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	Social services failed to properly protect children from sex offenders and left them at risk, an inspection report has revealed.</p>
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	The inspection of child welfare and protection services in Donegal found the assessment of one convicted sex offender was delayed by six months as the service struggled with lack of staff.</p>
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	Although efforts were made to identify, assess and manage risks posed by alleged or convicted offenders in the community, early warning systems to discover organised abuse were not robust enough, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) said.</p>
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	The inspection, carried out in May, found that while overall children received a service which supported and protected them, there were also failures.</p>
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	These included:</p>
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	* A waiting list arose for the allocation of social workers to alleged or convicted sex offenders.</p>
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	* Social workers having no national guidance, policy, procedure or assessment system in place to support them to assess and monitor the risk posed by sex offenders.</p>
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	* Lack of staff, meaning that children and those deemed the most urgent had to be prioritised while the rest were on a waiting list.</p>
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	* Fifteen children who were on the child protection notification system had not been allocated a social worker. They were also not visited by a social worker as often as they should have been.</p>
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	* Around one in four assessments of children were not carried out within the recommended 20 days. Nearly half of the initial checks were still &quot;ongoing&quot;.</p>
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	Brian Lee, Director of Quality Assurance of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency which took over social services from the HSE, said: &quot;The inspections process provides a useful, independent perspective of what we are doing well and an opportunity to improve our services.</p>
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	&quot;I am pleased that the final report recognises the service&#39;s many positive achievements and the dedication of its local staff, with no major risks identified.</p>
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	&quot;A comprehensive action plan is being implemented to address the findings of the report.</p>
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	&quot;Significantly, there was good inter-agency work demonstrated between Tusla, An Garda Siochana and other professionals.</p>
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	&quot;All concerns regarding children were screened effectively and there was a system in place to ensure that child protection conferences took place in a timely manner.&quot;</p>
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	Meanwhile, a new five-year research programme led by Maynooth University senior lecturer Dr Sinead McGilloway, has been awarded &euro;1.25m to research two new models of &quot;wraparound&quot; care for vulnerable parents of young children.</p>
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	It will focus on children aged up to eight who may be at risk of developing emotional and behavioural difficulties and children at risk of maltreatment or abuse.</p>
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	&quot;Wraparound&quot; care provides an intensive, individualised approach to children.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/care-staff-left-children-at-risk-of-sex-offenders-30686540.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/care-staff-left-children-at-risk-of-sex-offenders-30686540.html</a></p>
