~ l e s ~ r i l v s . l<cfor~~~;~lor ies ;is S c h o d ~ for the l r ~ i n i n g t,f youl l~fu l ol lr tr lcrs ill which lhcy arc lodged, clothed awl fed us well a s I : t~~ght . 7.Itey are designed to provide Cilre a l d 1r;lining. givc cl:issro~m~ or voc:tlional training and cnerrise rcll1cdi;ll inlluences upon children cot therc lry the courts. l 'hc Act provides for their inspection hy t l ~ e lnsptxtor o f Keforn~atory and lndustri:~l Schools at least once a ywr.

6.1 1 There arc at present in the SI;W two Refortnalory Sclux,ls fa31 girls and one it,r boys. A l l nrc run by rrlipious ',r<lers and u p t o the 1st July. 1969. payslcnl was n ~ i ~ d e by #he Stale ; ~nd 1.ocul Authorities on a capitation basis at Ihc mtc o f f4. 6. 6. in respect of each child. This sum covered ;dl the cxpc~~scs o f m;~i~llaining and running lhc inslilution.

I n t l ~ e case d thc girls' I <c fo r~na to r~ i t1 St. Anne's. Ki lnmct~d (which is alur ~xr l i l i ed as ;III Imlus1ri;rl Sc l~w l ) . py111en1 is ma& on a nolional n u d e r of 40. regardless the nun~ber o f girls actually delained Illere ;at ;I p;~rl icuhr time. We found. however, 111al St. Anne's is reluctant to accept girls v h n :$re k ~ ~ o w n to he practising p r n s t i t u ~ i ~ ~ n or who. 011 convic~ion fur an uITcncc. arc found to be pregnant. On the occasion of one cheek o f tile nun~bers o f girls i n the school we

37

found that only t h rw girls on the rolls were c ~ m n ~ i l l e d hy l l lc courts us delinquent. 11 is ohri~,us. therefore. thar St. Anne's is not fulfillins the purpose for which i t w is wiginally founded.

6.12 No junior refor~wutory exists for 111c dr tcnt im of yout l~fu l offenders undcr twelve il~c;c. on convicticw. k i n g nornuilly sent In Industrial Schools, A s tllu hulk o f bays 01 ibis :tgc.group are, however, scnl l o the lndusll-ial School at i.cucrfr:lck. C'u. Ciillw;ly, il w;ss dccidcd to I r a t !hi.: i c ~ i t u ~ i o n as ;I j u n i ~ n rc f<~n~: t tn ,y .

6.13 A dillicully fa~.ing IIIC COUINS is tliitt. i n ~.cl.titin ~~ircutnst i lnc~s. ntanagcrs nlay refuse to ilc~c111 certain offcnrlcrs. As l l lc lc is no alter- r d v c inslitution to which they nlay be scnl. 11,- only course open lo the courts is to 'pktce t l t cn~ on prol~ation o r l u relu;asc lhcrn. l'his prohlem i s psrticul;lrlg cute i n he case o f girls chargcxl w i ~ h recur- ring sexual oflellces or f ~ ~ u n d 10 i*: pregnant. ils lhe girls' refurnlatories itre not inclined to IIZCL~N such girls. 1;ron1 C V ~ ~ C I I C C prcxnled 10 the Cwnmitter. i~ would appmr that this silualion is hecoming known to this type 01 girl will, omsequent lack nf regard iw the authxi tv of lhe courts.

6.14 N o provision is m;sde for the axssnlant ol cl~ i ldrcn before conln>ittal to ~l lcsc ins~itutions. The C.'on~n~ittee arc satisfied ~II~II sonle of the c l ~ i l ~ l r c n duitincd are sulfering from dcfecls. either mental or physic;tl, u:lllillg for special trcillnlcnl. 'I'hcy should never have been con~n~ i l t cd l o l l m e ins l i l~ t ions i n thc first pl;lce.

Insullicicnt h:tckgmund inlormalion is nude av;rilal~le l o lhc insli lu- lions, i n many cues cor~sisling of little nwre ~ l l a n the child's nanlc and approximate agc Thcre appcitrs 10 l ~ e a lack of l ia iwn helwccn the courts. I 'rolxtl im Olliccrs and Social Workcrs <,n the one hand and the Schcxd hlanagers on the olhcr with the rcault thal al l the io- forn~ation av;iilahlc ;tlwut a particulnr rh i l4 is not always rude available I n llle schnd.

6.15 As already it~enliottcd. young i~llcntlcrs under 12 arc normally sent l o Industrial Sch<,ols. the bulk o f thc boys going to 1.etlerfrack. They are not segrcgxtrd from non-otlcnders in these schools. I n lxuerfrack on a recent <late G1 of lhose d e r a i ~ d had heen convic~ed of indictable ollenccs. IS were ollcndcrs un&r the S d w d Aundancc Acls and 13 were non-dlcndcrs. 11 is noled l l ~ n l muny School Attend- nnce Acts olfendcrs h x l comc under nolice for olher ollences ~hough not convicted by ~ l ~ c ctwrls. I t appwrs to us that the systcnl by which dlcndcrs arc n~ i . \ c~ l wi lh 111osc wh{> 11avc c o n ~ r n i t l ~ i l no ollence c;tnnot but hitve :~dwrsc results.

6.16 Nu adequ;ble C~IL.III 01 vocational 1r;rining exists in the Hcfor- rnatories l o provide tltc children Ie:~ving \,'it11 sslc:~blc skills to cnal,lc then^ IO take their pl;~cc i n scrciety.

I J n h the prcscn~ systeo~ many children leaving the l<cfurn~ator ic cither under licence. c~ cxpiry of sentenc~: or on rmclring the age ,,I

38

I I n sorrlc c;ascs. lhcsc !;irl\ :Ire pl;rcul on prol,;~lion will1 a re- quirmmel$l 1h;11 lllcy rcsidc 1 % ~ ;, rilnc in #,nc o f scvcral collvcllls which accept lhenl: i n IBIIICI C:ISCS Ilbcy "re plitccd 011 rctniblld iron1 lhc uourls. A clunlbcr 01 c!lllcrs c a ~ l t d ~ r u l hy p;trcnls. rclalives. social workers. Wellare Olliccrs. Clergy or Ciardai to hc i n m o r d danger or uncontrollable are also acccptul in lhesc convcnls for a period on a volun1;lry basir. l:ron~ enquiries m x l c the <:on$mitlee is salisliul 111al there are at lcast 70 girls between the uges of 13 and 19 years con- fined i n this way who shuuld properly Ire dcalt with under lhe Keforn~alory Schools' system.

l'his mellrod 111 volonl;try ;~rrangw~cnt f<,r placcrncnt can hc cri t ic isd on a nunll)er o f grounds. I t is a I~a1111az~d syslcn~. i t s legal validity is dc,uhtful and the girls a h i t t n l i n this irregular wily and not l x ing a w r e <nf their rights. m:,y renuin for long periods and heconlc. i n the pr<lcess, unl i l fur rc-ctncrgencc into society. I n the past, nl;iny girls h;rvc bccn hkcn inlo lhcsc convcnls ilnd rcmained lllcre all their lives. A girl goitlg inlo one o f t l ~c~c~ ins~ i t u l i ons may lind herself i n lhc company o f older. nlore experienced and nlore depraved wonlcn who arc likely l o have a corrupting influence on her. I n n~os t cases the nuns running thesc instilulions have ncilhcr the training nor the resources to enahlc them to rclrahililate these girls and to dcid will) lhe problem I t is accepled. however. that i n one institution ll le handling of #his problen~ is profcsionol and pracl ic~l because o f the existence o f trained smlf.

No State grants are payable for the maintenance o f those in voluntary Magdalen institutions (exccpt in remand casts i n respat of whom 71- per day is paid).

There are gcnerillly no propcr f;lcililics for the educalion of il~ese girls ~nlilny of whonl arc Ihoughl to be ral;~rded: tllcra is a lack 01 qualilied and spcoialisl tcxhcrs i ~ n d the training provided is not geard to gelling the girls back into wcicly ns quickly ns possible as useful cilizcns. I t was noted thar ILF no Slate grants are made for phm purposes there is. consequently, no Statc mn l ro l o r right of inspection of these instituliom.

3'4

6 The princip:~l form of unacc'eptablc .wci;tl hchaviour which Iiad led to Ule ad lhs iun o f :he girls has been their invulvcment in prnslituliwl. T l ~ e grc:,~ dil l icully of reh;thiliration and the ease with wliich the girls slip h:wk into this aclivily aplxars l o us lo be ldlc principal reason for the chronicity whi& we have detccted i n t l ~ e x i~~sl i lut ions.

6.20 11 has conlc to the notice o f the Committee that, owinj: l o the lack of aftercare, some former pupils of Reforn~ator ia and lnduslri:~l Schools become involved i n prostitution on l e a v i n ~ the ilistilution.

The existence of chis problem further underlin& the inadequacy 01 h e personality formation. social and occupational preparation of these girls prior t o their release from these schools. Ren~edial measures are hampered by the fact that the younger girls involved in this practice are seldom accepted by Girls' Reformatory Schods and that girls who agree i n court to go to St. Brendan's Psynl~ialric Hospital, almost always discharge themselves afler a few days. I n the case of finding by thc w u r l we have heen informed that the practice of the girls is l o obtain the money to pay the fine hy fvrther prostitution. This is obviously a problcn~ requiring immediate ful l investigation and attention. The girls concerned m>uld no1 a l l be suitable for inclusion within a Reformatory School system and lhere is a nacesily for the mtablishment o f homes where their difficulties could he tackled.

6.21 I t is. Werefore. recommended that a closed psyclrialric homc for the treatment o f teennge @ids should be provided as a maltcr of urgency.

The voluntary bodies at present dealing with prosl i tu~ion should be helped hy the Stale and local authorilies with financc and expcrtix. Hostels and job-training for these girls should be providcd as a joint effort b y the voluntary bodies and local authorities.

6.22 It was found that thsre are about 80 boys in the age-group 12-15 at present i n Relormatoria. This is a mininium estinrale and while tlic number may he reducal by transferring ti l lox i n need of special treatment. for exan~ple the ment;rlly handicapped. to appropriate inslilutions and hy sliort-tern1 w ~ ~ i m i t t a l s to the new Place o f Detention to he estahlishcd at Finglas, it is felt that the nun~bers would be made up and, perhaps, increased b y lhe fact t I t ; ~ t Justice\ would make more comn~i~ ta ls to an improved system.

I t is recommended. llxrcfore, that two Junior S w ~ i a l Sal~m,ls he set up for boys in l h i ngc-group. The schools should he run or1 "open" lines with a slnnll c l o s d wing for diflicult cases. l ' he schools should be ail~~;itcd ncir the places o f origin o f the majority of the children and where necessary ancillary services would bc availahlc. One school should be located i n Dublin.

40

Sentmccs should be variablc and subject t o regular review and the workload should bc such that dciainecs would ohtaili individual treatment.

6.23 The tern1 reformatory should hc ahulisllcd. Wi: considcr that. as we have made i t clcar elsewhere that children in these schools should be treated as handicapped, d ~ e lcrm Spocial School would he the utost appropriate tit le for tharr.

16-17 Age-Group 6.24 i t was similarly established that about 70 boys would fal l to be pravidcd for in this age.group and i t is recommended that two Senior Special Schools he established to cater for them. boys of 18 and upwards being sent to St. Piltrick's Inslitulion. These Schools should be run o n similar lines to the Junior Schools and should he located on a similar basis.

6.25 Consideration was given to the question o f emo~ion:illy disturbed juvenile delinquents. As numbers are small i t appears that they should b e treated i n conjunction with en~orionally disrurbtrd juvotiilcs. N o provision is at present available lo r this and i t is recommended that a treatment cenlre he set u p to cater for such cases.

6.26 The enquiries made by Ilia Committee revealed that about 120 girls would have to be acmnrmmlatal in the Reformatory Schools' system. This figure nllows for an average of 40 i n Refornratory Schools. 70 i n convents which deal with this type o f case. and 10 i n a private hoslcl. We. lhercfore. recommend thal two Senior Special Schools for

girls aged 15-17 be provided and that two Junior Special Schools ha also cnahlished for the 12-15 nge-group.

6.27 A grave drawback i n the present system is the lack o f any p r o p assessment of ichildren sent to Reformatories. ' A l l children coming before the courts sho~ild he assessed at the As<essment Centra recommended elsewhere i n this report and 'their hackground investigatd. Ful l information should he available to the court before sentence and this informiitinn slinuld nccmupany the child wherever he is sent. N o Manager of a Special School should have the power to refuse admission to a child who has been properly assessal provided that fl ie oliild can be accomnmJatcd there.

6.28 As in the case o f Rcsidenti:~l Homcs lhere shwld be adequalc st:bff (including a social worker) i n al l lhesc~chools. fully trained and properly rernunerarcd. There should be adequate educational stnll, the full services o f the I lealth Authority should be available including the services of psychiatrists, psycld~~gists, doctors and denlists. The general recommendations on stall training i n h i s Report should apply to training of stall in them Schools.

4 I n

$1. ~",,,IC~~I'.~, I)',;,,.<#.,,!,

6.29 This Rafortn;~tmy i s housed in a 200 year o ld l o n e r military barracks. A n addi~itm:tl wing war built ill the p)st-war period but the bui1ding.i~ basic;tlly old and completely unsuitahla for the purpose for which i t is being u d . 'Ihe kitchen and refectory are situated in what were iorrnerly l ltc stable? and are deprrsing ;~nd dmyed. On inspection. thc toilets were dirty and insanitary. The sbowcrs were corroded through I;~ck,of use and the hot water system was so inadu~uate that the Ixws d d o m i f ever washed in hot watcr. Wbcn i t was first inspected the boys were ill-dressed &nd clirty and there was a acncral air o f nenlecl about the dace. T o be fair. the C o n l m i t l ~ - - would point out again that the capitation rate paid was con~plelely inadwuale.

~ h d Oommittee n i e m k m wcrc so perturbed about conditions at St. Conleth's that thcv sent a request to the Minister for Education asking that in~mediate splrific steps be taken t o an~eliorate conditions there. Ii is undcrstond t h i~ t certain of these rccnni~nendations are i n hand.

T h e . however. are only shon- tern^ measures. We feel slrongly that mo alterations can bring St. Conleth's into line with n~odcrn thought on Reformatories.

I n the first place i t is muoh too institutional in lay-out. secondly i t is badly situated, being 40 miles From Dublin in a spot which is

,poorly wwcd by transport. Most o f the children i n St. Conlclh's come f m m Dublin and. as suggested elsewhere i n this chapter. a rcformalory would be much more effective i f sited close t o a largc centre of population whcre the ancillary services rqu i r ed would be available. 7he Oblate Fathers, who are in chargc of St. Conleth's. have themselves raommended such a move.

I t is rmmmcnded that St. Conleth'E be c l o d at thc earliest possible moment.

?'lw l<er,rotul I l c , , ~ S?.srrwt

6.30 Thc Children's Act 1908 requires police t o provide "places of detention" for juveniles rennnded i n custody (see Appendix K).

Remand homes are provided for the safe custody o f children:-

(a) who arc charged with offences and are not r e l e a d on bail pending their appearance in court.

(b) who require to be lodged in a "place of salety": there arc usually children alleged to be in necd o f care o r beyond wn l ro l who arc detained pending consideration o f their cases by tho court.

(c) betwcen siltinjis o f lhc court while the case (including a caw where a finding o f guilt has b a n made) is adjourned for inquirics t o be completed or reports .lo be obtained.

(d) cn committal to a remand home for a period o f detention not e x d i n g one momh.

42

! Thc Remand Home should bc de\igwd to p rw idc :, discipl i~~cd ' covironment which wi l l hegin t l ~ process 01 rclul,ilil;,lion ',I thc i chi ld at a time when he is cxpcricncing an abrupt hrcnk wilh hi\ : familiar surroundings and l o enahle infornntion to be giltllcrcd for

cbc assistance o f tho courts about his history. hackground. s11d personolily. Thesc l<cn!:bnd 11~~11cs slmuld scrvc ;ns 1 I l ~ r v : ~ t i o n and Assess~~~cnt czntres.

Reports on the bch:aviour : ~ n d character of children while in ren~and homes should bc provided hy thc Suprintcndont at the request o f the courts a d thcre sl~ould he full f;~cilitiees for propcr examination by psychi:~trisls :rnd psychologists and repom by psychiatric social workers.

Proper cducation;~l f;~cilitics should be providrd and propcr use of leisure time should bc encouraged.

The Superinlewlcnl sl,ould ),I: n suitably qu:8lilicd person. A Rcn~antl l l n n ~ c for girls which should a l w i w ; tn Obscrv:~t i~~n

and Asscssmcnt Ccntrc. s l tc~l ld he provided in Dublin and the question of pmviding <me for l l ~ e S w l h and Wcst of I rchnd should also be wosidcred.

There is a nmd fc~r grc:ltcr u:{:reg:nIion i n Rerrland Honrcs lo prevent delinquent children mixing with non-dclinqucnls m d older children cxercising an undesirable influonce over younger d~i ldren. Much could (be achieved by adcqu:~te alalfing and suitable lay-out of buildings.

h # u r l h ~ m ~ t ~ ~ l t I/~H,.u~, l ~ o m i ~ d 11 ,~rx WMI I ' I w t ~ 01 I ) ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I

6.31 Mar lhvnugh l l ~ ~ u s e is n ~ n ~ p l c l c l y unsuil:~hle for the purpose for which i t is heing used. Thr: huilding itself is o ld i ~ n d was in lac! condemned as dangerous as far back as 1957. I t is run by a stall with no special training in child care. T l ~ e allendants, who :Ire recruited through the Eniployment Exchanges, are not required to have any qualilic;~tions which would make t hcn~ suitnble for the task o f caring for children. I t i s nhvioun that their function at present is purely cuslodial.

The recrealicm:ll f:icilitics are ertren~ely poor. Therc is :I small piecc of ground availahlc whcre preswmbly the boys could play games o r dr i l l but there is no equipment for any such gxmes or dril l. Indoor recreational facilities are similarly lacking. Worse still. there are no educational facilities in Marlborough Home nor is any trained teacher emrhved. h i in cllrct. mcans that children may he detained on ramand o r committed there for p e r i ~ d s o f up l o a month. with no useful or healthy way of passing the aime.

This p%il ion is deplorahlc and tnusl IK nllcrcd without dchy. Our first reaclion is to recommend that Marlborough l lousc he closed forl l~wilh. Wc ~ ~ d c r c l : t ~ t ~ l . lhowcvcr. III:II ;I tncw I'lacc o f Detention and Remand F lon~c is being built i n thc Finglas area and should be ready for axupat ion hy summer or autumn 1970. 711is w i l l be managed by 111c De [..a Salle Ordcr and i t i s the intentinn

47

U~ut i t should cuter for 46 boys betwcen 10--15 ywrv and 25 between 15-17 years who arc pluccd in dclcotion. In addition ~ h c r e wi l l be places for 14 children m remdnd. We are not satis6ed chat 14 plaoes are suRicicnt t o cater for a l l the boys who n u y be on remand at the one time since r e t u r n raceived from Marlborough H o u e indicate ihat during 1968. the average number on remand was 26 and on one rrc;rsion the number on ren~and rcachul 36.

, Despite h i s d ~ e Contwitlee r a m m e n d s l hc immediate closure of Marlborough Housu and the provision o f alternative interim accommodation, providing trained stalf and adequate recrwtional and educational facilities.

We should point out tIi;it during sittings o f the Committee i n July. 1969, a written submission to this eliect was made to the Minister for Education. who has responsibility for Marlborough House.

Sf. I''trrick'.r / m r i ~ u ~ i ~ > , ~

6.32 This is an instit~rtion which houses young tilalc olfcnrlecs between the agcs o f 16 and 21 ycars id is direclly control lul by the Department of Justice. While i t docs not c tme within the amhit of the Refonnatory and Industrial Schools systcm. i t is closely allied to it. Indeed many o f Uie young pcrsons con~mitted to i t have previously been in Kefurn~atories o r industrial Schools, while boys in thc Senior Uoys' Keformatory found uncontrollable o r guilty of absconding may he c o t w ~ i t t u l therc.

