Publication of Oberstown Annual Report 2023

3rd July 2024

Oberstown has published its annual report for the year 2023. Oberstown is Ireland’s only children's detention facility for young people under 18 years placed on remand or detention orders by the courts. The report outlines a number of key developments made in providing care for young people in custody, in addition to progression pathways for those leaving the facility.

Figures of Oberstown in 2023 showed:

• A total of 129 young people were detained on remand or detention orders. [An increase from 110 in 2022 and from 102 in 2021]
• The average daily population was 35 (13 remand, 22 detention). [Up from 32 and an average increase from 19 in detention in 2022]
• The average age was 16. 
• The average length of detention order (days) was 138. [A reduction from 227 days in 2022 and 357 days in 2021]
• The average length of remand order (days) was 44. [A decrease from 63 days in 2022 and below the figure of 56 days in 2021] 
• Of 116 onward placements in 2023, 74 young people went to their homes, 16 went to residential care, 14 went to relative or foster care/other, and 12 were moved to prison. 

The annual report highlights significant developments across campus and celebrates the notable achievements of the young people at Oberstown throughout 2023. 2023 was the first full year for the implementation of the Oberstown Strategy 2022 – 2026.

Key highlights include:

• Continued growth of Oberstown skills training programmes, including initiatives focused on providing young people with practical skills to increase their prospects of employment in the future.
• 30 young people achieved a certificate in Fitness Instruction, 20 young people completed a course in manual handling, 12 qualified for a Safe Pass certificate and 24 received training as Baristas.
• There were 16 different programmes delivered across 2023 covering a wide range of topics including offending behaviour, relationships, life skills, and relapse prevention among others.
• A total of 20 Gaisce awards were achieved by young people during the year and 4 work placements were secured over 2023.
• Special education and skills projects such as:
  • A careers guidance project helping young people in Oberstown to explore skills and interests and link these to education, training and employment opportunities.
  • Participation in the 2023 Bloom Project and the creation of the Rise garden, a project that helped foster important life skills for the young people involved. The garden won a silver gilt award at Bord Bia Bloom 2023. IPRT was invited to see the award-winning display.
  • The establishment of an on-campus coffee van business operated partly by young people at Oberstown under the supervision of qualified catering staff, which provides young people with on-campus education, skills development and work experience.

The annual report notes that HIQA carried out an inspection in 2023 using the Children’s Rights Policy Framework. Overall, the inspection report noted positive and supportive interaction between staff and the young people, concluding that  young people are supported in understanding and addressing their offending behaviour through an expanded range of programmes, and found that the service is responding well to changing trends in offending behaviour. Young people are encouraged to take an active role in decisions about their care and plans for their future.

 Areas for improvement highlighted by HIQA included:  

• Further improvements are needed in the quality and accuracy of records at placement planning meetings.
• Care records of young people need to be completed in a timely fashion and the case management system (CMS) needs to be kept up to date.
• More complete records are required in the documentation, the assessment tools and offending behaviour plans to capture the extent of the support and planning for the young people.
• Improvement of the system for recording incidents, child protection and welfare concerns and safeguarding concerns, along with arrangements for oversight of the role of the Designated Liason Person (DLP). Work is required to track trends that would inform the emerging needs of the service and young people.
• Work is required to ensure procedures are kept up to date and are consistently followed and to further improve the consistency and quality of records.
• Gaps in governance and oversight of the service require attention, including implementation of staff supervision in line with Oberstown policy. Staff shortages and their impact on the service is a key focus for action. Improvements are required to ensure that some procedures are reviewed and updated to reflect best practice, and that all staff take part in up-to-date mandatory refresher training.
• A critical incident management approach and operational procedure is in development and this will be fully rolled out in the first quarter of 2024.

Read the full Oberstown Children Detention Campus Annual Report 2023 here.