Child Protection & Garda Vetting

Involves Child Protection Policy forms part of the organisation’s overall Policies and Procedures Pack. The safety & welfare of the young people we work with is of paramount importance to Involve and its members.

As an agency working with some of the most marginalised communities in Ireland, Involve is at the forefront of imaginative and creative service provision. Young people are the future of our society and, just as importantly, will be the future of this organisation.

Our Child Protection & Welfare Policy is an important indication of how we view and treat the young people in our care. It is our hope that it will be rewarded by challenging and progressive youth work interventions that will, in turn, have a significant and positive effect on the next generation of young people engaging in our projects.

Roles and Responsibilities of Involve Youth Service

Obligation to provide children/young people with the highest possible standard of care and safeguard them from all forms of abuse;
Develop procedures and guidelines derived from and consistent with Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children/young people.
Take account of the guidance in Our Duty To Care (2002) in the development of child protection policies, procedures, and practices;
Promoting the general welfare, health, development and safety of children and to include them in the decision making process with regards to activities and programmes;
Adopting a safe and clearly defined method of recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers;
Manage the Garda Vetting process for all staff and volunteers in a professional manner
Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and regular training and upskilling
Adopt the safest possible practices to minimise the possibility of harm or accidents happening to children and protect workers from the necessity to take risks and leave themselves open to accusations of abuse or neglect
Adopting Child Protection Guidelines and reflecting these through our Code of Behaviour for staff and volunteers
Developing guidance and procedures for staff who may have reasonable grounds for concern that should not deviate from Children First Guidance 2011
Complete risk assessment on all programmes /activities run by Involve at local, regional and national level.
Co-operate effectively with other childcare and protection agencies and professionals by sharing information when necessary and working together towards the best possible outcomes for the children concerned

Garda Vetting

Garda Vetting Policy
Involve is a member of National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) Garda Vetting Consortium through which we can avail of Garda vetting. The NCYI Consortium acts as our Authorised Signatory.

What is Garda vetting?
Garda Vetting is a procedure through which An Garda Síochána is asked, with a person’s permission, to disclose any information held on garda file.
Within current disclosure policy, details of all convictions and/or prosecutions, successful or not, pending or completed, in the State or elsewhere as the case may be disclosed to the authorised Child Protection Liaison person in Involve.

What staff will be vetted?
It is best practice that Garda vetting be conducted in respect of personnel working in a full-time, part-time or voluntary or student placement capacity in a position in the Organisation, through which they have unsupervised access to young people.

All staff/volunteers will be re-vetted after a period of 3 years (it is best practice to re-vet staff/volunteers after this period of time). The Organisation may also carry out random re-vetting of staff/volunteers at times that it deems appropriate.

Nominated Garda Vetting Contact Person
The Nominated Garda Vetting Contact Person in the Organisation is Ann Stephens as of this time. The Nominated Garda Vetting Contact Person is registered with the NYCI Consortium. It is their role to manage all Garda vetting applications submitted by the Organisation.

Download the full Involve CLG Child Protection and Welfare Handbook >> Download

Download the full Involve CLG Child Safeguarding Statement >> Download