St. Patrick's is an old style penitentiary building with rows o f cells. iron gates and iron spiral staircases. Ollenders. in Ule main. occupy single cells. T h e x arc small and g lmmy and cach one has n small barred window almost at ceiling level. Olfenders are held i n these cells for approximatzly fourteen hours per day.

As in the case of Daingwn we felt that the ctlucalional and training facilities w r r r altogctlw insuflicient and pri~nit ive. l 'he system of locking young persons into a cell done for a g o d portion of the 24 hours can hardly bc wnducive to rehabilitation. We fez1 that something should he done to improve conditions there.

The 1nter.Dcparlmenl:II Committee on the Prevention o f Crime and Trwtrnent o f Olfrnders recon~mcndcd ittrer olia that an nlucn- tional psychologist. a spwially qua l i t i d whole-time primary tcxher and qualiticd part-timc teachers o f crafts and skills should be provided i n St. Patrick's. We frel strongly that thesc rcronmendations should be implcmcnted without delay and. in addition, lhat wun- selling services should be provided Uiere and that there should be w n - sultation with the Depart~t~enl of Wurdtion.

I. A closed psychiatric unit for the treatnlerll of ICCIVdgC gilds should be prov idd as a nlaucr of urgcncy. (6.21)

2. Thc voluntary bodies dealing with prostitution should roceive financial aid and guidance from the State and local authorities. (6.21)

3. Hostels for those rclwsed from Spccial Schools should ho pra- vided as a joint cllort by vdunlnry lwdies and local authorities. (6.21)

4. Two Junior Special Schools should be set up for boys in the 12-15 agc-group. These schools should be run on "open" lines with a smaU closed wing for dillicult ciscs. (6.22)

5. Tbe term "Refoni~atory" should he replaad by the tern1 "Special Schrol". (6.23)

6. Two Senior Special Schools for boys in the 15-17 age-group should be established. thesc to hc run on similar linw: to the Junior Special Schools. (6.W)

7. Special arrangements should he made for the trwtmcnt o f seriously disturbed juvenile dclinqucnts. (6.25)

8. Two Senior Special Schools for girls aged 15-17 should be provided and a Junior Special Sclrml should also he provided for the 12-15 age-group. (6.26)

9. No manager o f a Special School should have the power to refuse admission to a child who has been c o m n ~ i t l d to that school after proper assess~nenl. provided there is a place for the child i n the school. (6.27)

10. Tbcrc should be adequate, fully l r a i n d and properly re- munnatal staU (including a sociid w o r k ~ ~ ) in al l thesc Special Schools. (6.28)

11. l'he full range o f services o f the Health Authority should be available, including the servioes of psychiatrists, psychiatric social workas, psychologists. dentists. doctors. (6.28)

45

12. l 'hc generi~l rrcomn~endations on st;tlf training in this Report ' should apply lo training of stdf in the Spwial Schools. (6.28) / . '

13. St. Conleth's Ileforniatory. Ilaingwn. should bc closed at the earliest possible opportunity. (6.29)

Rennwd l lon~es 7.1 I f the task of integrating children i n care into society is to be 14. l'hc Remalid l.Io,,~w: Systenl should be dcujg,,ed to a SUCC~SS~U~ i t is essential that lltose i n care for one reaaon or another

disciplined environment which will begin the process of rehabilitation should have educationitl opportunities to the ultimate of their capa- of the child. (6.30) cities. I n view of the .availability of post-primary education lo all

and the raising of the school leaviug age to 15. i t should be ensured 15. proper educational facilities sllould be provided in nemand that all such children receive a post-primary education. Where i t is

Hontes. (6.30) considered to be to the child's advantage he should proceed to third level education.

16. Proper use 01 Idsure time should be encouragml. (6.30) 7.2 A high proportion of cl~ildren in care are educationally backward

17. ?'he Supcrilltendc~lt be a suiwbly (6.30) and the main lirnilation in the Reformatory and Industrial Schonl educational svstcm is ~II;II this fact has not been taken into

18. A Remand Home for girls which should also be an Observation and Assessment Centre should he provided i n Dublin and the question o f providing one for thc ~ o u i h and West o f Ireland should also be considered.

19. There should be proper segregation in Remand Homes to prevent delinquent children mixing with non-delinquent and older children exercising an undesirable influence over young children. (6.30)

20. Marlborough House Remand Home and Place of Detention should be closed down forthwith and replaced by a more suitable building with a professionally mined staff. (6.31)

21. The position in St. Patrick's Institution should be examined particularly with a view lo the provision of proper psychological, educational and training facilitics. (6.32)

~ ~

account i n catering for the children's Cducatinnid needs. The XIIW

mary of the findings of the survey carried out at our request lhy h e Department of Psychology. University College. I h b l i n (Appendix 1') shows i n some detail the extent of the poor educational and general intellectuitl attainment of the childrcn and the tables at Appendix I: give backing to the conclusions drawn. I t is obvious from that survey that special educ~tional facilities are nedcd for deprived children and. beari~tg this in niind. we have noted the following linli- tations i n the eclucational Geld.

There is a lack of organised services which would be readily available to schools to help detect cases of educ;ttional backwardness. mental handicap and emotion;rl disturbance and factors likely to allcct a child's progress i n school. This applies to both Indunrial and Reformatory Schools.

7here is no service which would provide an educational report for the Courts nor are there organised services which would provide the Courts with psychological, psychiatric and medical reports.

There are no proper facilities for the provision of special and remedial ducation i n both Industrial and Reforn~atory Schools. The results of the survey carrinl out hy the U.C.D. team indicate the great need for these facilities.

There is no provision of pre-school education i n those schools catering for very young children. This is very likely to d e c t adversely their subsequent level o f achievement.

There is no provision of alucalionitl and vocational guidance and counselling for children i n Industrial and Rdormatory Schools.

The range of educational opporrunilies and facililics available i n the Reformatories is very limited bearing i n mind the special needs of the children (Appendix E). The education available is at ordinary national school level logether with inswction in some practical subjects. I n the Boys' Reformatury in Daingcan about one-lhird of the

47

r c c l u i r e ~ ~ c ~ ~ t s d tllc iwt~ilution. b a a u s his lmr i l y i s will ing to W,, tl,i,,k illat the Depan., facililies. is the way l o m a t ll~esc childrun's needs. Every e l l o ~ t

nlcnt of Education should see to i t that n o cbiW in cure is denied,, should be nude IU discover Ialcut t;ilcnts ;tnd i n ~ c r w ~ s and a vnrialy

opportunity lo Ulird level dumtio,, if he is likely to, of methods used l o pronrolc I~ICIII. I t may not bc :rlways necessary uearillg in that tile illlcrests ; . t o provide the educat io~~ and training i n the Reforn~att~ry. I'ilot

menls of llle child arc matters which should condderul ; sohomes and cxpais~cnts which would allow children 10 go out and l o

ds id ing what courses of further study of [raining are mado available . take ap part-time employment :1mI receivc educalion outside should

for him. we think that the Schools Pwcholocical Scrvice. at mesent bo operated.

~G l r r cdo r~ in Spwiol Schools

7.8 "Most people think o f scl~ools ;IS places whcrc 'sobjecls' are laught-arithmetic. history. geography and the like. Most d u u t i o n - ists would conceive of educ;tlion i n much bmnder terms: 'education for living'. 'education o f the whole man'. 'chancter training'. and so on."' So far ns Spcci:tl Schools are concerned i t is clear that i t i s education i n the broad sense. properly carried out. (hat is needed nhove all. Impnrl ing knowledge and skills is necesqary but the vast . majority o f the children who go to them wil l need help w i lh prablen~s other than those concerned w i lh learning a subjes--problems of social adjwlment. their fears and hopes for tho future. 'They are full o f fears. worr ic~. pugnacity. rcsenlmcnl. Itatrcd. revcnge. And what i s more they d id not want to come to $he school."'

7.9 We consider that children i n Reformatoris are very likely to d l c r [rom the eflects of doprivation too. in fact their presence i n a Reformatory is possihly the result o f deprivation. The indimlions are that their levels o f intellectual and educational attainments are as low or indeed lower than those of children i n Industrial Schools. Special provkion necds fo be made in this regard and a l l of the preventive measures discussed above are relevant when considering Reformalories.

7.10 Children in Roformatoria are children who have. i n the main. dropped out o f the gcncral cducationsl stream and we recomn~cnd that every effort he made to ensure that they are brought back into the mainstream. We would l ike t o stress that wc do not considcr that a very general solution e.g. provision of technjcal education -

YSchoals for Young Ollmdcn." Oordon Row. pp. 171-172 (Tavistrxk Publics. tioris). 'Ibid.

511

7.12 T o carry out I l ~ s c rcco~~~r~~cml ; i l i ons i t will he necessary 11,

enahle schools to provide tc;whing in :t wide rangc nf suhjccts with praclical and acaclemic. as wcll :IS spcci;d and rcn~al ia l educal io~~. This mcans that lhc services c,f psychologists and special and remedi:~l teachers should be ;~vailablc as wcll as the tcachcrs of wl-ious subjects. l'hcrefore. the norn~a l pupil/le;~cl~cr ralios sanc~ioned i n w r a - tional, secondary and cvcn in spcci;tl nitlinn;ll schmds not mecl lhc needs of ~IILTC children. 111 Senior Spuci:~l Sc l iwh il will tx necess:wy to provide tmchers capal~le of 1e;tching a range o f subjccls. both prttc- tical and ncademir. at the post-primary level. 111 Junior Spccial Schools i t wi l l he necessary 10 pnwidc teaching in craft subjects III:II are usually l i l u ~ l ~ l i n vocitlion:hl s ~ l l t ~ d s 1 0 c:ltcr fc)r thc inlcrcsts :%nd sptiludcs of the pupil<. I l i ~ w w c r . a s is evidcnl fmm the IJ.C.1). survey. nlost o f the ch i l r l re~~ arc likely 11, Oc hnckward in 1hc h;!sic school subjccls and ihey wil l n c d cxlra help in ll~ese i f lhey arc ICI atlcmpt to reach levels ;~cccplalA! for atlnlissi~ul I n ilpprenlicushi[ls or further cou rs r o f study. 'l'ltcrcforc. the prolr lcn~ appears to k one of coping wi l l l hxkwardness in lhc basic suhjccts, providing sub- jccts which cater for the aplitudrs m d inlercs~s o f the pupils and ensuring that any pupil w l ~ n i s c;~pable of following a normal course of study at prinwry or pnst-prin~iuy ICYCI is cnahlnl to do so. aml providing courses for chik l rc~l who arc dct:~i~lcd fur short periods.

7.13 The in~porl;mcc o f personal rounsrlling cannol he overstrcsscd. The Scl~cmls I'~ycl,~,lc,~:ic;xl Scl-vicc of the I)L~~;II~~o~cII~ u f 1ducati011 should ensure provisi<,n o f sp&,l guidmcc scrviccs for thcsc schools. Every school s l rwld 11;~vc at l n ~ s t one cou~lscllor who 11:s had full- l imc training in uoul~rcll ing ps)hd<,gy.

7.14 Rcligiou slwuld play an in~porl:~nt part i n l l ic inlcgralion of a young oflender intu scrcicly. We fuel. ll~ercfore, that i ls practical implications in claily living sllould he slrongly emphasised. We attach great import:lllcc to lhc c:lrcful selection of ch;~plai,~s who

51

sltould have a full understanding o f tI11: prul~letns involved in dealing with childrcn i n Special Schools.

7.15 The Schools should be properly equipped with teaching aids and equipment. The practice of relying cntirely on a L r d V~crca- tiunal Education Conlmittec to provide ccrtai~t teacl~ers, as is the case i n Ih ingmn. should be dropped since i t is hardly fuir to expcct xny one local authority l o be responsible for provision fur children who will-come from the a rea of a large nun~ber of autboritics. A l l grants for educational purposes and al l iexhers'. salaries should be paid direct by the Department of Education.

7.16 11 is obvious that educational provision for delinquent children is l ikely to be n ~ u c h more exaensive ner head than educational nto- vision for other special categories o f childrct~. This is an experience conlnton to all countries attem~tinr: to mahc ful l provision for drlin- quents who are taken into wrk. i f the cost is not to be prohilritive and tltc services are to be provided, i t is inlporlant that Special Schools should be located i n large centres where sewias nre rwd i l y available and children may be able to attcnd some classes that are being provided in outside schools.

7.17 Junior Doys Special Schools sltould be regarded as Special National Schools. i n tho same way as special recognition is afforded lo schcwls catering for other cat~xorics of l~andicapped children. but

,

with a more favourablc pupil/tcacber ratio and the provision o f counselling. Special and remedial teaching should be provided by specially trained staff.

7.18 A l l of the teachers in Special Schools. even those who are not special or remedial teachers. should have some extra training to assist them i n coping with the exva diflicullies they must encounter. They should receive extra remuneration for this work.

7.19 Senior Special Schools should be regarded as Special Post- Primary Schools with special and remedial education for those who are educationally backward.

The schools should bave facilities l o provide training to n~a jo r and minor craft level.

I~urthcrmore, i t may be necessary l o have shon courses, perbaps tailormade to specific voational area, if these children are to be satisfactorily placed or given a chance to succeed. especially in view of the f a a that there may continue t o he a number of short-term detentions.

7.20 The (aching stalI should be left free to devote all their attctt- tion to educational act int ier This should not preclude extra class- room involvement in arts, crafts and games o r acting as group leaders on a voluntary basis.

52

K q u l a r n~crl ings should be held tunong adminislrators, teaching stall and residential stall i n all Speci:rl Schools to discuss policy and current problen~s. 'l'hwe nteetings should help the llow of f r u h thougltt and assist i n cu.ort l iual i~~g the work of the various interests concerned.

(herd

7.21 A t p rcxn l tlte Miltister L l r l iduc;ltio~~ has u l l i~nale respotlsi- bil ity for both the Residential and Liducalional aspects o f looking after children committal to care wl~ethcr as delinquenrs or otherwise. Under our rccomrnend;~tions the Kesidcn~ial aspex1 will be transferred to the Minister for H w l t h while the Educatiomd aspect wi l l remain with the Minister for Education. We rcconmcnd that there should be a ntore formal link. medical and othctwisc. between the two Depart- ments to ensure that the needs o f children i n cme are adequately met.

(81'~) .~U!U!FJI qans palaldmoJ aneq Laq~ uaqm sa3ucmolle ~e!mds p!ed aq p~noqs pue ~JOM J!~I JOJ BU!U!BJI eqxa aneq pploqs slouq~g- II!!JJ~~- II! SU!IIJWI asoql jo 11v

(jIL) QIXU!~ ~u.xud!nlm ~vuo!~e~npa JO ISOJ aq~ IIU~ sa!:e(us .s:aq~n~ Lad p11wqs UO!II~~~ JO IU~EUIJU~~ aqL .9[

(S'L) .(ooqas le p?n!o~a~ oo!leJnpa aq lualuolddns plnom q~!qm sa!l!n!lm 1elaua8 ap!~old 01 sauloH qqcua 01 apelu sq plnoqs uo!s!no~d .8

(VL) 'p?p!no:d aq p~noqs saJ!nlas (~:>!SrqwpDd pue 8uy~ea1 IwpIuaJ pun le!~ads ap!~<lld 01 p1ql:ua aq plnoqs SanlOH le!luap!sax IUOJJ ualpl!qs JOJ 8u!~alc~ slouq~s -9

8.1 Children discharged from an lnduslrial School are liable lo remain under the supervision of the school manager unti l lhey re;ach I X years of age. while those disclvargal from lleforrnatories remain under ~ h c supervision of lhe School Managers unlil they are 19 years. IJnder the Children Act. 1941. this supervision may be extended l o 21 years f8,r holh c;ttegorics of children, where c o n d e r u l necessary.

We are ;aware 1ha1 i n many cases the Suhwl Managers cnduavuur 10 kecp i n touch will1 children who lcavc their fare and encourage lhem lo relurn for visits or holidays. This. however. is not aftcrwre as i t is rccogniscd by n~odern thinking on child care. I n practice there is no aftercare machinery and t l~ere is no special personnel l o do this work.

8.2 Aftercare should. ideally. begin as soon as a cl~i lcl enters into care nnd should last as long as necessary. When a child has been placed i n care i n a Residential I i o n ~ c or i n a foster home he will, i f o u r recomrnendatio~~s are accepted. have been fully assessed. This means that his problcms, his needs. Iris talents and his background should he reasonably well known to lhose i n whose care he is placed. I t should, therefore, be possible ;it that slage to ini t ia~e a plan for his rel~abililation. Wi th this i n mind his education should he directed lowards making him a good citizcn, and lhere should he close co- operation between those responsible for helping the child plan his education and choose a career, and tbose involved directly in aflercare.

8.3 A t present, howcver, placement of children who are i n carc is often very dillicolt.

One lector which militates against successful placen~ent of some c l ~ i l d r e ~ ~ is the confusion mu,ed in the public mind. i n regard to the nature u d purpose of institutions. by mixing offenders and non- ollenders. About 70% of the boys and 95% of lhc girls rmeived i n Industrial Scl~ools have been w n ~ n ~ i l l c d by the Courts as non- nlicnders i n need o f care or have been admitted under Section 55 of the He:d~h Act. 1953. For a child conviclctl o f an ollence residenlial t r w u r m i ~ may tilean an enforcul wjour l l ill an industrial school. For a child who has not con~n i i l l a l an ollencc. hut is considered to be in need o f care. i t means exactly the s;me thing.

8.4 The praclice of mixing childrcn comli~i l ted as ollenders with non-offendars is defended on lhc grnunds 111;lI i n so far as background and needs are con~.ernd there is really l i l t lc diliercnce between ll le

56

8.5 We lll iuli Il~ill IIOII-OI/L~IICICI.\ WIW> :,re o ~ m ~ ~ i i l l e d 10 placed i n care. arc l i kdy 1,) I ~ v c c111nq:11 disuIv:tnl i~g~s I<> I IVL:IW~~LC \ ~ i t l ~ o u l I~:aviug 111~: added wtc u f bring r , du rcJ will) 1110sc who lvavc c.c,~~- milled olle~ices. Apart from the co !~ fu* i<~n wlticli resulls I I~erc is IIIC d;uiger of delinqucnl clxildwn 11:~ving a hxd inlluc$icc "I, otl~ets, the pm ih i l i t y of exccsivc den~amls l,ci~tg il~:tdc on slall and the dislincl possibility !ha1 thc ru:d nccds of l l lc dclinquunl may n r ~ l 111: rccugnisctl wi lh ll le consc<lu;nce 1ll;rt pmpcr l rc~ l lnc l l t ;IMI care may lw t he pro- v i d d . A l l i n all. I lweforc, we think thxt olfcnders a d nun-ollc,~dc~s should not he acc~~,nn~<x lo~ed in thc onc I-Ionic. We think IIGII IIIC public should be quite clear about 11ic purposes of Ilomes p~ovid ing dilierent types of cure. that ~ h i s wi l l c;rsc lhc dillicully o f placing iwn- ollcnders and ilral i t wi l l help loo to\vards pruviding reuwrces for !he treatnlent o f delinquents. which in its luru will help ~hese c l~ i l r l r c l~ 11,

%cure a phlcc for Ihc~i lsc lvc~ i n tllc lil~. of llle rrull l l~u#tity.

