https:// www.limerickpost.ie/2018/07/05/questions-for-tusla-over-child-sex-abuse-allegations/

IRELAND - Limerick

Questions for Tusla over child sex abuse allegations

THE terms of reference for a special investigation into Tusla’s handling of the alleged child abuse and neglect of 16 children in County Limerick have been sent to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan for his urgent consideration.

And Limerick Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins is now seeking a clear statement on the issue, two weeks after concerns over delays in launching the investigation were first aired.

Last March, the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Dr Geoffrey Shannon was assigned to investigate the circumstances surrounding the State’s involvement in uncovering one of the worst child sex abuse scandals to come to light in recent times.

16 children from four families are believed to have been at the centre of some of the most horrific paedophilic abuse, neglect and exploitation in the history of the State.

The Limerick Post reported that the Special Rapporteur was assisting in drafting the terms of reference but delays in concluding the matter were being criticised.

This week however, it has been confirmed Minister Flanagan’s department has a draft of the terms of reference for the scope of the investigation.

Responding to Deputy Collins, Minister Flanagan confirmed that his department “recently received the draft terms of reference in question and they are currently receiving attention.

“This matter is a complex and sensitive one and it is essential that careful consideration is given to the terms of reference. I can assure the Deputy that my views, and the views of my Department, will be communicated to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in the very near future.

https:// www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-county-foster-care-abuse-negligence-charges-1.4723516

Negligence charges for former child welfare official after kids abused in foster care

Criminal charges against Children's Aid Society administrators 'a rare thing'

MK, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, spoke to CBC News about her abuse while in foster care in Prince Edward County (!!!!!) , Ont. The former head of the county Children's Aid Society has been criminally charged for overseeing an agency that placed children with foster parents who were later convicted of sexual abuse.

Ontario Provincial Police have taken the unusual step of charging the head of a Children's Aid Society for overseeing an agency that placed 10 children with foster parents who ended up being convicted of sexual abuse.

Bill Sweet, 67, former executive director of the Prince Edward County CAS, was charged in May with 10 counts of negligence causing bodily harm and 10 counts of failing to provide the necessities of life — a charge usually reserved for guardians who neglect children.

Sweet, who left the CAS in 2012, declined to discuss the case with CBC News. He's scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.

His case is being closely watched by advocates for children in care.

Lawyer Mary Birdsell, executive director of Justice for Children and Youth, says it could have wide-ranging implications for people whose job it is to protect children in need.

"It's not unheard of for [children's aid] societies and administrators to be sued when things go wrong," said Birdsell, who has been offering legal aid services to children in care for 20 years.

"But as far as I know, having an administrator brought up on criminal charges is a rare thing."

'I still struggle daily'

The 10 abused former foster children, now adults, will also be watching the case closely.

MK, whose identity is protected under a court-ordered publication ban, is one of them.

She was 15 years old in 2007 when the Prince Edward County CAS placed her, along with two other teenage girls, in foster care with Joe and Janet Holm.

But that foster home, meant to be a place of refuge, ended up being where MK faced even more harm.

"I still struggle daily with having to use the coping mechanisms that I learned in therapy to get through life," said MK, now 26.

She remembers Joe Holm being extremely sexually inappropriate from the start, something she says Janet Holm continually tried to cover up.

N.W.T. government faces lawsuit over allegations it failed to protect children from sexual abuse

Consultant hired to review 'effectiveness' of child protection system

CBC Investigates

Former foster home operators accused in lawsuit of inappropriate discipline, letting kids use drugs

​

"We were told by my foster mother that my foster father was not to be present when [CAS] would do the annual visits," she said. "He was very very inappropriate with almost every single person he met."

MK says her former foster father faced no consequences when his sexually inappropriate comments and touching were exposed.

"I recall something had happened with my foster father and one of the young girls in the home, and [CAS workers] had asked us if that had actually happened and we said, 'Yes, we witnessed this happening,' and he was told not to do it again and it was left at that," MK said.

"So when the behaviour started to progress with me, I almost kind of felt that this was normal, that I deserved this."

Joe Holm went on to sexually abuse MK over the next three and a half years.

In April 2011, the Holms pleaded guilty to charges including sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and possessing child pornography related to the sexual abuse of MK and four other children in their care. The judge sentenced Joe Holm to four years in prison and Janet Holm to three years.

Theirs wasn't an isolated case.

Province issues damning report

Three other Prince Edward County foster parents were convicted of sexual offences against children in their care — all placed with them by the county's CAS.

The large number of sexual abuse charges and convictions in what was the smallest children's aid society in Ontario prompted the province's Ministry of Children and Youth Services to launch a wide-ranging review.

