Supporting the development of a National Policy for Child Safeguarding and Wellbeing within Adult Mental Health Services

The Challenge

Despite existing policies and procedures, including the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Policy, there was no dedicated national policy addressing the safeguarding needs of children connected to adults in mental health services. This left a gap in reminding and equipping Adult Mental Health professionals to consider and be responsive to any potential risks of harm to the health or welfare of children who are in close relationship and/or in the are of the adult service user.

CES was engaged to help address this gap by providing expert project management and facilitation during the development of a new National Policy for Child Safeguarding and Wellbeing within Adult Mental Health Services.

What we did

CES supported a cross functional working group that was established to develop the policy. This group comprised representatives from frontline Mental Health Services, the HSE Children First National Office and are presentative from Tusla – The Child and Family Agency.

• Through a series of workshops, facilitated by CES, the group developed the policy content that set out the practical steps to be taken by Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) clinicians to identify apotential child safeguarding risk.
• The policy also set out clear guidance on the steps to take, in conjunction with the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Policy, in the event that a potential concern be identified. The guidance includes the immediate steps required to assure safety of the child, how to report concerns and how to clearly signpost any concern to other clinicians who may come into contact with the service user. The policy also makes clear the actions necessary to ensure the case is appropriately reviewed and managed by the AMHS Multidisciplinary team and in collaboration with other agencies as required.
• To support clinicians with the policy, the team developed practical tools including a template Core bio-psycho-social assessment which includes cues/prompts for clinicians to support a ‘Think Family-Think Children’ approach and questions/prompts to be used by clinicians to support identification of child safeguarding risks at follow-up assessments. They also developed guidance and templates to support both Child Safeguarding Action Planning and how to alert other clinicians to potential concerns.
• CES supported facilitation of an extensive consultation with stakeholders from both the HSE, including Adult Mental Health Services team members, and outside the HSE, including persons with lived experience, Ombudsman for Children and Tusla – Child and Family Agency.
• Finally, to support the policy roll out CES supported development of communications for staff, guidance to support policy implementation and created an information video to explain to staff the policy and its content.

The Impact

This policy provides a clear national framework to support adult mental health professionals in identifying and addressing child safeguarding concerns providing clear and practical guidance to clinicians. It encourages a ‘Think Family - Think Children’ approach and equips professionals to assess and respond to risks, whether evident at initial contact or emerging during ongoing care.

The final policy was approved by the HSE Senior Leadership Team and came into effect from 1 May 2025.

“This policy marks a significant milestone in integrating childsafeguarding into adult mental health services. Partnering with CES meant that even the busiest professionals could confidently contribute their expertise, knowing the process was being expertly managed and every step coordinated. Ken created the structure and momentum that allowed meaningful input without adding too much to people’s workload’’

‍– Marion Martin, HSE Children First Lead