8.6 Verv oflcn. undcr lhe present svs~c~n. a child is di>charced fro111 carc willlout any preparation to enable hint to cope with lifc oulhidc ~ h c inslilution. The lcndcncy is. Iliercf~,re, to drift I l ; ~ k lo the s:litae conditions which o;~~~sed him to i,c p l : u d in cxre or in dctcnlion i n the i t i s ; n c . I n order lhal lhe timc 51x111 in c x e n u y not hc ws-lei1 cvery ellort slaould he made to ensurc 1 I u t a child is relcaxd 10, c<w- dilions more lavourable than those in which lie lived pri*lr 1 0 colnio!: inlo carc. With lhc closing 01 a IIIIIIIIYX of Induslri;tl ScIiouIs in recent limes i t was necessary l o relei~sc numbers o l children from those schools and we feel that not al l lhe releases were purely in the IhcsI interesls o f lhc childrcn concerned. The lcniplarion l o givc preccdcnce to l l ie solving o f ;in ;rdminislralive dillicully over IIIC welfare of the child nlust a1 al l l in~es be avoiclcd

In order l o avoid such di~ng'rs i t is uscn l i i ~ l that evcry Residenli;sl l i t m e should Iuvc un dlerr.;irc agent. wlm s h o ~ ~ l d w-a,rdin;tle the work of paving lhe way for a child's r e l a w into everyday life.

8.7 One of the ways i n w l~ i c l l a child m:$y he helped to cope with the demands of l i fe oulsida the Home is to place h im i n a pre-rclcasc hostel for some lime hoforc aclual relcasc. or, ;~ l~crn:~~ivc ly . l o place h im i n suitable lodging.;. I n t l ~ c h m k l l ie coald bc givcti a greater degree o f responsibili~y and frecthvnl :~nd guided in his smrch for ;I

57 I I

carccr. ]%is is bring done in at Just m e school in IIID Dublin area but we thiuk i t should bc a feature of Kcsidential Cenlrei.

8.8 I f a child is being relwsed to h is ' l~ome the aftercare agent i n the Residential Home should. i n co~~junct ion with the social worker o f 111c cl~i ldls home area and other intcrcsted oflicers of the l i ~ l t 1 1 Authority or Child Care Division. cluurc that such support as i~ considered necessary is given to the child's parents, parent or guardian to help support h im unl j l such time as he is in a position to support himself. This wi l l nmad not only financial support but guidance and counselling and other allied social service supports.

8.9 I n h e case of a child or young person who has no honle to go to on release the position i s even rnorc dillicult. In such cases, an aftercare oficcr sl~ould endeavour to obtain suitable lodgings i n the area to which he is moving or where there are not avail;~ble, suitable lloslel accommodation. Once again he -may necd linancial and other support to help h im over the diflicult period between his discharge from care and his settling dmvn to an indepndmt life.

We belirve that there rhould be ample hostel ~ c c o m n ~ d a t i o n in the larger centres of population-particularly i n Dublin. 'The position at present is extremely had. There are very few hoslcls i n the Slate and those that are there do not receive Lhe support they need. I t is imperntive that hostels should be providcd without delay. that the State should nuke realistic conlrihutims towards them and that the comn~unily in general should take ;I more active part i n support- ing them.

8.10 111 this l3tKr connwtion there sllould be a nluch greater aw:srz- ness on the part of the comn~unily in gcncral o f the necd for an :tflercare service to help children at-risk ;tnd dclinqucnt children. I t should he possible to set up low1 groups of rcsponsiblc citizens who wctuld co-operate with the scxial workers a r ~ d other crllicers of the C l ~ i l d Care Division and Health Authority in n~aintaining adequa~e prevention and aftercare services. We feel sure that there i s a fund of goodwill and eneigy, which could be u s 4 to help these services. and al l that is needed is that i t sh<~uld operate under pro- frcsion:~l guidance.

8.1 I One of the big problems at present i;tcing children leaving an inst i~ul ion to make their way i n the wnrld is that o f loneliness. After :I c l~ i l d l l oo~ l l iving in institutional sunoundinp in the cmnpany of nlany other children. l ife i n lodgings or ill a flat o r bedsitter nlust \eon> like solitary confinement l o tl~enl. I h e y nlust perforce seck their company where they can,find i t and this is not always the most suitable company for a young person who has been away from Inxw:$l society for many of the forn~ativc ycars o f his life. This is parl.icularly so in single sex institutions. Having had l i l t le nr no experience of mixing naturally with mcmbers of the opposite sex

' 5 8

they have no stan&lrds of bdmvi<wr by which 1 0 judge t huc whour lhcy n~ccl . l'lx dangers uf such a ctmdiliou n w d not hc c ~ n p l ~ : ~ s i ~ c ~ l .

X.12 As we ~ ~ ~ c u t i t w ill w r 01111111e1115 1:1Icr. 011 pr~vcnl i \ ,c ~ l le :~sur~s i n Child Care lhrrc i s a pressing n c d for youth clubs and cotn~nunity centres wliich wil l ;~ssisl young pcrhons d i ~ h a r g e d f r u ~ u inslilulions 10 inlcgrdte inlo socicly. Oncc agilin wc c111p11:1sisc 111:lt l l l i s i s :b

conlmllnity prohlcnl and i t is l l ~ c colnmunily's duly to solve it. 11 cannot be so lv r~ l hy 1egisl;ltion--111~ nwsl h e Stale or Local Authority call do is to provide expcrtisc and a ccrtain ;mount of financial aid to help local c o ~ t l n ~ u ~ ~ i t i e s i n runl~ ing such clubs and ccnlres.

Kecrettablv. thurc is a ccrtain rcluclawe to ;idnli[ children or you~lj:

. . perly along the lines suge\tcd in this Heport, a purscrn discharged from such a School should he on the wad 11, rcl~ahilitalion- I n the ~ncanti~ne. al l tlral i s nCedcd. then. i s that l l ~ c comnlunily at largc should p h y its par1 ill cosuring tI1:tt ci~cumslmccs do not force hiln hack into 1111: prohlern category. ' l l rc system whcrehy a suilal,le. i n f o r m d and CII~UIIY sdectcd hc : t l ~ (~ Iun tcer ads as adviser. cun- lirlant and helper I n , ;I discharged child works very well i n other countries and sllould be cncouragod I w c . I t nocd l~ard ly be added tlvat the volunteer would :it al l tilnrs w w k i n co-uperation with :~nd under the guidance of the profcssiirn;rl workcrs in 111e licld.

8.13 We luve lhccn assu~ed tl1;11 111~11: is no org;tnisctl d i~cr i ln i~ iat io l l against children who have hecn i n ias~itutions wc11 a:: I<clurmatory ot 1ndustri;d Scl~ools so far as lhployers ' ~\ssociations or Trade Ilnions ;ire concerned, and wc ;lccept that this i s XI. I l u l this is a passive ralllcr than a positive approach to the prohlcn~ and ws consider that these associations and org;misations should ;tctively assist i n the placeme~~t o f such children i n employment. The pl;~ccn~ent services providcd by A n Chornl~ i~ i r le oil ion;^ (ANCO) h ~ t l d ;dso bc uliliscvl l o the full in this ieganl.

8.14 Our whole ;~pproacll to evcry aspect of Child Carc muit bc hasetl on thc fact that we. the community, c;~n no longer hide our social p~oh lenn hehind institr~tion;~l w;~lls-we most all play our part i n solving 111e111.

I t i s at lhis stage that lhc Social Worker can help by intmsive :~csislance l o these families: organising pulllic assista~,ce. helping with budgeling, household management. the paying o l l o f arrears and 111:lking representations to various inlerests (hire-purchase con)- panies. housing authorities, shopkeepers) which may be threatening pre~cecdings.

9.4 1'0 develop a ralional appro:!ch 10 the prol~lem of the p c - xrval ion of the fanlily unit, the causati~m of family bre:~k-up must be identilied. The principal causes arc: desertion, death o r prdongcd il lnessof one parent especially thebreadwinner. inadequ:~cy on the part of one or both parents resulting i n lack of proper care :~nd a l ~ e n ~ i o n for lhe children. Families i n :ill o f these calegories. I<,- gel l~cr will) the special case of the unm:~rricd mothcr and hcr child. may be saved from break-up b y the provision of adequate financial bcnelils and a syslenl o f family support to enable then1 t o overconlc llteir dilliculties.

I f r o ~ ~ ~ ~ Ilonw.5

9.5 The bulk o f children coming into care wil l be h e product of broken homes. The n u i n causes for the brcnk-up o f families may Ile lisled as follows:-

(I) Desertion by the faaher., As Ihe I:IW sl:rnds. the Palher working in England who fails to support or ioadequately supports his family. cannot bc extradited without grcnl dilliculry l o face charges o f neglecl, nor can a maintenanca order against h i n ~ be enforced. I t is noled lhal efforts are baing made to ncgoli;~tc a reciprocal agreement with the British authorities which would enable action l o he taken i n such cases, and maintenance orders enforced.

A t prcsenl. i f the father remains within the jurisdiction. a maintenance order may be obtained ag;~inst h i m but couns are at present precluded iron1 making an order in excess o f f4 weekly (an increase in this amount is at prcscnl under consi&xation).

No special bencfits are available l o a woman placed i n lhis situation. She may apply only for l l omc Assistance. Each case will be assessed on its merils by the I'ublic Assistance Oflicer and the assistance granted often ,is. i n praaiice. tied to the non-contrihutory widow's pas ion rale payable to a widow in similar circumstnnccs (nl:~xinlum mle o f lhis pension h 7316 per week plus 12/6d. weekly in respect o f each child). In addition free foolwear. free fuel. food :~nd clolhing may be provided where necessary.

9.6 Rearing i n mind the aim of keeping the Family togaher. the object of asis~ance where t l ~ e death of a parent occurs s l~ould be l o enable the surviving parent to provide the necessary carc and :ttlenlion for .the family.

62

Wllcre 1hc falhcr of 2 f:unily dies. 1.h widhw will n~ rma l l y Ilc enabled l o copa wich the situa~ion i f idcqu:ite bencti~s aro avail;tble l o her. A t present. she would he enlitled to :L widow's penvion (contributory: max 77/t& plus 15/6d. for c;tch o f the lirst two cllil- drcn and IO/lid. for suhscquenl cl>ildrcn. N~II-c<,ntril,utory-s~~bjmt 10 means tcl-max. 73/0d.. iwd I 2 / I d for t h ~ l i n t two children. 710d. 1hercaflr.r. or Uuatlh Henrfil 105/-. plu:, sitnil:~r i w ~ c ; l \ a s for clddrcn where the hu>h;rnd dies as a re>ult of ;rn accident at work). The various f o n ~ l s ol 1101n1: Assislimce such as loo twc~r . fuel. food and clolhing voucl~ers could a150 be m:~de avail:~hle.

Where lhe mot l~er dies adclrd dilliculties arisc. ' l ' l~e Fallwr i s 1101

at present entitled lo assistance 10 e d ~ l e h im to carry on unless he is eligible for klome Assislance. and the al,aerre o f a home-help or nursery service to cnahle him l o continue his employmenl while having !he children cared for during working hours increases his prublcms.

9.7 Ill.: The main henclits available to an insured person .I>econ~ing unen~plnyed tllrough illness are as follows:

A n uninsural person i n receipt of Uncn~plnyn~cnl Assislance (Max: 1171ld. wi lb adult dependent plus 12/6d. for each of IIm lirst lwo children and 7/hd. ~htrcafler) mu>t fall luck on 1la111e Assislance.

9.8 lt~aclrqt#ule I'urr,nr: Many children wil l come into care as lhc result o f lack of a t len t io~~ or pmper care UII the part of parenls unable. for one reason or anolher. I,, cope with their responsibilily. 'l'his may he due lo ;I number o f laclors-in;~l,ility l o organise :~ral cope with problcnls, excessive dr iuk i t~g v r low inl~ll igence on thc part of one or both parents. Early identilication and intensive sup- p r t o f such families wi l l often solve the d i l l icu l t i~s and prevent complete break-up of the fitmily.

9.9 Ucnefits a1 present available tu i;unilies in diflicultics are in- sullicienl to c ~ ~ a b l e lhe l a d y to be kept together wilhout olher sourccs of incon~e. O n the principle that no family should be broken up for lack of lisanciid resources, alone. we suggest that the increase a,f these henelits to a levcl which would avoid break up o f families

63

llrrough lack of funds is o firs1 esscminl. I 1 i> pointed out l l ~ ~ t a l l overall saving l o Slate funds would lcsull from the paynlclll o f in- croised nn~ounls sullicient lo keep a i;rnlily together where lhe only ~rllcrnalivc would bc to n~ ;~ in~a in children i n Industrial Schools or Ilc~mes at llle present cost of up l o f8. 5. 0. a week wch.

7'he provision o f linancial benelils alone is. of course, unlikely to mlve all the ~n)blerns of f:milics i n dillicullics. A ful l family supowl - .. systenk n~ust- also lu: provided. 'l'his should include the help and advice of social wcrkers and the provision of day nurseries and hon~c helps-lhc lack of these latter often nuking i t impossible for a surviving parenl l o carry on.

9.10 illegiti~mre child re^^: A large proportion of the childrcn ill Industrial Schools are il legilin~ale children whose nlothers were u t ~ t b l c or unwilling to kecp them. 'l'radilionally. a stigma allached l o !he un~narricd rnolhcr at various levels-Canlily. neighbourhood. ollicial-which made i t exlren~ely dillicult for her l o kecp her child. I-inancial ;md housing dilliculties ;id~led lo the problan.

A Ircnd towards a suf~ening o f lhis altiludc i n rccenl years has b m o n ~ c apparent. The unmarried n~o lhcr now meets will1 more sympa~hy and understanding than was once the casc and e v c r y t l ~ i n ~ possible should be done l o encourage this trend.

A t present there are no special hcr~elils available to unmarried n~olhcrs. The various forms of H o n ~ e Assistance are available and solnc I l w l l h Aulllorilies give special considera~ion l o their accommodation problem, housing lhem i n Ilals o r sccond-class dwellings a l ~ w d of lhe nornlal wailing list. Materoily Grants (f4) and Matern i~y Allowance (77/6d. weekly for 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after con- lincn~enl) are payable l o the u ~ ~ ~ a r r i e d mother i f insured and she would be eligible for the non-contributory Matern i~y Cash Grant (f4) under the u u a l conditions.

9.1 1 The need for sympalhelic advice :~nd help on l l lc par1 o f welfare authorities and vvlunlary organisations is a first pre-requisite. Tbc object should be to help the nlother to kecp her child i f at al l possible.

. l'he allernatives available should be fully explained and sullicient l ime given to cnahlc her l o co~~sider the problem fully.

Adcqualc benelils wi l l be necessary l o enable lhe u n n ~ a r r i d ~nolhcr l o supporl her child. Housing acco lnn l i h~ ion is oflen a problem.

W h ~ x e !he nlother is willing to work to support her child lhcrc sh,uld he Iacililics l o enable her to have l l ~ c child cared for during wurking hours where daynursery scrvices are nor available. We have in mind here facililies such i ~ s iftc i l ~ a i l i ~ l d c i n llte United Killgdom under the Nursery and Child Minders llegulationn Acl. 1948. A syn~pathelic and helpful approach l o all problems is essential and any hint of discrimina~ion on the par1 o f auhorities. organisalions o r individuals nlusl be rigorously avoided. Social workers shc~uld hc available l o give advice and y q ~ ) r t IU he n~nther to IIIC fullest dcyre.

Con~nttmify Loor1

9.12 The value of the conlribulion which can bc inadc to prevcnlivc work by local organisations c;lnla>t he wcrlooketl. As ;drcady Illc11~ tional. nnen~hers o f visiting organiwtions such ;IS the Society 01 SI. Vincznt de Paul. Ihe Legion of Mary. h e Irish Snuiely fur l l lc I ' rcvenl io~~ of Cruelty l o Childrun and similar charil:tl>le urgmiisaliot~s will o f l c t~ he lhe lirst lu idcnlify funilics in dillicullics awl n a y IIC~II 10 prevenl break-down by linwly advicr: and/or ~ll;rlerial assisl;~ncc. lndividoals such as clergy, d<rlol-s. teachers and club leadcrs imd various ullicials. IN,I lormalty ccmncclcd with strvi;tl work. may ;dsu con~c in contact with lamilies ahowins signs of brwk-down and he inslrunlelllal i n referring such c;rscs 10 l l lc wclfare ;tgcllcies i n 11 llusi- tion to help.

evident. tlcrc. llx wmk is diructcd hy a snci;ll worker working in co-operation will) reprcsenl;~livcs o f 1111: v:lri#,us local org;tnis:llinllr. clergy. G;rnlsi. I'n,h:~liun Ollirers. Sclurd Atlend;~ucc Olliccrs iml individuals intcreslcd ill such work. 'l'he work of lhc L i~ncr ick Social Service Council whcre vuIunt;,ry workers work under IIIC d i r r ~ l i o n o f lrainnl soci:il workers itnd in co-o~er:~l ion wilh Sl i~le anil vo l u~~ la r y organis:itiol~s ill ;ln endmvour to provide a full r;rnge of services l o those i t , nw<l of assis~;mcc. and the similar work k i n g undertaken by Kilkenny Social Centre might also provide guide-lines in lhis area. The nccil f m iidtlilional Social Workers is, o f course. evident.

9.13 Co-ordinatiug Con~n~i l lces s h ~ ~ u l d b~: st1 up with the assisl;~nuc o f the Health Aul l~ori l ies and in lhis way il can be decidml how each person o r organisa~ion c i ~ n be51 conlribule to the welfare of a parli- cu l i~ r case and d u p l i r a l i ~ ~ ~ ~ of services can he a v i d c d I f a volunlary organisation is dealing with a casc. and il is u , i l l ~ i l ~ l l ~e i r ~api~bi l i l ics to help the fan~i ly they should continue tu assist and. il necessary. call upon the services of other organisalions holh State ;rod voluntary.

The aclive involvemen1 o f the conln~unily i n Illis way is fell lo be essential i f prevenlivc work is to prc,duce lhe dcsirud rcsulls.

I. The whole a"n o f thc Child-Care system should be directal towards prevention o f family breakdown and the problems conse- qucnt on it. (9.1)

2 Adqua te social and medical services, and housing facilities should he available to f a d i e s where the children are likely t o come in lo care. (9.2)

3. 'The Child Care Division should hav:: liaison with tllosc likely to encounter at-risk families. (9.3)

4. Where paremr arc inadequate t o wpe wi lh lbeir rcspnsibilitieb: n cy?itom of idenlilication and supporl yhould exist t o deal with the prolmlcm. (9.3)

5. Every assistance should hc given l o fanlilies in difl icultin. 'P11is assistance should not only kx lilinuncial, but slmould also consist o f guidance on budget. domestic and other problcms wel l as advice on social services available. (9.3)

llrukeft llonrer 6. A reciprocal agreement should bc negotiated wi th the Uritish

Aulhorilics to enable anioo to be taken against absconding husbands for vhc enlorcement of maintcnancc orders n~adc in Ireland. (9.5)

7. The law should be revi.sed to provide for the making of :tdequatc nmaintenance orders in cases o l deserlio~~. (9.5)

8. Necessary benefits and support shi~uld be available l o enablc ~ h c remaining parent t o keep rhe filniily togcrlwr. (9.9)

9. Where cithor parent dies o r sul icn prolonged illness. necessary henclils sl~ould be available to cnahle the h m i l y l o be kept together. ('J.9)

I I. ~n unnurricd n l o t lm s l~ould bc cn:bblL.d to keep fler child. i f she wishes. Social Workers should be av:~ilable to help her. To this end :#I1 necessary bencfils. Gnanci:~l. housing. I~onmc-hclp und day- mlnery f;toililies should be avaihble. ((9.1 I )

I?. The work o f voluntary organisations and individwals and of Slalc orginisalions should be co-ordinalcd and given elleol perhaps through the cstablishn~ew of Social Centres and loc;~l Con~nliltces. (9.12) hh

JUI I ISVICI ' ION OVl.il< CI I I I , I ) I< I~N A N D YOUNCi 1'I:KSUNS

10.1 We lcel IIUI ~BL),IY ch:~ngcs 1111111 IIC m:dc in IIIC I:IWS ~ c l i ~ t i i ~ g lo the cnrc a d trcaltncul 01 ol~ildrca. 1\11 such laws slluuld bc examined, brought up-to-dutc :)nd in~orp~11;11d into ;I c0111pOSilC Children Act.

