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Gross neglect of children runs the risk of going unnoticed for long periods of time during school closings and shutdowns.
Details of shocking negligence cases are revealed today by the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP).
It suggests that some cases of neglect may have been noticed much earlier if schools had not been forced to close last year after Covid-19 arrived in Ireland.
Recently, there were cases in which children had to be hospitalized as a result of a serious infection from an infestation of lice and scabies.
Other problems caused by the pandemic included reduced parental access to children in foster care and restrictions on vital support services for vulnerable parents and children.
The CCLRP was launched in 2013 to provide insight into child care law cases after the law was changed to allow reporting on such matters.
In his latest report, published today, he describes 48 cases from the latter part of 2020, when the effect of the pandemic was too obvious.
In one case, the Dublin District Court granted an interim care order in respect of two children after one of them, a girl, had to be admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital with a serious infection due to lice and scabies.
The court heard that the Garda Child Protection Unit went to the boy’s family home on foot for a referral and found the home in a state of disarray.
A detective gave evidence that clothes and garbage were all over the floor, the children’s room contained about two feet of garbage and clothing, the mattresses were dirty without bedding, and there were no hygienic facilities for washing.
The mother claimed that she was in the process of cleaning the house and filling a container in the garden and that was why it was so messy.
A pediatric consultant gave evidence that when the girl was brought to the clinic she had scabies and the most serious case of lice she had ever seen.
She had lice for about three weeks and scabies for about a week before being examined.
A social worker gave evidence that she did not believe the mother fully understood the circumstances.
He said that evaluations would be carried out, that the children would be placed with a family as soon as possible, and that the social work department would do everything possible to facilitate access by the mother.
In another case, another girl who was going to school was also hospitalized with an infection due to a lice infestation.
The principal of the girl’s school had been concerned about the neglect of this girl and her sister, but when the schools closed, he was unable to maintain contact with them.
She told the court that the classroom teacher had organized Zoom meetings, but sadly, the boy did not participate in any of them.
The class teacher had also invited all the children to come to school to meet her and give a gift and a card to all the children, but this girl did not come.
The teacher called the house and discovered that the girl had been shaved, so she did not want anyone to see her.
The court heard that the girl’s younger sister was in the hospital because she had scabies, ringworm and lice.
CCLRP Director Dr. Carol Coulter said the neglect cases raised the question of whether prolonged school closings meant that teachers, often the first line in protecting vulnerable children, were being separated from them and the negligence went unnoticed for far too long.
He said other issues seen by the CCLRP stemming from the pandemic included cases of children in care who were deprived of meaningful access to their parents and reduced or delayed access to essential assessments.
Dr. Coulter added that there were cases of parents who might otherwise overcome their problems and reunite with their children, who were denied the therapy that would allow them to do so.
Online editors
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