Taoiseach Mícheál Martin sent his best wishes to all those marking the 10th anniversary of the Tusla Area-Based Childhood (ABC) Programme:
“I am delighted to see that the Area-Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is celebrating ten years of excellent work. A key aim of this programme is to address the impacts of child poverty, by enhancing protective factors and mitigating risk factors for such children. This is an issue very important to me, and the reason why the Programme for Government contains commitments to help lift many more children out of poverty and give them the futures they deserve. I want to commend the skill and commitment of all those working on the ABC programme, and wish them well in their important ongoing work towards our shared goal.”
The national ABC celebration took place in National College of Ireland (NCI) on Thursday 5th June. NCI is the lead agency for the Docklands and East Inner City, and Grangegorman ABC Programmes. President of National College of Ireland, Professor Gina Quin, welcomed guests from government, community and voluntary and educational organisations to NCI’s north-east inner-city campus, to acknowledge the significant work and achievements of the past ten years.
The ABC programme developed following the generous allocation of funding from the late Chuck Feeney and his Atlantic Philanthropies foundation together with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, which has mainstreamed the funding into Tusla forthe ABC Programme from 2018.
ABC envisions an Ireland where no child is impacted by poverty and all children are supported to reach their full potential.
There are two key strands of service provision in the ABC programme. First is Prevention – identifying potential issues or vulnerabilities before they happen and putting progressive universal supports in place to prevent them. Second is Early Intervention - intervening early to prevent difficulties escalating, helping parents, children and families become more resilient and realise their full potential. Both are essential to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and disadvantage.
Bernie Laverty, ABC National Manager in Tusla, and Gavin McGee, Chair of the ABC Managers Forum, stewarded the day, introducing a number of guest speakers including Kate Duggan, the CEO of Tusla, Denise Charlton, the CEO of the Community Foundation, and keynote speaker, Koulla Yiasouma, Chair of Oberstown, who spoke about the importance of prevention and early intervention in the lives of children and families.
“It is important to take the time to recognise the work on the ground and the partnerships and funding that make the ABC Programme possible. We are all excited and appreciate the chance to gather in one place to share our experiences and reflections to reinvigorate and sustain us as we move into the next decade of ABC,” said Bernie Laverty, ABC National Manager in Tusla.
More about the Tusla ABC Programme
ABC (Area Based Childhood) Programme is a national Prevention and Early Intervention Programme funded by Tusla and delivered through the Prevention partnership and Family Support Service.. The programme invests in effective services to improve outcomes for children and families living in areas of disadvantage. The ABC Programme sees the direct implementation of evidence-based approaches and creates learning opportunities to enhance workforce and service capacity within the Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) children and family sector.