10.2 I n tho e3rlicr ycars o f the ninrlccntl~ cculury there was no b d y of law relating IU the liabilily. I ru ImcnI o r WUIIU~C of ch i ld rc~~.

Since I l la l tinlc d~.tngcr h:wc bcen 'l,ruught a l~ou l by Acts of I'arliamcnl so th:11 l<sl:~y l l ~ c h rv rclnting to c lddrcn ;md young person% can be rcg;~rdctl ;IS dizlinct fnmm l l ~ c l:tw applic:~hlc to adults and the Childrcn's Courls ;Ire dislincl froru ordinary CIIII~IS i n lheir jurisdictiun and procrdurc.

'I'he Sum~nary Jurisdiclion over C ' l ~ i l d r c ~ ~ Acl, IXX.1, ma& i t possildc for Justices 10 dcal with al l childrcu #,r young pcrSoILI i n i t s11m111:lry nlannrvi. but they were. nevcrtl~elwc. dealt will1 in l l lc s:lnlc C w r l \ as adulls.

The Childretl Acl. 1908. os amended hy the Clddren Act. I!NI. rcquircd a Court w h w dealing wilh cl~i ldren under 17 years. lo sil i n a dillcrcet pkrcc or at a dillcrcnt tinbe inm the ordinwy sillings of lhc Court and provides 11131 iltcsc courts sh:~ll hc relcrrcd 11, ;I%

"Juvenile Couns". The Courts of Juslicc Act. 1924. Suclion XO. provided lnr such

speci;d sittings i n 1)ublin. Cork. I.,in~crick ;tnd Waterford to k called Cl~ildrcn's Courts. Duhlin. which has a fall-l ime Court dealing with children up l o 1.5 years and young persons between 15 and 17 years. i\ called the Mrtropol i lan Cl~ildrcn's Court which suggests a ceiling rlf I S yc:m and i t is suggcslcil lhat the h lc l rqxd i l ; t~~ Juvcnilc (1,1111n would be ;I nlcrrc corrccl ilescripliw~.

10.3 Seclion I I I of lhe Cl~i ldrcn r\ct. I'JOX. assigns l o Juvonilc Courts lhc Ilearing o f a l l charges ag:tinst childrctl other 1hi111 charges nmde joinlly asainsl :I child and a pcrwn who 112s a1l:tiwd lhc ncc of I 7 ye;rrs. I l~wever . l l w Mcmywlit;,n (.'l~ildrcn's I :m~rt in l h l d i n de:sIs with olfences alleged lo have hue13 c n ~ ~ ~ m i l l n l hy adults where they are charged jointly will, o juvenilc nr charged with an ollence arising out o l , or related t o an ollcnce w i ~ h which a juvenile is cl~;~rgctl. We feu1 that il is i n lhc cl,ildren's interests that the Children's Courts should continue to de;d with atlullr and chi ldrc~l charged iointly.

l lndcr Seaion 21 (I) of ihc 1908 Act #he court. heforc which a person is convicted o f an ollence listed in h e Firs1 Sclledule o f the A c l should ruluire lhc child who is l l ~ e victim o I (he oClence t o be brought before lhe Children's C o w l as being i n need of care unless there are special reasons l o lhc conlrary. These offences are m a i ~ ~ l y serious offences against the person. including ollcnccs under h e Criminal l..;~w Amendment Acls. IXHS- 1935.

67

' 1 ' 1 ~ ju r id ic~ ion of the ( . ' l~ i ld rc~~ 's '< '~ t t~ r t i t ) dcaling with ;uvcdcs is unlimited excrpt i n cases o f murder <,r n~anslaughler, subjccl l o the right of the juvenile i f he is over 15 ycars of age. or the right of (he parent i f fhe child is under 15 years uf age. l o elect l o bc tried by a Jury in the case of an indictable ollencc.

10.4 l ' hc principles o f criminal l iahili ly have been worked out and enrcssed in terms of knowledre of r i d l t or wronz. The nne at which a person is legally deemed tohave &led such-knowled& varies in dillerent countries from about 7 to I 4 ywrs. For instance, in lhe UNESCO pamphlet "Juvenile Delinquency" published i n 1964, the ages given were 7 i n the United Stales. Y io Israel. 10 in Great Iki lain. 12 i n Greece. 13 i n France and f'uland. 14 i n Austria. I k l g i un~ . Cz~hozlovakia. 111c Federal Kelrul~l ic of Gernlany. Italy. Norway. Swilzerland and Yu~oslavia. The tendency is to revise Il l is age upwards. Fur instance, i t has since been increased to 12 in Urilain. I n this counlry there is an irrebuttablc presumption h a t a cluld under the age o f seven years could not have a guilty mind and so would not have the understandine required for criminal ollcnces. 1:rom Ihe age of 7 l o 15 there i r a rebuttable presumption that a child is cloli inrooar, which means that there is no liability unless the prosecution eslablish knowledge o[ the wrongfulness -of Lhe act. -

The vierv.of this Commitlee is in favour o f raising i11c age o f criminal responsibility but there is insullicienf understanding of what w d d bc llx clkct. Would il Incall ;1 linc bclow which no legal proceedings could be broughl i n respect o f rhc can~mission of an ollence and thal children below that line would "gct oll"? The bclicf o f :I pirticular age giving a dividing line between "gelling oll" and suffer- ing pew l~ ies was essential to the wnunon law. but this is no longer the posiliun. Under h e present law, the ngc of a person dclern~incs tile k ind o l legal proceedings lhat may be taken. but i t never gives a tolel cxemplion from any proceedings. For cxa~nple. a child under x v e n years a n n o t be prusecutnl but circumslances may enable h im LO be brought before the Children's Court 11s i n need o f carc or as k i n g beyond conlrol. AIrer seven there can be a prosecution but special provisions as to courts and procedure govern the acal stages o f seven l o liflcen and liftcen to swenieen. 'l'l~c age also detcrmines Il ic puuishtnenl or o111er forms of lreulmcnl the court may ardcr. I>iflicull considcralions aribe when considering thc child's knowldge of right and wrong. We nlllst think i n t c r m o f Ihc child i n his environn~cnt i!wlnding lhe clinlalc of opinion i n the lalnily group. as wull ss tile physic;ll surroundings. Dillcring environmcnls may l a d l o wide wrialions i n the age at which a child comes to this knowledge so tl lal any rule depending on a lixed ngc alol lnl he a sure fuundation. 'I'he agc u f cr imit~al responsibility wnno l be laid down except as part of h e whute systcnl o f courts and kg21 procmlurcs which may br. inwlved i s pruleclion. conlrol and discipline of children.

hlany of us consider lhat a child lias acquired a reasonably ful l

68

scnsc uf rcspomibi l i~y by 111c lime Ite has reach4 fourtccn ywrs but judging by ihc nutuber of cllildren aged t h i r l c e ~ ~ and fourlmn, who appmr before the courts, 111ese would a p p a r IO be peak-years for juvcnilc delinquency and n~ust k given practical consideralion.

We propose thal as ;in ieil inl slcp the age of criminal responsibility shuul& he iucreascd l u lwclvc years and Iliac al l children under lwelvc yoirs who are alltqed lo have c u ~ n ~ ~ a i t l n l olfcz~cc.\ should 1% I ~ n ~ u g h l k f o r e llae <.'owls a s i n wed C ~ I W , dis3plit1c o r cw11rd with it

special jurisdiclion dasigncd for.t l ic parlicular purpose. Expcricncc 111ay show thal Illis age limit should be raised a1 a k te r stage.

The prescnl provisions undrr which children may be laken into carc are contained i n Section 58 of Children Ad. 1908. and arc XI

out i n Appendix G.

(3) is not reco iv i~~g such care, pr8,Iccti<rn irr guidaucc ss a good pare111 might rms~,nably he enl)~vted to give. o r

lb) who is beyond tile coulrol o f his p:trent or guardian and lhe 1:lck uf care, proleclion o r guid:~nce is l ikely l o c;tu.w ,Ilim unnecewry sullcring, scricwsly l o I his Itenlth U W

p1,ysicsl Jevc l~~p~ncn l , o r .

(c) i f he ic fall ing inlo l ~ a d ; ~ s s < r i : ~ l i o ~ ~ s or is cxpced l o moral danger.

69

I l r . .h l l l t Act. 19.53. 111 [acl, p : i c l i~~ :~ I l y :(I1 IIK l r d u s l r i ~ l SCIKI~~ xrc ,\a approval.

'Nle l leal lh Act Seclion 55 (1) sralcr: "A Ileal111 Authority may provide. in accordance with rcgula~ions. for 111e assistance o f e child to w11on1 this Sub-Sc~tion applies in any of the following ways, that is l o say. (i) by hoarding lhc child oul. I N hy (ii) sending h iw to 3

sclmol approved by 111e Minister or. wlxrc lhc child is not less thau 1.4 ywrs of age. hy arrenging for iris stupluywcnt or by p l i t r i t~g him ill any sui1:thle trade. calling, or businex"

Sub-Section (I) of th i s seaion applies I,, itny child who is eligible for ins~i~ut ional assismnce under Scctiuo 5-1 of 11"s Act and who is:-

(a) A legitirnale child whose father and nrother are dead or who is deserwd by his fallier and inlolhcr or, where one o f l h c n ~ is dead, by the survivor. or

(b) A n illegitiniatc child whose iuulher is d a d or who i s deserted by his mother.

A I i eA lh Authority may, with l l ie approval of the Minister. assist any person eligible fur general assisli~ncc wilhin the n~c in i ng o f the Public Assistance Act. 1939. by doing with the conscsl o f such person and i n accordance with regulations, any of the lollowing things ill respect of any child whon~ sue11 person is liable l o n~aintain under l l ie Public Assistance Acts. 1939. tbat is l o say. boarding the child out. o r sending him l o a School approved hy the Minister or. whcre the child is not less limn 15 y c r r . plilcing hi111 i u any suitable trade. calling. or business. Where a l lcal l l r Authority places under this Section a child in a suitable trade. udling. or business h e authority nray pay such fec or suln as nray bc rnluircd for that purpose, and may support or conlrihute to rhc suppnrl o f the child during any period (including. with the cnusenl of l l ~ e Minister. a period after attaining the age o f 16 years) during which he is cngxgcd i n Icarning lhc grade. c311ing. or businas and. where a child is boarded out or x n t to :I School purauant lo this Section altdns (he age of 16 ywrs. the t l w l l h Aulhori ly may. with the consent of the Minister. arrange for the coniplelion of the child's e d u ~ l t i o n and fur his n~ainwnance while completing his aluwrion.

I t has bcen our experience that very few children in lnduslrial Schools maiolained under the Health Acls have been put forward as suitable for further nlucation. In conlrast. arrangenienls have b w n made for niarly boarded out children l o bt: asds td t o obh in further education and training by the Health Authorilies.

Children Acts

10.12 'I'hc next largest Enmp uf c l ~ i l d re~ l drprivctl of a norrn;~l honie life are those con~n~i t ted to lndustri:~l ur llcfortn;~tory Schools under lhc provision of l l ~ e Children Acls.

Section 65 o l the Children Act. 1908. provides that ~ h c de~enlion order shall specify the lime for which a child may he decdined in any

72

Alreral,r,tc~ o/ I ' ~ c ~ , r l s mr Corrrl

10.13 Scclion 9X o l l l ~ c Act pro\,idcs i h r l when ";I child or young person i s c l~argrt l with any ollencc t lr is. for any oll,cr re;m,tl. hrougl~l before l l ic court his p r e n l (r g1,;1,di:111 w l y in iiny case :III~ sl~illl. i f Ire c:ln hc founil and rcsidcs witlaill :I rc:tson;tblc disl:u~ce. and lhe person SO cl~;~rg?d o r 11n,11ghi bcfcvc lhe c w r l is a child. he r cqu i r d I,, :~llend ;!I IIK u w r l brforc u l l i c l ~ 111c rinse is 11c;lrd :)I all sl;tgcs of IIx prowcdiuys. ulllcss lhe courl is r:~l i \ l icd th:11 i t w t ~ l l d I,c unrcas<,n- able lo require his i l l l~nd:~ncc"_ 11 is l h ~ p:fircuI " l~i tving ilclu;il conln,l" 01 IIIC.. child <,r )~<NI I I~ pcr>tln rvh<) i s r qu i r cd 1 0 allend and. i f 11~11 perh<m is not t l ~ c lslhcr, lhc htthur may 1)c rcquiml 10 ;IIICIIJ.

When n child or jwung person i s :~rreslrd i t is the duty of i hc Card:) in charge o f l l ~ e G;~nla Slation l o which he is hrouglll. lo warn the pnrcllls I<, :ltlend tllc Collrl when l l ~ child c,r young person appears.

Though Scclion 08 :I~I)C:I~S 1 0 give l l ~ Court D ~ C ~ U : I I C ppwer lo secure 111e attcnd;incc 01 110th [x!rc~ils wl~cre ncccsrary. frcque~,tly tmly one parenl. us11:11Iy lhe III(,IIICT. :I~~C; ITS. 11 i s i~upmtmtt t h t p:trcnls sllould :lppreci:tlc l l lcir rcc l r~wi l~ i l i l i cc lownrds their ch i l d ru~~ :,rid when the p rw i l y o f the case st, warranls, the attendance o f both parcnls should ire necessary :$I C<wrl w l ~ n lhcir child's c;ue is being hcard.

We rccomnicnd that Scnion OX w l l i r l ~ refers ,lo "parent" in IIIC

73 1:

Appcrrl /rum Chi!rlre,r'r Corrrrr

1U.11 A n appcal lies to the Circuit Court against most of ,the decisions of t l ~ c Clddrcn's Court itntl i ~ p p a l s against CUIIV~C~~OIIS

are hy way o f retrial but the special provisions which govern the constitution and prwedure o f the Cnildren's Court do nut cxlcnd to the Circuit Court. We recommend Illat the Circuit Court sl,ould he specially constituted when hearing appeals from Children's Courts. 'Chis would, in effrct, mean special siMillgs of the Circuit Court. froni whioh the public would be excluded. to deal with appeals from children.

F i r i ntal Con~pormliorr

10.15 The present l imits o n the anlounts that Cuurts niay i m p o ~ c in l i n n u p n or award as cosls or compensation. ng:~inst clddren or young ollenders, s'vm l o us to be unrualistic. Fo r example, the n ~ a x i n ~ u m line which may be impnscd on a chi ld under 15 years i s f2: and on a young person of 15 or over the m a x i n ~ u n ~ fine .is f 10.

Similarly. where a probation order is made at the same time as an order for damages o r compensation. the maximum damages wh io l~ may be awarded are f 10.

These limits are now too low and should be raised substantially.

Period of Dele~nion

10.16 l 'hc period lo r which a child ruay be logally delained i n an Industrial School is called the period of detention and is delerntinnl by the Couit.

Seotion 65 01 the Children Acl prwides that the period o f detention shall be such lime as the Court may deem proper for the teaching and training o f the child but not in any case extending beyond the time when ihe child will. in the opinion o l the Court. attain the age o f 16 years.

Seotion 12 of the Children Acl. 1941. providw: that the Minister for Educ;llicw nlay extend Illis l ime 111 17 years with the coi~scnt o f the parrlrts. surviving parent, mother (in UK oase of an illegitimste child). or guardian o f t'he child to wltorn such direction relates.

10.17 The period for which a y o w ~ l ~ f u l offender ntay be legally detained i n a Reformatory School is called the period of detention and is dmermined by Slalule. i.c. M i o n 65 of the Children Act as

74

amended by Section I I of 10-I I p~ovides that the pcriod $11 dctc~uiun shall be not less than iwo y u r s :!nd not more l'llan four years, but not i n any case cxtcnding beyond lhe time when the youthful ollender wi l l i n tltc opinion of tltc Court. attain the age or 18 ycars.

10.18 "l'llc period lor whicll a child nlay bc lzgally ~ I~1 I : i i n~d in ill) 111dustri:il Sul~onl under the Sclluol Aueudancc Act. 19?6, appears to bo the s:inlc as under S~x l i o l l GS(b) of the C l ~ i l d r c ~ ~ Act. I!JOX. but. in practice. 1111: C w r l s :1pp~ilr to hold that detention m;ly not extend beyond the date when the ohild will, i n the opioicm oI tltc Court. ;tll:bin the age or 1-1 ycars.

.,'ll,l,l 10 C;IS'S s~n~cnces arc IUII lung e n u ~ ~ g l ~ i c , i ~ l l ow :my r~mct l i i d . . . Ire ~ r r i ~ . d 0111 SO that children or young persons arc rcturncd to their origin;~l environment in as had i f not :I worse condi~ion d m when they left it.

I t is clear. tllercfore. lha l no hard and fast rule can he laid down as to length of con~militals : ~nd that they sl~ould vary to suit lhe individual cases. For lhis reason we recommend that the minimum l imi t of 2 years laid down i n Section 65 of the Children Act. 1908. should hc removed so tlmt i n speci:tl cases a ohild may be committed for less than 2 ycars.

Rdc-are

10.20 T l x r e ale dillerent ways in which a child o r young person who lias hccn commitIuI n u y he relmsed from lnduvtrial and Reformatory Schools.

( I ) I l y discharge to I'arents or Guardian.

' (2) O n Licence.

(3) On Supervision.

(4) I3y Order o f the Minister.

10.21 This applies l o youthlul ollrndcrs who are relrased hy tllc d o o l nmnagcr bcforo their [xr iod of detention has expired. [Jnless

75

IIIC II&.CIICE is ~ev t l l cd 1 1 ~ . r~.lll:lim 0 1 1 l i ~ w i c ul l l i l .,uL-II l ime its his l x r iud uf <lelcnlion would have expired 'l'llc legal posiliun regarding rule:tse on licence is nhal whcrc a you t l~ fu l olfendcr o r c h i l d is delaincd i n a Cerlilied S d ~ o o l tho M:111ager o f the School m:ty any lime with lhe consent of the ,Minister lor Education or after the expiradon o f 6 monll~s without any c m w t l . by licence permit the ulfcndcr or child lo live with any lruslworthy and rcspecl:11)1e person 11:1n1cd ill the licence and willing 1 0 rccciv; a t d i:Ae c l l a r ~ e o f him.

Any licence so granled shall be in furcc unl i l revoked or furfcilad by lhe brc;~ch of any of 111c conditions on wl~ic11 i t was granlcd.

1:ronl 111c ligurrs shown at Appendix E i t is apparenl that lltc licensing system is being u d only in very rare wses. This may i n some instances be due l o the dillicullies which managers experience in contactiog. without the aid of an aftercare service, suilablc petsons l o accept the child or il may be due l o a reluctance l o relc;lsc a child and huller a reduction i n the capit;hion fee payable to a sc11c)ol. Whatever the reason. it is obviously rugrcttable that the l icu~~sing system is not ud more exlcnsively and i t is an a s p M of the system l o which the Child Care Division should pay particular allention.

10.22 l'his applies to a youlhful ollender who is released (roo, car\: aflcr his period o f detenlion has been completed.

The legal position is that every youtldul allcndcr sent t o a Certilied Rcforma~ory School shdl remain under the supervision o f the Managers o f the School up lo the age of 19 years. and i f the Min is~er lo r Educalion. after consultation with h e Managers o f the School. directs il lat i~ is necessary for the p ro la t ion and welfare of the youthful offender that the period of supervision should be extended for a specilied period not exwal ing 2 years. be shall remain under the supervision o f the Managers for the period so speci6ed.

10.13 Every child sen1 l o an Industrial Sclmol sltall remain under the Supervision of the Managers of the Scl~ool from the expi ra l iw o f the period of detention until he nllains llrc agc o f I 8 ywrs and. i f llte Minister for Education, after consullalion with the Managers, directs ll lat i t is necessary for the protecliotl and welftlre o l the c l d d (hat lhe period of his supervision should be extended for a period specilied i n such direclion not exceeding three y w s , he shall remain under the Supervision of the Managers for lhc period so spcxilial.

