ALMOST 100 vulnerable children in the Downpatrick area are facing long waits for specialist help because of a funding crisis within a welfare support service.
It has been claimed this week that 91 absentee schoolchildren in the area are at risk of neglect because of a serious budgetary crisis within the South Eastern Education and Library Board’s Education Welfare Service.
The service is provided as a support for children who regularly miss school, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A source within the service said she believed the welfare of children waiting to be assigned an officer, some of whom may be on the child protection register, was being jeopardised because of budgetary cuts.
She warned that an £85,000 cut to its core budget had stretched the service to its limit.
She said a growing number of empty posts, including uncovered maternity leave, meant there were just two welfare officers to cover the workload of five in the Downpatrick area.
She claimed the vacant posts, which, she said, are not being refilled for financial reasons, meant 40 schools across the district are currently unable to access the service.
With children referred to the service often suffering from serious mental health issues, she warned their health could be significantly harmed by the scaled back service.
“Some of these children may be suffering from depression or struggling because of bullying,” she said.
“These children are being put at risk of significant harm, left sitting on waiting lists and under vacant posts of case workers.”
She added that money directed to the service to address waiting lists was inadequate because of the growing number of unfilled posts.
An SEELB spokesman confirmed the Education Welfare Service had experienced a higher than normal level of maternity leave this year and had encountered difficulties in the recruitment of replacement staff.
“As with all public services there has to be a prioritising of resources and the Educational Welfare Service is no exception,” the spokesman said.
“The nature of the service means that there will always be a waiting list, which has to be prioritised in line with the level of risks for children and young people within the available resources.”
The spokesman said the overall budget allocated to the service in the next financial year was due to rise from £1,603,000 to £1,707,000.