Oberstown Children Detention Campus has today published its annual report for 2016/2017. This is the first report of the Board of Management for the new Campus and covers an 18-month period from 1 June 2016 to 31 December 2017. The new Campus was established under the Children (Amendment) Act 2015, which came into effect on June 1 2016.

As noted in the foreword by Chair of the Board Professor Ursula Kilkelly, the report presents key developments, challenges and achievements over the period covered by the publication.

Of particular importance was the publication of the Oberstown Strategic Plan, 2017-2020, which, as Prof Kilkelly notes, gives clear direction to the operation of the Campus.

“Throughout 2017, there has been clear and substantial progress made in bringing stability to Campus operations to the benefit of both young people and staff… Although challenges remain, the Campus is now on a solid footing from which it can move forward in the fulfilment of its mission to provide the best possible care for young people in detention,” Prof Kilkelly stated in her foreword.

The report gives an overview of young people in detention in Oberstown, based on research data produced in 2017, and outlines their journey through care in Oberstown under each of CEHOP pillars. Also highlighted is the Oberstown Participation Strategy, and the CISM peer support programme, an initiative that provides “psychological first aid” to staff in the event of a critical incident at work.

The report is available for download and the Oberstown media toolkit is available here.