10.24 Where the Managers have gr:lnIril a Supervision Cer l i l i c l~e 10 iuty perwn 18nder their supcrvisioi~. 111cy may r ~ v ~ l l mch pcrsoj,. i f of the opinion that llre recall is necessary for such person's prolec- timl. and WCII pcrson may he delaincd lhc Scl~ool for a perivd 1101

exceeding three monlhs and may. at any lime. be again placed o u ~ a Supervision CedEcate.

76

The Minisler for Education may, at any time, order a child or youthful ollender under the a r e o f the Managers of n Cer~i l icd School l o be dixlrarged and lhe Managers have 110 lu r l l~er responsi- bil ity lor him.

10.25 ' fhe Scl~ool hl;~n;~gcrs s l~ouhl l~:tve a duly 10 release a ynulhful olfcndcr or child 1111 S t~p~rv is ion Cerlilicate as soon as he has nladc sullicicn1 progrcss i n his tr:tit~ing. and the Man;~gcrs should lake a dccp personal inlcresl ill lhe progress of each child cornn~ i l le~ l l o llrcir care with a view l o gr ; tn l in~ Supervision Cerlilicate as ezrly as possible.

W e have CUIIIIII~III~~ clscwl~crc on the l in~ i ta l ims o f the present aftercare system and llte steps necessary l o nuke il effcclive.

(61'01) 'sluaA z ucq~ ssq loj pall!mluo> aq Kcm plnla e sasm ls!wds u! lcql 0s pnoum aq plnoqs '8061 'lav ua~pl!~ 3111 jo 59 UO!I~S u! umop p!q s1ua.4 z jo t!ru!l urnlu!u!m aq.L '91

(L~I) xos~ad SunoK JO plmJ qms Bu!maluas u! apt 01 asInoJ iqm Oupxp u! uoslad 8unoA lo ppqa aql jo a1eJlam at11 01 pie% aneq plnoqs sllnog .g

(9'01) .~aSuep 1nom 01 psodra s! lo Kued~uos peq ow! Su! -11ej S! aq J! JO 'luamdopnap [mniqd lo qlpq sy imp 01 Alsnopas '9y~aljns Klessaxuun m!q asnn 01 Klayl s! awep!n4 lo eo!lwI -old 'xn jo y~cf aql pue 'ue!p1cn8 lo slualed s!q jo lolluos aql puoKaq s! oqm lo 'an9 01 palxdxa aq AlqaumeaJ lr@m lualcd poo9 c sc a~uop!nS lo UO~JIOJ~ 'am qms 8u!n!am1 IOU ale oqm s~ca.< LI lapun ua~pl!rp ~I!M pap 01 uo!~~!pspn! alq!ssod sap!^ aql sllnoj aql ay.7 01 F~)IIJIUU aq plnoqs '8061 'IJV II~JPI!~~ aql jo 8s uo!lq -9

(VOI) 'SalUOH il!!.Xld~ 01 p311!Lll -ruo~ aq II~~!III ualpl!q> 11.q .aJua#o. uc JO pa~~!nuo~ puc paw:, -asold aq 01 alqeg aq ~a3uol ou ppoqs ZI Japun p~qa v .smX ZI 01 pas!u aq plnoqs K~!l!q!suotlsa~ II!U!III!J:, jo a8e runtu!uy arl~ .t.

no~lrdinf i Our

11.1 Must child care workers n<lw bulicvc that Boarding-Out is I,) be preferred l o placement in a I lo tue and this is the policy of 111c Department of Health. Some l iealt l~ authorities make every effort t o arrange for this, as laid down i n the Boarding-Out of Cllildren Regulations. 1954.

A t present. there are approximately 1.100 children hoarded out under the provisions o f the Health Acts and a further 3W) undrr lhe provisions of the Children Acls. l h c health authorities select the foster parents, place the children and vihil thc foster homes ;it regular inlcrvals. T h i s work i s suprvised by two Department o f t lesl lh inspectors who visit the local :lulhnrilics from lime 11, time. ?bc r:~les paid hy 111c wrious local i ~ u l l i ~ r i ~ i c s i n rcspcxt o f boarded-out children vary from 00- fa0 a year. I n addition a clothing allowanoc of f20-f26 per annum i s paid and pocket money may bc allowcd.

The regulations governing tlie care of boarded-out children allow of the u p w r age l imit o f 16 years being extended l o include cl~i ldren receiving full-time training o r educativn and those children may be n~:~intaincd and cloll~ml, their school fees paid, school boc,ks pru- vidcd. and transport cosls dcfmyed where neccssary.

11.2 We have referred elsewhere i n this Reporl to the necd for an efficient prevention system which would often ohviatc the nrcessily for placing children io care whclhcr by k,nrding-out or otllcrwise. Where il appears necessary to hoard-oul a child. Ilowcvcr. every effort muct be made to cnsure the success of the placcmrnt. thc suit- ability o f the foster-parents and the rcgul:tr inspection o l ihc child's progress. Each case should be rcviewctl at intervals hy lhe Child Care I)ivisi<m. hearing in t n i ~ d the possibility o f lhc returt~ o f the child lo his family at the earliesl possihle date. where this is feasible. As things stand at present the responsil~ility for boarding oul rests with the Health Aulhority. In some imlances the Counly M;~n:~ger or Counly Secretary may deal directly with cases, in others, hey may delegatc the aulhorily to other ollicers on the staff, e.g. a C l~ i ld r~m's O fke r . a Staff Officer or a Public Ilc111h Norse. We are s;~tislied Illat the standard o f !he boarding-out system varies cunxidcrably in different areas and l l l i s must n l all costs bc avoided. A fnilurc in bnnrding-out may have a 1raum:ltic elfect on a child because i t nie:tns, in k~c t . that for a second lime at leart. hc i s hcing rejectcd.

Casts Ilave come to the nolicc of the Cot~tniit lee i n which children h:!d lrccn 1mar~lal.out with unsui~ablc i:~milies. Every cllort s h o ~ ~ l d be made l o avoid such platings. 1:aniilies applying for children

80

must he carefully investig;rtcd and child and family iwalchcd as far as possible. Children. before plncement. shw ld be medically and mcnlally assessed and those i n nccd of special trratnlent sent to the appropriate institution. I t is fclt Ihal an incrcase in nuinlenancc allowances is necessnry hul every care should be taken to ensure that a'child i s not being accepted for brmrding-out becau5c s prolit might :rccrue l o Lhc fostcr-p:trel\ts.

11.3 Sdm, l A r r cd r r , , ~ : 011 a recent date thurc wcre 27 children in Inductrial Schools who h;td been cnnm i l l u l u n d g the provisions or the School Anendance Acts. 'I'hc Comrnittce aon\idered sub- missions and oral evidencc with regard l o llte provisions of llle Acts and their implenientation.

The School Attcnd:tncc Ar t , 1926. ~rrovidcs lor (1) thc issue of a warning notice to parents (ailing to srnd children to schnol. (2) the lining of parents w lw foil to comply with such w:~rning, (1) tlie conimilt:~l ul the child 10 an indus1ri;tl scl11101 or to tltc care of a fit person i f the court s o decide\.

I t would appear from lhc sl:ltc of i l l i l c~ t cy o f nl:uny children rmcll- ing inctituliom thal lltey.l~:!ve not :!llcndcd SCII~OI r~gul:irly illld th:lt the Act i s not being fully enforced.

I n collntry ;~rc;ss, il II~CIII~CI~ td' llx (;:brdi$ SiocllAnii is :~pp~li l l tcd to perfornt the lunclionc of Sclmd Atlcnd:lncc Ollicer. I n vicw of the m;tny and diversc duties which ;I Garda is called upon to do i t seems inevitable t l~nt such :! functiw as looking after school attendance mllst suffer. I n srrnle cilics Sclrool A I l ~ . n ~ l : ~ n c ~ ~ ('ornmirlces appoint individuals to act in this c:~p:~cily. I n I h~h l i n , for insta~icc. lltcre arc live cuch C'untn~irlccs r:tch adtrrinislcring its awn arca of the city and acting indupcedently of LYB~II othcr. 'llicse Con~rnillccs employ twcnly-nine Scl~,nl Al1rrd:~ncc Ofliccrs la carry out tllc work. A dillioulty i s l l ~ t Sclmol Attcnd;~ncc Ofliccrs mxy not opcr:ttc nutridc their own i'cm~~nittce's :IIC:I c v m lor llx p r p c w of following up olli.ndc~s WIN, clwngc ~CS~LICIIUU 110111 on(: :*rc:1 10

another. So f a r a s we cart :wxrtxin Ihcy du nc~t co-opcrate with one another. 3'11is nicaws th;iI i f :k child has n)ihwJ school for. Sdy. six montlw and his f:~mily movm l o i~nol l ier area. he can dart a f ~ e s l ~ abscnling himself from schnd in 1 1 ~ t arc:, jllsl as i f he had never been ahrent txlore.

I t h:ls been rcprcsented 10 us th;w cer1;tin scctions of i l ~ e Acls :arc: not enf<,rccablc and i t is rmommcndcd t I ~ 1 thc Acls Ix reviewed in lhc light 01 e~perience. l 'he Sorlnat of I:orm No. 3. which is com- plcted hy te :dms in respect of :8l,%cnlees. requires sintplific:~tiim :III~

a11 1e:dlcrs sl~ould 1x fully iltslrucled in ils use. A rcvised Warn- I : N,,licc SII~III~! I i n 1 w ~ i t r d i t ~ g ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~ : ~ l t c n t l i t ~ l ~ e of chil- drem ' 1 ' 1 ~ N,tlice s11011ld l~ I ~ l ~ ~ f u l ~ I I ~ c.~pI;tt~xtc~ry ra l l x r 111au thrc, i~e~~ing.

Ilawcvcr. where lincs 011 p:!rrnts arc i ~ ~ ~ p o d hcsc sl~ould he r l i s i ' l ' l~crc i* ;I need for grc:alcr li:ii\on hctwcon le:~chers and %-Ihol Allmdancc Olliccr<. I t is fell I l lat Schoc,l Al1end:~nce

81

11.4 Pcrsislcr~l absence from school may be one of .$he early warning bians of \he exislence of Ia~tril ies and children in dillicultirs. Such d i k u l t i c s nlay be physical, psychiatric: o r psyoltological. Early ,

identilication of and ircalmeui o f l l ie causes will. ~hercforc. Ix flcccxsxry i f break-up of the f:>ntily is to I,c avuided. Olher possiblc causes arc many and varied. Ill~tcss. inadequate parenls. uncmploy- Inen1 of thc Ia~hcr and the mulller working, indi l ferena of tllc paranls l o ducal ion may al l lcad t o ;~bsence o f onc or more of the children from school. The child mny bc experiencing difficullies at school, may have physical disabilities such as hearing or sight dcfects. Backwardness may make i t difliculi for h i m to keep up will1 his class. unsuitable I ~ome conditions may make i t impossible to prepare b o n w wurk with consequent rr lucunce l o ;iltcnd school.

Such cases niust be identified a1 the earliest stage and referred 10

lhc appropriare agencies for assistance whether by way o f family support or medical or psyahiatric lrcauncnt of the child. The S d m d Psychological Service, wliich should be develupd lurlhcr. could play an imporlanl part i n (this field.

'fhc problem o f School Amndance w i l l become more acule will1 the raking o f the school leaving age l o 15 ohis year and wi l l be ernericnced nmre a1 the Pusl-Prinrnrv lcvel than a1 " r a n t .

Doording-Our

I. I n Ihc case uf I,o:~rdi~~g-uut o r Iu>tcr:tgc p;trliculilc C ~ I ~ C s l ~ ~ u l d be taken to enwrc t11:ti the 'inlcrcsls of ihe d ~ i l d arc p;tran~ou!~t and that thurc is no queblion of his Ocillg exploited. ( I 1.2)

S C I , ~ ~ Al l<~~l , / , l l l~c

3. ' I I A ~ n l i n c S ~ I C O I is nu1 wo,kiq: s:~l i*facl~ri ly a ~ d requirts re.exan~in;ition. 'fhe Scl~ool At1end:mcc Acls sl~ould. ~ l ~ c r c - forc. be reviewed :IMI r e v L ~ d wlure nec~l ' i~ t ry . (11.3)

4. Suhool Ar1cnd;lncc Olliccrs yltould have sllnle lraining ill swidl work and their ti l le s110uld be changed l o S c h ~ , l Welf:~rc Ollicer. (1 1.3)

5. Truancy o r non-aucndance at school are oflen the earliest signs of fantily break down. A l l such cnxs should. Ihercfore, hc i n - vestigald w i lho t~ l delay. ( 1 1.3)

I. Cerlilicalion of Schools.

2. Withdrawal o f Certificates.

3. Approval of School Ru la .

4. Approve1 of Alteralions elc. l o buildings.

5. Making o f Regula~ions for the conduct of certified schools, in par l icu lx rcgulations nuking provisiun i n relaGon to (he education and training lo be given l o children there and the safeguarding of their hwlth. Thcsc regulations may be l ran~ed so as l o apply to one or more certilied school or any class or classes o f schools.

6. Making of Regula~ions prescribing the remuneration o f olliccrs of certilicd schools.

7. Discharge conditionally o r uncondilionally of a child under detention.

8. Revocation. where deemed necessary. o f a conditional discharge.

9. Extension of detention of a child for the purpose of con- pleting an educalional course.

10. Discharge front supervision or extension of period of supervision up to 2 years after an ollcnder i n a refomlatory re:~ches I 9 years of age.

I I. Tr;msfcr of a child f r o n ~ one Industrial School to mother. or from a Refornlatory to an Induslrial School or from an lndus-

' tr ial to a Rcfornmory School.

12. Subject l o the approval of the Minister for Finance, fixing the amount of direct Governmcn~ cnntrihutions towards the n~ain- tenance and eduwtion of children delained in these scbwls. and will1 the consent also of lhe hlinisler for L.oca1 Govern- nlent l i r ing the amounls p:~yahls hy Local Au thor i~ i rs for childrcn for w l~on l they arc l i a l k

11. Rcn~i \> i tw nf ~~aynlcnls ordered l o IIL: 111:rde by parctlts.

14. Sending ~ o u l h f u l ollenders cwdit ion:~l ly p:firdnned to Refor- matory Schools.

15. l ' l w inal ing of various ordcrs and rcgulations.

41

I. hlr. Micllacl McGr;~th. I ? M c l > o ~ ~ : ~ g l ~ Slrect. Ncnagh. 2. Miss Kcbecra M. llyinn. L'Rosc~illc", The G ~ O V C . NCW I.inc.

lhnp,;#rvar~. 3. Mr. Richard I'owcr. 41 Rocku l~am. 1'crryb;tnk. Waterford.

4. M i s s M. C. I'rendergast. St. Patrick's I lospit i~l . James's Slrcet. Dublin.

5. 'Mrs. Alys Goodbody. Clara. Ollaly.

6 . Mr. Drcnd:m l ~ l u e , r;7 S i l c I ~ ~ ~ c r I'itrk. Gletlagcary. Dublin.

7. Industrial all11 Rclorn~;~tnry Scltnol I < c d r n l Managers' Associa- tion.

8. Los Angelcs Socicly. 26 A r r n ~ ~ 01my. Dublin.

9. Gdway I lcalth Authority.

10. Knights o l SI. Colun~ba~~us. Ely Iloure.

I I. Society o f St. Vincent rle Paul. 12. St. hlary's Adoplion Snciuly. Kill:~rncy. 13. Church of l re l :~ rd Sucial Sr~vicc. 39 hlo lc~worth Slrcet. I hb l i n . 14. Civics lnsli lutc of irelaod. 20 North I:rederirk Strcct. Dublin. IS. SI. Josep l~ '~ Scl~ool. Mercy Cg,nvent. Mallow.

16. Irish hlcdical Associ:,ticrn. 10 1:ilrwillinm Placc. Dublin. 17. Namreth Iloure. Sligo.

18. St. Colman's Scllod. Kushbrooke. Cork.

19. St. hlichacl's Industrial School. Convrnt of Mercy, Wexford.

20. Irish Association of Social Workrrs.

21. l inigl l ls o f St. ~ ~ h n l l ~ a r l u s (Supplallenlary Report).

22. A Group of North Ihl, l in C:i~y You111 Clubs.

23. Mr . Ian Ik t r t . Ec tm~,nk : ~ n d Social I<cse:~rch Insti~ute.

24. Rardas Atha C l ia t l~ (Koinn l:rra\~ail Scoilc).

25. Mr. Brian Doolan. 26 Glca:~bl ry Knad. Mount Mcrrion. Dublin.

26. Wil l iam A. Tormey. District Jurticc. Athlonc.

27. Galway God-l'arenls' Associnlion.

28. 'I'. G. A. Ilorke. IXslrict Justicc. G:dlway.

2 . InJu*lr i :~l id l<ef0r111:111)ry Sclh~t~ls I<CS~~L.II~ h l i t r ~ i ~ ~ c r s ' A S S C I ~ ~ ~ . t i w . (l'rbp7s:tls for in~111c~Iiale i n l p l c ~ ~ l s ~ ~ t a l i o ~ ~ . )

32. Voluntary Advibory Body. St. Jo~eph's. Killarnry.

33. MIS Donohoe and Doylc. Welfare Services Department. Dubli~l Heallb Aulhorily.

34. Dublin Institute far Adult Education.

35. lncorporatcd L.aw Society of lrcl;~nd.

36: Fr. Leo McCormack O.P.. Uumitlican Boys Ilon~e. 20 L.ower Donlinisk Street. Dublin.

37. Very Kcv. William O'Bricn. I'rovincial. Ohlates of Mary Imniaculale.

38. Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry (Irish Branch).

39. Dr. R. A. McGrthy. Medical Superintendent. Our .I.ady's Ilospilal. Cork.

40. Mr. John McLaughlin. Clliel Clerk. Dublin Metropolitan Children's Court.

41. hfr. J Z I I I ~ C S h ld .o~~ne. Di:~p<\stic~ ; i ~ ~ l Assessn~cnt Clinic, I l en~mw, Co. Galway.

42. Institute of Professional Civil Svrvants. Welfare Otiicers' Branch. 64 Adclaide Road. Dublin.

Oral Sab,~~irrio,zs

43. Mr. G . Lamb, Information Ollicer. Dcpartn~ent of Social Wel- fare.

44. Miss E. Murray. Children's Section. Department of llealth.

45. Olliccrs and Membcrs of lhe Adoption Board. 46. Rev. Fr. O'Doberty. Profcsror of Logic and Psychology.

University College. Dublin.

47. Mrr. Alys Goodbody and Mrs. Dunne. Ollaly I r i d~ Country- woman's Association.

48. MIS F. J. Donohoc and J. J. Doyle. Welfare Ssrviccs Depart- ment. Dublin Health Authority.

49 Mr. Brian Callinan. Secretary. and Mrs. McParlland. I.S.P.C.C.

50. Mr. Noel Clear. Welfare Oficer. St. Palrick's Inslitution.

51. Mr. Martin Tansey. Welfare Oficer. Mountiov Prison. . . 52. Very Rcv. Fr. Pierce, P.P.. Chairman. Glholic Youth Clubs

Guild Association. 53. Rov. Fr. Cnrcy. Secrclary. Cillllolic Youlh Clubs Guild

Associ;~tion.

54. Representatives, Irish Congress ol Trade Unions.

55. hlcssrs. Swmncy. I'arlcy and Ollicials. Natio~~al Kel~abilitati~,r~ Board.

56. Messrs. O'Neill. I k l e ~ , and lxooord. Deparlment of Labour.

86

and her c h i l ~ . 16. llillc Sliinte. 1969. 17. I3ooklcts. " Adopliw~ I',occdurcs." l'clling the Cl~ild (Catl~olic

I'roloctio~l ;tnd Rescue B~ciety). IS. Ilonklet-l'ri~ctical 'l'ritiniug in Approved SCIIODIS for 130)-s

(Honie Ollice). 19. Boarding-Out o l Childrun (S~.olland) Rcgu1:ltions. 1956. 20. Ilooklc~ " Prolection do la Merc CI de L'Enfant." 21. Bulletin: World Union nf Organisations for the Safegu:lrd of

Youth. 22. "Case WcBrk in Cldd (hue "-Jmn Kaslcll (Koulledge o ~ d

Kcgan Paul). 23. Children Act. 1908. (II.M.S.O.) 2 Childrcn and Young Persons Act. 1933. (Ii.M.S.0.) 25. Children and Young Persons Acl. 1956. (H.M.S.O.) 26. Children and Young Pcrswis Act. 1963. (H.M.S.O.) 27. Cl~ildren ACI. I??# 1II.M.S.O.) 28. Childrw Act. 1958. 0I.M.S.O.) 2 Children in 'i'rcrolrlc--l'~nl,ne,ls inr Reforms in the Law. 19(,X.