A report issued in 2012 found a poorly run, dysfunctional organization where workers routinely failed to complete proper screening of foster parents. Monthly checks-ins on the foster homes were also not done. And infighting among staff meant crucial information about foster parents was often not shared.

…

>>2039459

MK believes her social worker was not aware of the abuse until she told him. After the damning government review, the Prince Edward County CAS was merged into the regional Highland Shores CAS.

It's unclear what led police to charge Sweet, but the report, seen by CBC News, found the CAS under his direction had issues involving, among other things:

• Child protection investigation practices with respect to foster homes, particularly with respect to record keeping and documentation, verification of abuse and compliance with requirements for child protection investigations.

*Compliance with child protection standards.

Mark Kartusch, executive director of Highland Shores, says a lot has changed in the way foster care is run in Prince Edward County.

"We have a lot of checks and balances in place. When we open a foster home there's a very extensive assessment process, some even call it intrusive," he said. "This was an extremely rare event. For something like this to happen and to this scale, it was just completely out of the norm."

MK says she hopes the charges against Sweet are a warning to all CAS administrators."I hope this is an eyeopener for them," she said. "I hope the agencies can be present and mindful of who they allow to be foster parents."

http:// www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/national/16330617.minister-suggests-brexit-soap-opera-delaying-response-to-child-abuse-report/

Focus on the Brexit “soap opera” has delayed the Government’s response to a report examining abuse of British children sent overseas, a minister has suggested.

Jackie Doyle-Price thanked Labour’s Lisa Nandy (Wigan) for bringing forward the debate on the Child Migration Programmes, telling MPs it would help her “focus the mind” of some of her colleagues given that the issue involves more than one department.

The health minister had acknowledged it was four months since the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) – set up by Theresa May – published a detailed report into the programmes, noting “eyes have been taken off the ball” due to Brexit.

The harm done by the British state is still being done by these delays. That’s why I’m asking for a full apology, financial redress, access to records and help to reunite families. Nobody else should have to die waiting for justice.

Ms Nandy had told ministers to “end the deafening silence” and act on the report.

She urged action to address the “shameful” policy which saw 130,000 children forced from the UK to former British colonies under Child Migration Programmes between the 1920s and 1970s.

The inquiry heard from various former migrants who claimed they and others suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of those running the schools and orphanages they were sent to.

The inquiry’s report said all former child migrants should receive compensation – whether or not they were sexually abused – because all had been put at risk of sexual abuse.

Ms Doyle-Price, replying to the Westminster Hall debate, said: “(Ms Nandy) is right, it’s very difficult for me to stand up and disagree with anything she’s said, really.

“It is four months since the report came out. Dare I say we’re all a bit distracted by the soap opera that is Brexit and so on, which means that the eyes have been taken off the ball with some of these issues.

“But one of the reasons I’m grateful to her for raising this debate is it helps me focus the mind of some of my colleagues, because she’ll appreciate, as she’s alluded to, this is an issue which impacts more than just my department and we need to get some agreement across Government.”

Ms Doyle-Price said the child migration policy was “so misguided, so harmful, caused such suffering and distress”, adding: “It actually beggars belief for us as Members of Parliament in the 21st century to think that any British Government could actually think this was a reasonable policy.”

She said she wanted to formally respond to MPs over the report before the summer recess.

Opening the debate, Ms Nandy – who has persistently raised the issue – said the silence had been “deafening” from the Government since the report’s publication.

Ms Nandy told ministers the child programmes were a “state-sponsored system of child abuse”, adding: “Many of those of children were physically and sexually abused, children as young as 12 were subjected to back-breaking work, many were psychologically tortured.

“Some of those children were as young as three years old, they were separated from parents and siblings and many were wrongly told that their families were dead.”

The Wigan MP said successive Governments had failed to act as “the politics of the day” had been consistently prioritised.

She said: “The Government didn’t want to risk its relations with Australia, it didn’t want to offend those voluntary societies who participated in the scheme, Government ministers over successive Governments were cowed by the patronage and the power of those who were involved in these schemes.”

Ms Nandy told ministers that since the publication of the report four months ago, 10 survivors had died.

She said: “This has been one of the most shameful episodes in British history – for 30 years we have known about this scandal, but failed to act.

“The harm that was done then is compounded by our knowledge that this is continuing to cause harm to people in this country and across the world, but still nothing is done.”

The IICSA recommended in their report that the Government should pay the thousands of former migrants who are still alive within 12 months.

>>2039787

Who is the only person looking at the camera?

→ the person on the right (above silver car)

>>2039817

what did you mean yesterday with , " rani or picnic day? "

>>2039946

if i'm not mistaken anons yesterday thought it was @snowden

>>2040003

you see the scall is different dont ya?