(tl.M.S.0.) 30. Children ;,nil Young I'crsolls Doarding-Out (N.I.). 1950. 31. Children and Young Pcrsons-Welfdre Authorities (N.I.)

35. Children and Young Pcrsams Act (N.I.). 1950. 36. Children and Young I'crs<u~s Ilill. 1969. (H.M.S.O.) 37. Child Welfare Acl o f Swedc~~. 38. "C l~ i l d l ~oud ;mi ,\dolc~ccncc" J. A . l ladlield Il'clican

Books). 39. " Cl~ldhood and Society." Er ik 1:rickson (Peliwn Uooks). 40. "Chi ld Care Needs and Nun~bcrs." Dr. J a n Packman (Allcn

and Unwin). 41. "Chi ld Vic l i~ns of Sex OIk~~ces . " T. C. N. Gibb iw and

Joyce Prince. (I.S.T.D.) 42. Cuurts o f Jurlice Ac!. 192.4. 43. Con~n~issio~; of Inquiry into 1 1 1 ~ I<cforrn:~lory and lnduslri;~l

Sol~ools System. 1934-1936. 44. " Cun~prcl~cnsive l:iluc;~~ion ill l31gland and Walcs." T. G .

Monks. (N.F.1I.R.) 45. Criminal L a w An~cadmcnt Arts. 1885.1935. 46. Crinlinal Juaice Adn~inistration Act. 1914. 47. Criminal Justice Acl. 1948. (Il.hl.S.0.) 48. Criminal Juslice Acl. 1961. (H.M.S.O.) 49. " I l c l~n~ark -A new look ;&I Crime." James B. McWl~ionic.

(I.S.T.D.)

50. l lducat iw~ Acl. 194. (1l.M.S.O.)

51. " L X ~ ~ ~ i v e o c s s of Puni\h~ncnt :~nd Other hlcasurei o f .I.~C;~I- 111ent " (COUIIE~~ of Europe).

52. l lxpl: lnat~~ry LwflcI-Kcf~,rn~;rtory and lnduslrial Sullllols. 3 I;;~~uily Alluwancc and Na t i ow l lnsura~~cc ,\el. 1956.

(Ii.M.S.0.) 51. Federal Prob;rtio~~ M:~gaziw 3 / 0 8 , 9/68. 3/69. 6/69. 55. I'oslcr I-lww Care-I.icls ;rnd I:;dhcies. K o s c ~ ~ ~ a r y D i ~ ~ n a ~ e

and M. L. Kcllmer Pringlc (I.ongmans). 5 . " 1l:mdling o f Juveniles f r o n ~ Otlencc l o Dispositioz~." Vuls. I.

2. 3 (U.S. Deparl~ncnt of lleallh). 57. I h m c Ollice I':tn~phlel-Resi(lc111ial Care of Childrco a ~ d

Young I'crwns. 5 . I~OIIIC Ollicc Mcn~or;~odut~~-Jt~\.cnile Oflenders :tnd t l ~ t~se ill

nrud of Cxc . I'rolcctiun :~nd ~11~111101 ( E n ~ l a t ~ d and W;~le~).

59. Inter-DcparlmenlaI C o ~ ~ ~ m i t l r e on lhe Prevention of Crilllc and l'rc;~ttncnl of Ollcnders. Sumlllnry o f l<rcoo~~~~eo(Iat ions (1963).

l-cg;~l Slalus of l ' l w l 'uta~ive l ~ ~ l l ~ c r - l ~ ~ ~ c r ~ ~ ; ~ ~ i ~ ~ r ~ ~ ~ l and (:ow. ~x~t : t l ive I.aw Oui~rlerly. " h l i ~ l i ~d ju> l~x l I h ~ p . ' ' OIIG> I.. Sluw (Allen and Unwix~). MCIIII~II~UIII O I I Ch i td l c~~ ' \ IILIIIICS ( S c ~ l t i s I ~ HUIIIC Dcpart- n1eot). Men~orandun~ OII l l ~ c lk,;rrdi~~g-l JII~ of Children (Scatlish l i o n ~ e 13eparunenl). Menlol Heal111 Acl. IW'I lII.h4.S.O.) Ministers ;rod Sc~re1;tries A d . 1024. Na~ion;~l Organisalion for I<cl~;~l~i l i la~ic)~~-I leport. " Norn~a l Child. The." C'. W. V;~lentine (L'eliwn Books).

71. Nurseries ;rnd Child Minder's Rcguls~ions Act. 1938. (tI.M.S.0.)

72. Ollenccs Againrl lhe l ' c r su~~ Act. I X G I . 73. Oideas: Iris II;I Koinne Oid~~achais. Fomhair. 1968. 74. " I'enal Praaice i n 3 Changing Society." (I.S.T.D.) 75. Prevention of Crime Acl. 1908. 76 Prohation o f Ollcndcrs AL.I. 1907. 77. "Prcscnt Cul~ducl and I'ulurc Delit~qucncy." D. J. Weal

(Hcin~nnnnn). 78. " Psychomclric Assers~~~cnt of llrc l~~d iv i r lua l Child." R. Dudley

Savage. 79. Public Assialallce Acl. I91'I. 80. '' Punis l~nwu~ '' I'l'hc ( ' IRI~I Iniur~n;bliot~ Ollicc). 81. Keceplion C .en t rCs - I I ~~~~~c Ollicc Memorandum. 1948. 82. Reformalory Scl~ools ( Y o ~ ~ l l ~ f u l Oliendcrs) Act. 1854. 53. Refornmatory Scl~ools Acts. 1858. 84. Report: Cal l~ol ic Protcclion and K e . ~ u c Sociely. 85. R q w r t 01 A n I h r d IJcIII;II~. 31 / 12/66. 86. Kcpon on lhc Work of l l lc C l i i l d r c ~ ~ ' ~ Dcparlmcnt. 1964.66,

(H.h4.S.O.) 87. Kcpurt of l l ~ c Care of C l ~ i l d ~ c n Cotnn~illce. 1946. (H.M.S.O.) 88. Kepo r~ : C l ~ i l d r c ~ ~ ilnd Y o u ~ ~ g Pcrs(>ns: Scotlad. 89. Kcport: Internalin~l;~l Children's Centre. 1966. 90. Kc(a1r1: Kc*idcnlial Carc 14 Children and Young I'eoplc-

I l cme Ollice Piln~phlels. 91. Rcpim: Resitlcnlial Child Cxre. I:acls and F;dl;~cies.

Rosc~uary D in~~ i tgc itml M. I.. KCIIIIICI I'ringlc (I.ongnt:~~~x). "2. l < o i # ~ ~ ~ 1 . e : ~ Sl~ t~ i~ i : t l ;~ ig l~ - - ' l ' ~~ :~ r~ ts~ : t i l (16)63/66).

89 C

96. Social 0evi;mcy Amoog Youth (National Sociuty f t ~ r t l ~ e Slud!. of Education).

. . Social Work and the Conl f l~uni ly (Scottisl~ Educ~tio41 Dep;~rl. IIICII!~).

Social Work (Scotland) Act. 1963.

Sun~mary Jurisdiclion over Children Act. 1884.

Sun~nlary of Social Insurance and Assistiance Services.

Summary of the Health Services. Sunlnlary o f Welfare Authoritieb (N.1.). Returns at 31 1 3 / 6 7 .

Sun~rnary of Volunhry Honles lleturns (N.I.) at 31/3/67, " Stamford Housc R c n m d I lonlc "-Architect's Journal. January. 1969.

106. "Suspended Sentence. Proha~ion and other al~rrnatives to I'rison Setllences " (Cow~ci l of llururre).

107. Training Scl~ools (N.1.) Kulea. 1952. 108. Training Schools (N.1.)-Explaomoty L d e t

I W . Training Schools (N.1.)-Finance.

110. Tua i r in~ Kepon-" Sonle of Our Children." Ill. Vandalisnr and Juvenile Delinque~icy. Report o f Joint Conl-

niittee. 1956157. 112. " Young Ollender, The." W. J. West (Pc l i ca~~ Uoc>ks). 113. Yugoslavia-A New Look a t ' Crin~e. Nancy Coodn~ad~.

(I.S.T.D.)

APPENDIX I1

I. Adoplion Societies. Industrial Scl~ools and Reformatories.

2. Association o f Managers o f Reformatory and Industrial Schools.

3. Association of Secondary Traclwr..

4. Associalion of Social Worker.;. 5. Catholic Prolcctim and Rescue S~,ciety.

911

6. Catlwlic Suci;~l Well'urc I J u r c ~ t ~ . 7. Children's I~epar ln~enl . C'urk I I ~ d t l ~ Aulhorily. 8. I h h l i n l l ea l t l ~ Aul l~or i ty . 9. I.illlrrir-k l I c : ~ l l l ~ Authorily.

10. . .. \~ ' :~ l r r lord l le:t l t l~ Autl~ori ty. 11. (ialw:ly C'wnly Council. 12. Church d I r e l a d Swi;,l Scrvice. 13. Church of lrrl:~nd l<eprurnt:t~ivc I3udy. 14. Civics Institutu 01 lrel:rnd. I t d .

15. Conciliunl. 1-egim u l Mwy . North Uru~rswick Strcet. Duhlin. 16. Council fur A l l l r r lmd. Sickly o f Sl. Vincent de P:~ul. 17. Dist r ic~ Court Clerkr' Associ:~liorl. 18. District .Jt~s~iccs. 19. Dr. K . A . McC':~rlhy. hlr<lic:nl Supcrinlcndmt. Our 1.ady.b

flospilal. Cork. 20. Dublin ln\t i tule of Adult Education. ? I . l h l > l i n S~~ l i c i lws ' l h r , \w>cia~i tu~. 22. Governn~cnt Dep;~rtn~ent\. 23. I l x d i n g Boys Hon~e. I hh l i n . 24. l lousinp Welfare Suction, Ii:~nl:t\ A lh :~ Cli:lth. 25. International Children‘\ C'enlrc. Bois d r I3oulogne. Paris. 26. lrish Counlrywomrn's Assnci;ttion. 27. Irish 'Medical Association. 28. lrish National l'cacl~ers' Org;~t~is;~~ioo. 29. I.S.P.C.C.. 20 Molesworl l~ Slrrct. 1)uhlin. 30. Knights o f Colun~banus. 31. I.oc:il Autl~uril ics. 32. 1.0s Angelrs Socicly.

33. Mc~rnpo l i tm~ IXbtricI (~'gwrt 1 'lcrk,' Associ;~~ion. 34. Mct~l lwrs o f l < < w ~ i ~ t ~ i ' a ~ h d i ~ . : I I I ~ (:IIIIICII of l ~ ~ l i i n d i I ic .~; t rc l~~.

35. Mrs. Srnyly's Ilorncs. C i ra l ta~~ S l r~x t . Dublin.

36. Place of Dctcnlion. Mar lbvough House. Dublin. 37. Probation Administration Ollicer. 3 Lower Ormond Quay.

Dublin. 38. Protestant Child Care Association.

39. Rev. Patrick Simpson. S.J.. Mi l l town Park. Dublin. . 40. Sf. Patrick's Guild. Iladdingloa Hoad. Dublin.

41. St. Saviour's Orpl1:lnaye. 20 I hwc r Dominick Slrcet. Dublin. 42. SI. Slani4aus Yo11111 Club.

43. Vocational Tc;~uhcrs' Asmci:~lion.

44. Volun1;try I lon~cs.

-15. Y*BuIII ('ouncil, i. ';~ll~tdic S<)ci;~l Scr\,ice (:<wnciI.

I o , d

.... 1.10 101 102 I I 0 Y4 9n 89 83

110 1 I 6 123 IS? 131 107 8'1

I24 98

I3b 105 117 - - .... -

i k l l l

T o l d - - . -- - -

210 214 IYH 175 173 157 1 l ? 208 IY? 208 226 205 177 I54 17.5 138 I45 I32 I51 117 -

C I S r iblalr :.I

Total - 9 97

I 2 104 7 82 7 HZ 8 89

11 hh 8 93

13 110 Ill I05 l a 13 16 I28 24 131 24 103 I 6 HJ H 111)

I Y 85 I 1 HY 3 2 1 u . k 26 120 24 101

To,:

40 56 J7 IH 49 24 49 59 5 1 (I I h l 5 1 J'l 34 07 ?5 41 3 3 45 51

IOH I Ill I91 I132 133 1x5 I Jl, I S 3 173 182 I J J I l l I 5 3 7 3

I 3 0 7 2

M l l l l 1 : S SIJKVI iY

'l'hc Committee considcrcd . t I ~ t i t !hould seek l o collect crrtain cxl r : , information not readily available from ollicial sources about the children in lndustrial and Kcf~rrmatory Schools. I h e purpose of his survcy was to help provide a full dewip t ion o f the pnpulalion in the schools and of the facililies.

School managcls wcre requo~1r.d c~~nlp letc lhrce queslic>nn:~irc lo r~ns relating lo thc childrcn and IIIC facilities ilvailahle. One o f lhrse forms sought inlormalion on ovcrall admissions and dis- charges. releases, transfers and recalls together with general information on slaffing and o~her facilities available. T o get more d;tailcd data oo sld6ng. ~ h o o l s were :fiArd to t i l l anotl~cr.;ep~r:tte. form lor each lull.limc mcmbcr u f c t . ~ l l . ' lhc ~ n l o r n u ~ t o n collrclcd by these twoforms is presented i n Tables I 4 t o 34. 1% infomat ion relers to Industrial and Reformalory Schools combined. A lotal o f 30 schools oul of a possible 34 representing 2.159 children who were i n the schools on the date of the survey compleled and returned both lorms.

A third form was designed tu collcct information about each child i n the schools. School managers were requested to lill one o f these forms far each individoal child i n iheir respective schools. A l l schools compleled and returned lhcse forms although some did not complete all the form lully. Where thcrc w;~s no rrply to a queslion !his i s indicalcd i n the lablcs. A l l o f the Industrial and Kcformatory Schools. 34. representing 2.476 children participated i n ihe survey. The date used was 1st February. 1968.

I l r l r a d us Order d l h c hlinillcr . . . . . . Adq~ed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kclcavd on 1.icrocc . . . . . . . . . . . I l l ~ o r d ~ d o u t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olhcr--lo I'arcnls. Friends cla. . . . . . . . . . . .

131 .I1 J?

7 38.1

In this use. individual schools listed various ways w l~ i ch lhey used l o provide ahercxe. Frequency o f response for the various inel l~ods reporlcd i s the n~elhod used to rccord ll~ese replies ralher than ihe nunlbcr 01 schools.

. . . . . . Ilortcl ind club provided . . . . . . . . . . Z Frrr h~xd l ldg ing OIT~rcd untilchild wablirl~cd in jnh . . : : I , hlccnhcr ofstalrengaged full-time is ~ l t r r r n r c n m h . . . . . I

T l~c r c i s some dilliculty in acquiring ;nod prwenling inIornt;rtiw~ ahout the actual stalfing position i n ~IIL. rchools since so many of the slalf nlen~bers are teaching either in :I national school con l in~r l

l l H l

U # ! d r r 1 year I + ? I . . .

Y i . . , IO-C . . I l+ . . I Z + . . I I+ .. I 4 + . .

hlolher and Falhcr:

Yes . . No . . Don'l Knuw Nu Reply . . - .- . - - -. .

T o l ~ ! r . .

Alirc . . I k a d . . I lo!~'tkno>v

l ~ ~ l r r l a . .

Industrial Sclwols

540 6

I05

651

Kcloron~n~uricr

Tnlals

...

Iloy~' Schools

-. Hoys'

Schmlr

. . - 1.519

29 134

1,682

- Girls. and

Junior Boys'

Schoolr

Cirlr' Sclloolr

- .- - 2.OJ9

35 ZJY

2.13

-- Tulals

- I w

I

10s

31 I (1

38

135 2 1, .

I43

In order to gel an ovcrall c s t i~~ la le of lhe number of children in residentid care, insrifu1im.s approval by the Department of Health were ruluesral lo ind iu te lhc number of children in a r e in various :~gc-groups un 2nd May. 196'8. 'l'l~c Cornn~iucc wishes to acknow- lulgc gralefully the hclp given by lhe l)cp;trl~nent nl lleallh in this IllallCr. '

VOI.IINI.AKY tkl%ll:S \\'IilCR II4VE NOT S011G11T APIWOVAL 11Y TIIE MINIS~EU I.OH HI:AI:~II

Efforts were ntade too to discover Itow many children wurc cared for i n Voluntary Homes. The Con~nt i t~ce advertised and. as well. contacled all such insli lu~ions known to nlentbers. In all, 23 horncs were conlaclad and 20 provided the i ~~ lo rma t i on requested. T l ~ c data received relating lo nuntbcrs i n the hot~tes an 2nd May. 1969, is given below.

APPENDIX 1-

SUMMARY OF SURVEY CONDUCTED RY THE DEPAR~ENT. OF PsvmoLcxY. U N I V ~ R S I ~ C o ~ r a c e DURLIN AT nxE REQUEST OF 1118 C ~ M M ~ TEE OF ENQUIRY ON RPFORMA'rURy AND INDUSTRIAL. SCI~WLS

Ternrs of R r f ~ r m c e

The lcrntr of reference laid down wcrc trr conduct:

Number d Vulunlary Homes C ~ I I I I ~ C I C ~

- 24

( I ) A survey of the extent of nlenlel handicap and educat io t~~ l backwardneis in 1nduslri:iI and Keformatory Sclrools.

12) A survey of facilities availablc for thc education of cllildrel~ i n such SCIIOOIS.

( 3 A survey of the extent o f educational proble~ns in ln. dustrial and Reformalory Schoulr.

I OX

. U i ~ ~ - t r s ~ W t r o l 'I'c,r!tns uj l(c/urorcr

I t may be helpful here lo suntnmrise some of the concepts inherent i n the terms of reference.

Ihefeport o l the C~rmntission of Inquiry on mental I tandic;~~. 1Y56. classified as being ntcu~ally l w ~ d i c ~ p p c d iltnre people. including adults. "who by rcasrm of arrested or inuomplcle development of mind. Ihve a marked lack of in~elligcnce and, citltcr temporarily or pcrmancntly, inndeqlulc ;rdapt:~tirrn to ll lcir environment." I n terms of measurement by intelligence tealing, a person with ;in 1.0. of lcss than 70 would be regorded as rnant:~lly handiuppcd. '1'0 distinquish within the population o f mentally l~endicapped mrsons the categorics of mi ld menlal handicap (1.0. Ixlwccn 50 and 70). moderate mental handicap (1.0. k lween 25 and 50). sevcre mcnt:fil hxndicap (1.0. I e s 1hi11~ 25) xnd l x m l d i ~ ~ e 111cnta1 l ~ a ~ I i c : ~ p (1.0. l~elwecn 70 :md 85) are used. Children who :Ire mildly men1:~lly lvendicappad c:mnut be cxpccted to bmelit ctlua:~lion:tlly by allending ;tt an ordinary school where thr cu r r i cdun~ is unsuited to their nueds. Childrcn who are n~otlerately nm11311y I ~ i l ~ ~ d i c a p l ~ c d nc'd S P C C ~ ~ I ~ te:iching. supervision. and support. Cltildrcn whu are severely rnc~ttally handicapped are unable l o pmv i~ le lor tllcir personal needs and require c o n s t a ~ ~ ~ rupcrvisiw~. (:ltildrctr wl18, are ge~~cr;~ l ly termed borderline mental handicap or dul l ntay he :~ccon~n~odalcd in lhe ordinary scltool i f oppurfunitios ;)re prtniclcd w 1It:tt they c:181 Irl<,grcs according tu their inlellectual ability.

The education;~lly ret:~rdcd child i s one who is not performing at a level commensurate will1 his c:tp:lcily. ill one or more scltool sub- jecb. ' h e educationally backward child is one whose pcrformance in one or more o l thc three 11's 1;bIIs markedly hrlow 111:tt cxpected for his age group. ~ d t ~ w t i o n ; r l bdckwardnesb may bc either general ur specilic. Where children :arc hackward primarily bccause uf in- ~clleclual deficiency. as i n the ca\c 111 lhc n~cntally ltandicappcd, their backwardness i s usually general. Spccilic hackwardncss may result from specilic inlvllccutal faclnrs. lack of ~[ rpor luni ly an1 rclarding physical entolional and cnvi ronmc~~la l influences. Because these factors can operate on al l children i t follows 111;1I children of even !he greatest capacily can tK backward.

As a measure of b;~ckwar~lnuss wc use reading and aril l~tnetic quotients which show wl~ct lwr :t child's performance in reading and arithmetic falls below the avcr:tge txrformance .for his age group.

I n surveying the facililies availablc for the education of children i n Industrial and Reforn~atory Scliools we were concerned with the quantity rat l~cr t l tm the qu;rlily uf such facilities, nor d id we evaluate the use nl;~dc o l such filcililics. Sontc information on general facilities i n primary \chools was avai l i~ l~ le (K~ l l i rgha~t m d Ciorman. 1968) so we concrrncd ourselves with ins l i l~~l ions which had conlined schools. and wherever possible crm~p:~red primary schools with the conlincd schools.

L7ducalion;1l p s e l from 111enId l ~~~nd i cap , cducaliwml backw;~rdness xnd ret:~rd;~l ion As we are h m r n c d in this survey

109

Nu~nbrc Kcplying

20

N w n k r s 1 3 1 ~ . ? r i m s sgc-group,

0 ~ 2 I 14-10 .~.,,,~l Y c i l r Y C U S YCXB

. . ~ 66 / 171 1

will1 thc quanlilicaliun of mcnlal handicap and cduational backwardness we will deal with thr cduc:rlim:~l prohlems related to thcsc.

Uelxi!,orio,r mnl C'hildnv~ i,t Cwrre

I h e culturally deprived person is one who is not viable within his culture: he cannot meet and deal adcqua~cly with the demands which his culture makes on him. 7brse dcmands impinge on the whole range of human hehaviour: they influence a person front early childhood onwards at emotional. social and inlellrctual levels: they enter in10 his private and public conduct. inta his religious beliefs and into his occupation: they influence h im as n person and as a member of l h e community.

I n a broader sense a person is culturdly deprived i f he is unable to survive in an international context. While this latter statement is not of immediate relevance i t should be kept in mind as a general background. against which any discussiun o f deprivation should take place.

In general, what kind o f conditions give rise to o r are conducive to the development of sucl~ inadcquatc persons? Research on the topic shows that the most import;rnt k ~ c l o r i n childhood and later devclopment is the quality and quantity of personal relationships available l o the child. BY having p m d inter-personal relationshins the child. and later the aholescen-(.-is enahled'to develop good rc- lalions with other persons in a broader context than his immediate family. Conversely. the child who lacks the right k ind of personal contacts. wi l l in turn bc lacking i n en~otional. social and intellectual stability and development. The cundilior~s which give rise to these devi:~tions from the normal paltcrn are Ilkany: socially and culural ly inadequate parents. familics where there is some entotional neglect. serious mental or physical illness o r where for any reason there i s only one remaining parent. fanlilies where permanent or pzriodic financial crisis obtains.

Institutions for the a r c o f childrcn, such as we :Ire dw l ing with i n this survey. are not normal family situations. They c:lrc for children who have i n many cases come into care bccnuse o f the inadequacy o f their family situations. Some of these childrcn arc illegitima~c, some are orphans, some are childrcn of large families c,r of inadequate parents. and some are ).nung nllenders.

Dinnage and Pringle (1967) point 0111 III;II deprvation is gener:tlly ascribcd to three different conditions: first. residential care for some time, with corresponding deprivation o f normal family life; second. rejection by one or both parents with consequential emotional deprivation: and third. homes which are rducationally and culturally unstimulating. I n our institutions these three conditions exist. in the first case because they arc institutions and i s the other two cases bccausr o f the home background o f t l ~ c cl~ildren. The conditions are not mutually exclusive, nor do [hey describe types o f deprivation. bul they are sufficient for the purposcs of this study in tlrat any one. or a con~binalion of more than one of them can give rise to :I

110

condition of l ifc wh ic l~ wi l l not cn:dbl~ the person to meet the denl:,nds o f his culture adcqunlcly.

I n oper:llion:~l tcrnls. to funclicm adequ:rtely ;$I a basic level, an individual must Itavc : r ~ ~ ; i i ~ h x l ;I normal standard in lcrms of general in~ellec:u;~l development. 1:mgu;qx development with which intcllcc- tual dcvclopment is closely rcl:~letl, rcnding attain~ttrnt. at l :~inmc~ll i n numhcrs. and enwtion:tl :md s~)ci:$l dwe ln~~mcnt . I f i t is bCrI I .

rrnm :L study 01 ctur i u \ ~ i ~ u ~ i * m s <)f u r e . t h t our children have not 3 cornlwlencc ill these :irt::ls of t l~v ' I~pm~.n t whicll i\ 1111 10 the SI:lll- d a d a t ta ind ly the n~xjocity {t f t l ~ c pt~pulat ioo t k n we c:tn speak t ~ f cultural depriva~inn in such inslitulions ns :I fact. rathcr than S(IF:I~-

inp of :I theoretical rel;t!ionsl~ilr hctwcen thc ccmditions wh ic l~ give

which obtain within our instin~tionr. Not much evidence is ;tv:~ilahle on the intellectu;~l c;ap:tcity and

scholas~ic attainment of children in lnduslrial and l<eform:~lrrry .schools. Hose ( lW7). revicwiq: research work'donc i n Approved Schools in Rritain. which scl~r~r,ls correspond lrruadly to our Reforn- atory Schools. found intclligewc :tnd att:~inntcnt scores much lower a i t I n p l t i I n 1rcI:lnd. no published research work is avlilahls hut 1l;trt :and Sr. Cahrini I~c l ;~hunty. in scparate private studies in Industrial Schools. found the 1.0. scores o f thes~. children much lowcr than childrre in a normal pop!tl:%lion.

T H E I 'OI 'L I IA~f ION 01: I N I X I S I ' R I A I ~ S('11001.S A N D I < I ~ I ~ 0 1 < M A ' T O l ~ Y

This chapter consists o f ;I dcrcription o f the child popul:ltion of Industrial and lleformntory Scllools :md for this purpose i t wi l l be cpnvenient to descrihc hoth prqwlnlions scpnr:ilely.

l,,,/,,>~,i<d ,S<./,t!, 81.V

Children :,re sdntittcd to I~dus1ri;tl Schools fur rrasons o f lack 01 proper guardianship, of b e i ~ ~ g hnn~eless. school inattendance and indictable offences. I t 1~:~s heru cwtomnry to cl:tssify thcse children as follows:

I. 1 1 1 i l / t i . Such children accouul for appronim;htely eipltly per cent o l the population in 1ndustri:d and Relarm;~lory Schools. l h e y are committed through the Courts and the Minister for Education and the Health Authority are jointly rcsponsihle for the cost o f tllcir maintenance in these schools.

2. Chi l r l rm t ,~~i , t rz~i r~nl hy I l c~d rh A , t r h ~ r i ~ i ~ s . Such chiltlrcn make up a b u t sixteen per cent of the population. Tl tcsc

childrcn are not commitled throngh the Courts, hut arc admitted to the schools. under the l iealth Act. tltrnugh lllc Health Authority. l h c cost of their m3inlenancc is covered jointly hy the I)ep:trtn~cnt o f l l e a l t l ~ :~nd thc l lc:t l t l~ Authorily.

I I I

11 wclold alqxar 1111111 di~cus\ions w l l i c l~ \ve h i d will, w r i w s in~ereslcd ;~ulhnrities ihal the main rc:$so11 for dislinguisl~ing brlwcell con~n~ i t led children and Hsa l~h Ac l children is IIK channels lhrougll which lhey arrive in these schools rather llran lheir hackground.

When this survey con~~ i~enccd i n June. 1968. here werc thirly- three Industrii~l Schools i n the counlry. h,r which the Miuislcrs for Educalion ;~nd He;~lth had rrsponsibilily. A l l schools arc administered by religious orders. The nu~nlwrs for which ihcse .*cbools wtered varied enormously-some sch~mls having as few 4s ten children, while one was ci~lcr iog for approximately two hundred and fifty. Eight o f these schools catered exclusively for boys only. Fourleen schools calcral exclusively for girls up to lhc age of sixlecn. and the renm in in~ eleven schwls werc wtering for girls rind hoys i n varying proportions.

The following table shows the number of boys and girls i n Indus- tri61 Schools as on the 31sl Dccen~brr. 1W7. distributed by category

-- --

From Ibis table i t a m be seen t11a1 ll lc l l ~dus~ r i a l Sclx~ols cater for approxict~alely the same number o f boys and girls. Many scl~ools have children from a c h of the ihra: previously incntioned categories.

Children are admitted to Industrial Schools up to the age of fifleen years. They usually leave at the age of sixleen but may. with the Minister's permission, remain on for anolhcr year.

Numhw of Children

Sex Cornmilled Umlcr

Delenlion -- Bays . . I .M6 i l . . 942

Tor*,. 1.94R

I<c/c,rn!arory Scl~oul .~

Anyone over twelve years of age i i l ld less thiln SCVcnICCII YLIII~S who is convicled. whether on ind ic tn~cn~ or by a 1)islrict Courl. of an ~ l l c n u : which is ponish;~hle in lhe c;lsc of ;in aduh wilh pen;~l scrvilude or i~~~pr isonmcnt . may be sent 111 a R c f < m ~ i ~ l o r y School. Such pm)ple ,,l:,y he clc~ainnl unl i l the age o f ninelccn. As on the 31st l)ccen~her.

I I ?

l'107, I24 buy, w c ~ c l x iug ~CIAIOIOI ill St. C t ~ ~ ~ l c l l ~ ' ~ , I ) a i ~ q p l l , :AINI eightec~~ girls were l x ing dcI;~imxl in) each of IIX Iwt) girls' r c f o ~ w - ~uries. St. Joseph's. I-in~crivl;, ;~nd SI. Anne's. Kiln~ilcud.

N u n k r of Voluntary Children

I X 8 2

nn

.Strm,tnarv ol ' l ' r x r R n d r s 'l'llc results u l intelligence tests :<re arrtsiderrrl s q ~ a m t d y for l n h s -

Iri:~l S~.lmols id Kcforn~;~lory Schools. For all ollber lcsts the rcsults for bo111 ~ypcs of school arc taken logelher.

Nurnhcr of Iieallh Acl Children

. I 19 Z Z I

.IW

Tolrl

. -- 1.?01 I.?.IS

-. ?.J.IX

~o lhcr ~ h e r ~ x t i ~ , , ~ i s 111e p:ar~it.uliloly high i n ~ . i d e n ~ c o f n ~ c n t ~ l b hsno yap (36.8 per cenl) found i~nl lmg l i f lcrn year old girls and its ,' , alven c a n ~ m g six and ten year old girls. A l l h o ~ ~ g h lhe n lwn 1.0s.

111 sir\bcar old am1 len ycar old gil ls are slighlly higher thau for boys. 111c ' Can 1.0. II~ lifleen year old girls i s signifiwntly below that of / / lift, 11 ycar old boys. 11 is dillicult 10 say why this should be so.

I , ' . L x a n ~ ~ ~ ~ ; t ~ i , ~ n uf the Verbal and I ' c r f ~ ~ r n ~ a ~ ~ c 1.0s. indicales t l u t at the Icn )-ear lcucl girls score son,ewl~:tl l t igl~cr tlnn boys in laltl l Vcr ln l a r d I'crlornutse sc;dcs. w l~ j l c ;rt l l ~ e liileen y w r lcvcl the lhoys' .\cores are higher limn girls' scores and ihe difference is signilicant in the case of the I'crfor~nance scale. I t is h i s very poor ;hi l i ly i n llx Perforn~ancc sub-tests which conrribu~ed ~nlostly to such a g lowty piclure of inlcllcctual capacity a n ~ ~ n g the liflcen ycar o ld girls. The pmsibili ly of lhis san~ple being inadaluale was considcrd. However. il was drawn from tl~irleen dilferent schools and there is no evidence tlvat il is less rcprexn~alive than other YJ~IPICS tested on individual i~llclligence lesrs:

'I'he incidence of n~enlal handicap (38.4 per cent) and o f hnrderline ~ncnt:d llandicap (46.2 per cent) is IIIUCII higher for boys and girls in Hefnrma~ory Schools lhan in Industrial Schuols. This leaves IS:I per ccnl of those leslul who are of :,vcrege or above avrlngc inlelli- gcnce con~pared with approximately 85 per cent in the populelion in general. 'The mean Verbal and Performance LQs. are slightly higher for boys lhan for girls. but the sa~nples here are probably too small f<,r generalisalions.

PBYCIIIWAL ABILITY

'The results o f Raven's Matrices indic:~le that backwartlncss. h;!xxl on rhc revised norms. is fairly evenly disrribuled througlmul ~ l t c v:~rinus age groups and between s e w . The highest incidencc of backwardness is among eight year o ld boys (66.7 per cent) and the lowest alllong twelve year o ld boys (40.7 per cent).

The cxlcnl of backwardness (50.1 per cenl) on lhc pcrccptual ahililies tested i n this test must be viewed against the f i p r e of 15.0 per cent i n the School Studies from which our norms are deriv~xl. and 111ese norms are considerably lower lhan the l a 1 norms. . .

m a t tl~ese tests are largely i r~dcpc~~dcnt o f verbal ahility iodiwres lhc poor ~levclopn~enl o f observalion aml clear thinking anwng children i n Induslrial and Reformalory Schools.

Success on verbal reasoning lests rlcrnands the ability l o re;~d and IIIC p<,ssesrion of good vcrbxl skills. I<csults i n the W.I.S.C. Vcr l~a l Sc:nlc dlow Ilm1 30.4 per cent and 16.7 pcr ccnl are hackwart1 at the 11.11 i181d liileen y w r age levels resp~vlivcly. So ;rs IIUI lo confuse inahilily to reason verbally will) in;thilily l o read. lcn and twelve year old? with reading ages less l l ~ a n eight years and fifteen years o ld .-

'I'crImp~ wmk of a bigger ,unple ~t\isltt ~ ; t r y a t \ i > rcwl~.

I I4

8 year olds: I:sli~naled populalion: 120

Tcsl 50 per cenl on Raven's O d o u r d Progressive hlal rices Sels A. Ah. 11.

Test 0 per cent on Wirral Mecl~anical A r i l h ~ ~ ~ e l i c Tesl I A .

FR

ES

iiV

ZY

O

F

ML

liT

LL

Ii

ihD

lCIP

m

, 3Oii

DE

RL

lNE

M

EN

TAL

HA

ND

ICA

P a AN

0,

AY

ER

lGE

A

liD

A

BW

E

A$':?&

:: !:

lTE

LL

lGE

htE

91

AC

E

GR

OU

P AN0

Six

, IS

IB

3U

Sii

ill

S<

,OO

LS

..

ti

YE

Gli

liS

. . I ,. / : . . ,, ,. I , ,: . ,I , . ' . ., ,/, ,. ;.' , .. , . . ........ t o r n ~ o r s

I S YR GIRLS

B YR BOYS

A clrild is i n nccd 1, i ~8l.e ( l r LX)!III~~I ii he is under 1 1 ~ age (11 15 years and is:

(c) is IOUII~ destilu~c Iwing ; t t ~ <rrph;rn or not bcing an orpltal~ and having h l h parenls or his surviving parcnl. or i u ~ h c case of a l l i l legili~nalc child his IIIOIIIC~. undergoing penal scrviludc o r i n ~ p r i s o n w ~ n ~ ; or

(e) is lhc da~tghlcr. wl~elher 1cgitinl:tlc or illegilin~atc. o f a ialhcr who has hecn convicled o i a11 i,lfcncc under Scclion o m ,,r two of 1111: (:rimini~l l.aw Ae~e~rdrnc t~ t Acls. 1885 10 1935 i n respccl of any o i his d:ru~lllcrs. wllclher lu$lin~:ale o r illcgilin~ate: tlr

(j) I f Guardians of a County ~IUIIIC noli ly ~IIC court that a child is rcfraclory or is the child o i parcncs ei l l~er of whom is ow viclcd o f a11 olience punish:ll~le will1 p ~ l o i ~ l servill~de 0 1

i n ip r iwmmc~~l and lhitl il is dcsir;thlc Il1:ri l l lc child he hr,ll

I s , ntt 1ndlarlri:tl SCIIIIIII.

( I ) I~ailun: 1u \'tmqlly wilt1 1 1 1 ~ jtlt>vkit,os 01 IIIC Scl~ut?l A t l c~ td - ance Acts. 1926-1968.

(m) Any c l ~ i l d i n respm o f whom any of the offences ~?~cnl ioned i n the First Schedule of the Act has been comn~ittcd.

APPENDIX 1-1

h ~ l ~ l l ~ t l i N l ~ APITICAIII.)~ 10 A CIIILD UNDER LA\\,

T l ~ c l a w rclaling l o the punishme~~t o f persons under 17 ?cars of age is conmined i n the Children Acts. 1908 to 1957. No such person can be sentenced to death or penal servitude.

If under I 5 years of age he cannot bc imprisoned at al l and i f Irctwect~ 15 and 17 years only under cxccptional circumstances i.e. t~nless the Court ceriilies that the young person is of so unruly a character that he cannot be de la i n~d in a place of detention under Part V o f lhc Children Act and. having regard l o Section 106. the ~enlellcc shall not excecd I nlonlll.

( I ) 'I'he Court may discharge the child ,,n his entering into recog- ~lisance with or willlout sureties l o be o f good behaviour and to appcar for conviction and sentence when called on at any time during ;I spcci l i~d period not exceeding three years: and may impose a further condition that the child be under the supervision o f any person na~ncd i n the ordcr (for probation purposes). The Court may also ordcr payment of damages for injury, compensation for loss. ttr costs

( 2 ) I f 111e child appears to be undrr I 2 years the Court. i f satistied on inquiry that i t is expedient so to deal w i ~ h the child. "ray order him l o be sent to a Certified lndustriul School for such time as the Court may deem proper. not extending beyond the rime when the child will attain I 6 years.

(3) I f :I child appears to be over 12 y u r s and under 15 years of , age and hur nor previulrsly been com~icrcd and the Court is satislied thirt the child should be sent to a Cerrilied School but. having r c w r d l o the special circumstances o f thc case, should not be sent to a Reformatory School and is also satisfied that the character nnd ante- cedents o f the child are such that he wi l l not exercise an evil influence on other children i n the school. the court mi#y order the child to be sent to 1111 lndustri;tl School will ing l o ru.ci\,e him.

(4) I f the child appurs to he under IS yews the Court n ~ a y an onler comnlitting the child to 111c c;tre o f a re1;ttivc or otller " f i t

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I K l w n " n ~ ~ ~ c t l l )y IIIC <imI wtlh 01 willhnll l l ~ m~,clvi*ion UI il probation ofliccr.

or

(5) I f the child is i n the opinion uf the Court over 12 years lhc G u n n a y i n addition to or i n lieu of o t l m sentence ordcr the child to be sent to a Kcforn~atory School for a time to be spocilied i n the order hcing not less th;m two or nl<,re than 4 years.

(6) 'Clic Court, i f i t considers t11at one o f the other methods i n which the case can be legally dealt with is suitablc, may commit the child in custody i n a place o f dclention for such term as may be specified in the order, but i n no case exceeding one month.

(7) I f of thc opinion that the case would bc best so mct. the Court may impose a line. dau~agcs {lr costs w i ~ h or wilhout d ~ e r punishment. T h e uttzw,,tr rtw~rrdd d r ' r l l he ordered ro be poi:/ b y rhe p r e ~ l r u r guardim o f the child wr/r!.rs thc'Court is ratislied ( I ) that such parcnl or gturdian ~111111~11 lx found or. (2) Il lat he has not con- duccd to 111: c~~n~ntissicm o f the ollcncc by ncglcct l o excrcisc proper guardianship.

(8) The Court is given a gcner;~l power to order the parent or guardian o f a child ollendcr to give securily for the guud bclt;~viour of the child.

PUN~SI~~IENIS API'I.I(.AIII.I~ 'It1 YWNG PERSONS

(I) I l l e Court nray discharge the young person on his entering into a remgnisance with or without surulies. to 11c of good lrchaviour and lo appear for senlence when calla1 on at any time during a specified period not exceeding three ymrs. and nrvy impose a further condition that the young person be under the supervision o f any pcrson named i n the Order (for probation purposes). The Court may also order the payment of damages for loss. or costs.

(2) The Court may i n addition l o or i n lieu of othcr sentences order the young person to be sent l o a Certified Reforn~atory School for a time to be specified in the order being no1 less than two and not more than four years.

(3) l'he Court, i f i t considers that none of 111c other n~ethods i n which the u s e may be l e~a l l y d u l l with is suitable. may w n m i t the young person to custody i n a place of detention for such time as nlay be spccilieil in ll ie Order but i n no case exceeding one month.

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I I) that he is of so unruly a char;wtcr thal he cannot bc detained in such place of delenlion:

( 2 ) that IK is o f so depraved a character that he is nut a f i t person to be so detained.

(-I) I f of lhc opinion thal the case wuuld be best so met. the Court slay impose a line. dalnages and c()sts will1 or without other punishment. The amount awarded may be ordered to be paid by the parent or guardian of such young person unless the court is satisfied.

(I) thal such parent or guardian cannot be found:

(2) that he has not conduced to the commission of (he olTencc hy neglecting to exercise due care of the young person.

( 5 ) The Court is given a general power lo order the parent or guardian of a ynung ollender lo give surely of the good ixl~nvi t ,~l~ of such young ollenders.

( 6 ) I f the young oflendcr is 16 years o r over he may be sentencnl lo a maximum of 12 months in St. Patrick's Institution.

SI. Ihmoli~.L's SUIIOOI. W;tleri~nd

APPENDIX L

C~n- i . l t :~e t~ INIIUSIYIAI. SCI~(N)I.S

The certilicatc o f approval o f an lnduslrial School w;is originally issued by the Chief Secre~ary o f Stale and is now issued I,y the Minister for Education or a duly authorisd ollicer of his depart men^. When a schrml has hecn c c n i k d a notilication to this ellect is published in 1 O i i l l l ~ c rules s t d rcgolalions for certil id Industrial Schools are shuwl~ hereusdcr.

RULES A N D RI:GUI.A.IIONS FOR TIII?.

CERTII:IEI) LNDUSI'KIAL SCHOOLS IN SAORSfA'I' CII<L!ANN

Approved try Ilrc Misislcr i*,r lihtcalic,n. undcr lhe 541I1 Sc.cli,m lhc Acl. H ILlw V I I . ('11. 67.

.i. C-.O/~IIIIUILI 'l/ u'inl,,.llr)ll

Ileing sent under the provisions of the Children Act. 1908. o r the School Attendance Act. 1926. or Ihe Children Act. 1929. or otherwise as the Management may determine.

4. ladb'i,,g The children lodged in thc School shall have scparate buls. Livery

dmision to board out a child. under the 53rd Section of the Children Act. 1908. shall have received previous sanction from the Minister for Education. through the Inspector o f Industrial Schools.

5. Clurhing

The children shall he supplied with neat, conifortable clothing i n good repair, suitable to the season of the year, not necessarily uniform either i n material or colour.

6 . Dietary

The children shall be supplied with plain wholeson~e food, accord- ins to a Scale of Diewry to be drawn up by the Medical Ollicer 01 the School and approved by the Inspector. Such food shall he suilable i n every respect for growing children actively en~ployed and supple- mented i n the wse of delicate or physically under-developed children with such special food as individual needs require. N o subslantial alterations in the Vietary shall he n~ade without previous notice l o the Inspector. A copy of the Dietary shall be given to the C w k and a further copy kept in the Manager's Oflice.

7. 1.iterory Ifrsrrrtcrio~~ Suhjcct to Rule 8. all children shall hc instructed i n accordance

with thc progranme prescribed for National k h o o l ~ . Juniors (that is. children under 14 ywrs of age) shall have for literary instruction and sludy not less than four and a half hours five days a week and Seniors (that is. children of 14 years o f age and upwards) s l~a l l have for the same purpose no1 lcss lhan three hours. five days a week: at least two-thirds o f the periods mentioned l o be at suitable hours hetween breakfast and dinner. when the most beneficial results are likely to be obr~ined. Religious Instruction may he included i n those periods. ;md. i n the case of Seniors. reamnable t iwe may be allotted to approved general reading. Should the case of any individual pupil call for the niodilication o f chis Rule i t is to be submittal to the Inspc.clor for approval. Senior boys shall receive lessons in Maoual Instruction which may be interprcled to mean training i n the use of carpcnler's tools.

The Manager may arrange for children to attend convenielltly situated schools. whether Prinl;~ry. Continudon. Secondary or Tech-

130

llical. hut alwlyS subjml to (a) the wnclion 01 the Impecloi in each case. und (b) the condili<,n lhat no increased cost is incurred hy the State.

9. 1nd11wid 7'rnin;ng

lnduslrial employnicnt *h;dI 1101 cnrccd lhrce and a 11:)If hours &lily for Juniors ur sir 11~wrs daily for Senirrrs. 'I'he training shall. i n the case o f boys. be Jircctcd tow;drJs t l ~ acquisilion of skill i n and k~~owlcdgc o f f a r n ~ and g ;~n l c l~ w,rk or such handicrafl as can be [aught. duc regard hci t~g given It, l i l t ing the Imys for the IIIOSI advan- tageous employlnent p n u m b l e . 7'lx training for girls shall i n al l cases be i n accordance with the l)o~~lernic Ecol~oniy Syllabus, and shall also include. where [mclicahlc, t l ~ e n~ i l k ing of COWS. care o f poultry and cort~tge s;~rrlcning.

Each scl~ool s l~al l sulmit for ;lppruv;rl hy the lospector a l i s t setting forth ll le <iccupations wllich co~~sl i l t l le l l lc induslri:d training o f the children and tlie q~~:~l i l ica l ions irf t l ~ e Instructors employed trr direct the work. Slwuld ~~dd i l i ona l subjects IE ncldal or any suh- ject be withdrawn or suspended. n,,tification shall be 111ade to the Inspector withoot delay.

10. ius l~rcr iwt

The progress of the children i n 1 1 1 ~ Literary Classes of the Schools and ll icir pruliciency i t 1 Ildi8,trial ' l 'r i~ining will lx tested from lime l o time by Examination IIII~ 111sp~tiw1.

I I. /Wigi~mv i:~.rc~rci.~~,r 01~1 IVorship

Each day shall be hcgun and ended with I'rayer. O n Sundays and Ifolidays the children shall a~ tcnd Public Worship at some convenient C l ~ u r c l ~ or Chapel.

12. IXsclidi~re

The Manager or his i k p u l y shall be au~horised l o punish the children detained in tlie Schml in c:se of niismnducl. A l l serious misconduct. ;~nd the punibl~n~cnts infliclcd for i t . s1i;ill be entered in a book to be kcpt lo r t l i ;~ t purpose. which shall he laid before the Inspector when hc visits. 'l'hc Maongcr must, however. rcnicmbcr that the more closely t l ~ c School is modelled on a principle of judicious fanlily governnlent the more salulary wi l l be its discipline. and the fewer occasions will arise fnr resort to punishment.

13. i < t~uem io t~

Scniors shall hc allowcd at 1c;rsl two hours daily. and Juniors at l u s t threc I ~ w l - s h i l y . fur rec~c;rlion i s ~ t t l sh;tll 1,c laken out occasionally for exercise hcyond the hountlaries of the school. hut hl l be Iorbiddcn l o pass the limits ;issigned lo l l ~ c n ~ without pern~ission.

Catncs, h < ~ t h i ldonr :~nd wtdoor. shall he encouraged: he re-

131

qui8ccl c q u i p ~ c n t sllall be p~ctvided: v11d ~upervision sliall hc exer- c i d 10 se~.ure IIUI all children sh;rll t;Ac part i n the gamc's.

1:ire Ihill h I I he held wee :fit lcast ill crery thruc n~o~t ths, and r ; ~ h altcrnalive Drill shall lakc p h c a t i~ig111 after the childrcn l~avc m i r e d to the dormilnries. A record o f 11,c dale and hour of each I M 1 shall he kept in thc Sc l \ t~> l Ikq.

14. Vi.tits (Keldtws wd jr ie~rdr) P;trcnts, other relations, or intim:rle l r i cnd , shall he allowed l o

visil the children at convenient times. 10 be regulated by the Comn~il lee or Manager. Such privilege is liable l o he forfeited by misconducl or interferettce with the discipline of the school by the parents, relalives. or friends. 7lte Managcr is nulhorised to read al l lellers n.hich pass 10 or from the children in the school. and l o withhold any which arc objeclion;~blc.

Subject to the approval o f the lnspecttr. Iloliday lcavc to paret~ts or friends may be allowed l o every wcll-conducted child who has heen under detcnlion lor at 1c:lst one ymr. provided lhe home conditions are found on invcitigatinn tc, br salidactory. Such leave shall be liniiled t u seven days annually.

I n a very special or urgenl case, such as lhe serious illness or d l o f a parent. Ihc M a n a ~ c r t l~iry ulsu. at his discretion. i f applied to. grant to any child such hrwf leave of absence as wi l l enahle thc child to spend no1 more lhan one night at home: ihe circumstances to be reported forlhwith l o the Inspector's Oflice.

15. Childrm plurrred out on 1ice1s.e or nppruniced Should Ihc M;!nager of a School permit a child. by licence under

the 67th Section of the Children Ac l o f 1908. l o l ivr with a trusl- wnrtlty and respeclnhlc person. o r apprenlice he child to any trade o r calling under the 70th Section of the Am. notice of such placing ou l on licence. or apprenticeship of the child. accompanied by a clcar account of the conditions altaching thereto shall tx sent. without delay. lo the OIhcc of the Inspeclor.

16. Provisim~ oti Disrhorzc On the discharge of a child from the school. a l ihc expir;ilion of

the period o f dclcnlion. or when apprcnlicctl. Itc (or she) rhll be providcd. a1 ~ h c cost of the Instilutian. with a suflicient outlit. according l o thc circumslanccs o f llre discharge. Children when dischwgcd shall be placed. as far ;~s practicable. in some enlploy- mcnt or service. I f returned to relatives or friends. lhe travelling expenses shall be dcfraycd by thc Mamlgcr. unless ll lc relatives or friends are willing i n do so. A I.icencc l:tmn shall k issued in every w x and the Managcr shall n~:linl:lin contmunication with discharged children for the full period o f supervision prescr ikd in Seclion 68(2) o l the Childrcn Act. 1908. The Managu shall recall from ihc home or from employmenl any child whose occupation

132

o r circumstances arc un;rtisf;tctory. nnd ltr ~ 1 ~ 8 1 1 i n d w courx nukc more u i l ah le disposal.

17. V;.$in~r.s 'l'he scl;wl sh:$ll be ~ lpcn in vihilc!rs ;$I cnnvcniecn liolcs. h, hc

regu1;llcd by t l ~ c (.'on~miIlce (or M:III;I~c~). and :! Visi l#m' [kmk %hall bc kepi. l ' l ~ r . lcrnl "visitors" mc:tns nlcn~hcr, u f llle public interesled in !he school.

18. Time 'l'oblc A time table, sbc~wing the Iwurs of rising. work. school instrucliun,

nleals. recreation. re l i r in~ . etc.. shall hc llrawlr up. sllall he op(,mved by thc Inspector o f Indus1ri;~l Schouls. and sb:rll he lined in lhe s c l ~ o o l r ~ ~ m , and carefully ~dhc rcd It, on all cuxsions. A l l im- pnrlant devialions fronl il shall hc rcc<mlcd i n the School Diary.

19. Jortrnuls. elc. The Managcr (or Master or Matron) 4lal l keep a journal or diary

of everything in l lx~r lanl or ~xccpt ion;~ l that passes i n the school. A l l admissions. disch;~rgrs. licettces :rnd escapes shall be recorded therein. and a11 record h w k s s11:lll he laid hcfure the lwpcclor when hc visits the scl~ool.

20. M d i c r d 0flin.r 1. A Medical Otlicer rhall hc ;~ppoiatcd who shall visit the

school periodically. a record of his viriis being k rp l in il bonk l o be provided lor lhe purpose.

11. Each child shall he medically examitled on admission to the schuol. and lhc M.O'.?. wrillen rcporl on the physical cnndilion of thc child s l~ i r t~ ld hc c;lrdully preserved.

111. A record of a11 admissiolls to the School 1nlirm:lry shall be kept. giving informali~rn :IS to ailmenl. Ireatmcnt, and dales o f admission and discllar~e in each case. ln l i rn~ary cases of a serious nalure and cases o f more than three days duralion hliall he nolilicd l o l l ~ e lnspcclor's OITicr.

IV . l h c M.O. shall m:nke a q~iarler ly examination of each child individually. and give ;I quarterly report as l o the fitness o f the childrcn for the 1r:lining o f the school, their general health. ;tnd the sanitary slatc 01 the school. Ihr quarterly rcporl shall be i n such fhxm as may he prc- srribccl frmu timc 11, l i n ~ e Ily l l ~ c Minkler for l3ucnti,rn. Applic;~lion s l ~ l l l he nt:rdc 10 lhc Minister for the discharge o f m y child certilird hy tlte M.O. :IS ntcdically unfit for detenlion.

V. Dental treatment and periodic visits by a dentist shall be provided and records of such visits shall he kept.

137

In the cvcnt of the serious illncss of any child. notice shall be sent to the nearest relnlivcs or guardian and special visits allowed.

?I. l,ryr,eirs In the case of violent dmlh. or of sudclcn death. not arising in tlte

course of an illness while the child is undcr treatment by the M.O.. a report of the circunwancu: shall be at ohcc made to the local Gardai for the information of the Coroner. a simil;lr report being at the same tinic sent to the inspector.

22. R r r w r , erc. T h e Manager (or Secretary) shall keep a Register of admissions and

discllarges, with particulars of the parentage, prcvious circumstances. etc., of each child admitted. and of the disposal of each child discharged, and such inforn~ation as I I I~I ) . afterwards he oblained regarding him, and sh;lll regularly send to h e Oflice of the Inspector the Returns of Adnlission and Dischalge, the Ouarterly List o f Children under detention, and the Quarterly Accounts for their maintenance, and any other returns that may be required by the Inspector. All Orders of Delention shall be carefully kept anlongst the Remrds of the School.

23. 11n/>ec1or All books and journals of the School shall be open to the lnspector

for examinalion. Any teacher entployed in the School who does not llold recognised qualifications may be exanlined by the lnspcctor. if he thinks it necessary, and he shall be informal of the qualilications o f new teachers on their appoinlment. lnlnlediate notice shall be given to him of the appointment, death. resignation, o r dismissal of the Manager and members of the School stall.

24. Ge,tc,r.rol Regrdnriom ,

T h e ollicers and teachers of thc School shall be careful in main. lain discipline and order. and to attend to the instruction and training of the children, in conformity with h e x Regulations. The children shall be required to be respectful and obadient lo all those entrusted with their management and training, and to comply with the regulations of the School.

25. Remow1 l o u Reforrnarory Whenever a child is sent to a Reformatory School, under the pro-

visions o f the 71sl or 72nd Sections of the Children Act of 1908. the' Manager shall, without dclay. report lhc care to t l ~ c Inspector.

l o order to ensure a strict and elTectual observance of the provi. sions of the ((6th Section of the Children Act of 1908, in every case

134

in which n child shall be ordered lo he detained i l l a School nianaged by persons of a dilferent religious persuasion from that profcswd hy the parents, or surviving parent, or (should that be unknown), by thc guardian3 or guardian of such child: (or should that be unknown) dillerent from that in wl~ich the child appoirs to have bcen Oaplishl or (that not appearing), dilferer~t from that professctl by the child. the Managcr or teachcrs of such School shall. upon beconling acquainted with the lac1 or having reason to believe that such is the fact. give notice in writing. without delay. to the Inspector, who will thereupon imnledialcly take any necessary steps in the matter.

27. Escapes Should any escape from the School occur. the Manager shall, with

as little delay a s possible, notify the particulars to the nmrest Gardai Station. to the Garda Superinlmdents of lhe counly and adjoining counties. and to the ft~speclor's Ollice.

These Rules have been adopted by lhe Managers of.

.: ............................ ltrlustrial School

Ccmesponding Manager.

.................................... 19 ......

Approved under the 54th Section of the Childrcn Act of 1908.

Minister for Education

I have two minor reservations.

(i) The Iirst relates to the proposal in Clvapler 5, paragraph 5.1 that A n Bord llcht&la and its funcliuns should be transferred to a proposed new child carc division in the Departnlent of llealth. As the Committee does not regard the question of adoption as being. strictly speaking. a matter for i t . I d o not feel called upon to express a view on the proposal. However. since the matter is mentioned. I think i t ought nut he overlooked that the Board is an aulononwus body. judicial in c1t;mclcr awl indrpcndent of the executive in the making of adoption orders. I t has not been suggested. and i t can scarcely be contemplated. that any alteration should be mlde in this indcpcndenl sti~tus. Accord- ingly. s o far as concerns tllc supervision of pl:~cemenls. the evalua~ion of adoptive 11ot11es and llle other "child carc" aspects o f adoption. the choice of Department under whose aegis i t

135

- - -- - -- ~ I l ~ l l t l d l'llnclion ,ecnls lo mc not lo I,c of particular >ig~~ilioance. Cln tllc other h n d , arloplion ~-:~is'> i~npurtanl issues of parent;,l rights and duties. consents to :tdoptitm. inheritance rights and so on and i t is the Minisler for Justice who would bc rcsponsiblc for promoling legislation on llwse ilrprcls of thc law. As llle Committee's rcason for making this j~ r~)po*a l i s that adoption " i s an important part of lhc child car< _\)lsleni". i t should perlmps :rlso he ni:& clcar 111:1t, once ;an :rdtnpliirn ordcr hns been m:de i n relation to a child. Ihe child c txws to be "in carr" and n o question uf further inspection hy tl,c l loard arises.

(ii) As rcganls ]he refere~scs i n C11:tplcl- (3 . paragraph 6.32 to St. Patrick's Institution. I would make thc p<,int that i lus instilution. unlike a reformatory or an industrid s thml. i s for the detenti<m o f young ollenders who are liable lo imprisonment and who, before the passing of the Criminal Justice Act. 1960. would have been sent to prison. The great majority of thcm have had a nun~ber o f previous convictions. and those who are lirst Menders have nxmxally heen ct,nvic~ed of gravc <drCnres. Safc custody is an important consideration. I h e Institution has shortcomings. A considerable improvement i n the educalion of inmates should result from the proposed appointment i t1 the near future-- already announccd by the Mioisrer for lustice-of a psychologist l o organise educational programmes geared to individual requirements. Howcvcr, the fact must be faced that there are inherent limitalions to what can be done i n any institution whcrc the average pcriod of stay is no m < m than 4 months. where a substantial proporlion of thc inmates arc educationally backward and whcre a significant proportion are bclow average i n intclligcncc.

RISTEARD M A C CONCHRADHA

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