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Annual Report 2025 Branching Out to New Horizons
b | Annual Report 2025 Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service, Management Office, Suite 9, Northwood House, Northwood, Dublin 9, D09WV82. 01 842 5100 | admin@docharity.ie Please scan to visit our website
Annual Report 2025 | 1 Contents Chairperson’s Report 2 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 3 Our Mission, Vision & Values 4 Organisational Structure 5 Our Impact in 2025 at a Glance 6 Who We Are and What We Do 7 Feedback from Families we’ve worked with 8 Strategic Plan 2025 - 2027 10 The children, young people & families we serve 11 Our valued teams 24 Excellence in our services 31 An effective organisation 37 Influence & external relations 42 Governance & Compliance 2025 45 Our Funders 47 Financial Summary 2025 48
2 | Annual Report 2025 Chairperson’s Report RESPECT COMPASSION HONESTY FAIRNESS JUSTICE 2025 was a constructive and productive year for the Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service. Implementation of our current strategic plan, ‘Empowering Futures, Bringing hope to children and families’ commenced. A priority for the Board was ensuring that we had the right leadership structure in place to deliver our ambitious strategic plan. Work also commenced on the implementation of the recommendations of an independent review of organisational resources and I look forward to the full implementation in 2026. There has been significant progress in each of our strategic areas, the highlights of which were expansion of services to Louth and Meath and strengthening our board. I would like to thank the Board of Directors for their tireless work and commitment, Tom Early, Orla Gogarty, Paul Harrison, Sr Marian Harte, Brian McCarthy and Roslyn O Shaughnessy. I would particularly like to thank the recently retired Chair of the Board, Mr Ciarán Roche and Sr Goretti Butler who both retired from the Board earlier this year. As founders of the organisation over 42 years ago, we are deeply indebted to them for their vision and their unwavering commitment to the organisation. I would like to thank Mr John Tuffy, Director, and Chair of the finance and audit committee, who also retired this year following his many years of service and commitment. I would like to welcome Mr Tom Early who joined the board earlier this year. I wish to acknowledge the tremendous work and commitment of the CEO, senior management team and all staff who strive, daily to ensure we fulfil our core mission to provide the highest quality services to children and families. The support of our funders is vital. We continue to work in constructive partnership with our colleagues in the statutory sector and community and voluntary services across the organisation. I wish to acknowledge the immense resilience and commitment of those we serve. Despite being faced with immense challenges and adversity, they seek to place the needs of their children and families first. As the organisation develops and changes, we are fully committed to continuing to provide the highest quality services to children and families acknowledging that together we can make real change. Dr. Paul Gilligan Chair
Annual Report 2025 | 3 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 2025 was the first full year of implementation of our strategic plan “Empowering Futures: Bringing Hope to Children and Families” (2025– 2027). Our strategic plan sets out an ambitious plan for the future under 5 key areas; focusing on children and young people, our dedicated staff, service excellence, organisational development, and our role as an advocate for families and for policy change. In the first year of implementation of our strategic plan, 2025 was a year of growth and impact across all our services. In supporting the children and families we serve, we supported 5066, individuals (2,599 children and 2,467 parents/guardians) in 2025. Within our protective services, the assessment teams supported 609 children and carried out 483 assessments with 50% of cases experiencing Domestic Violence, an increasing trend year on year. Dublin Safer Families received 58 referrals with increases from 2024 to 43% of cases involving active threats of death (23% in 2024) and 18% (15% in 2024) involving the use of weapons. Our therapeutic child and family centres supported 1528 children and young people, a 12% increase on the previous year, and delivered over 32,000 activities ranging from one-to-one work, group and online supports to case work support. Early Childhood Development Services continued to provide high-quality care to 456 children and families. Speech and Language continued to be a real issue for children in the ECDS with 65 requiring additional support in this area. Innovation and growth were also central to our work in 2025 with a full year of operation of our assessment services in Louth and Meath and our continued partnership with Tusla in developing these services. We supported our valued teams in 2025 through the implementation of a complementary restorative supervision model to support staff responding to the intensive and complex needs of children and families. As an effective organisation, an organisational resource review was carried out to enable us to identify and implement a structure to support the implementation of the strategic plan. We continued to monitor the outcomes of our work with our research partner, Trinity Research in Childhood Centre. We achieved full compliance across all our early years inspections, evidence of the high-quality impactful work carried out by our staff teams across the centres. Our annual impact report continues to highlight the many challenges that children and families are facing and also identifies the commitment and resilience of the people that we serve. Our strategic plan ‘Empowering Futures’ has set a clear roadmap for the organisation for the coming years. We look forward to its implementation and the provision of first in class services for those most in need. Dr. Tracey A Monson Chief Executive Officer
4 | Annual Report 2025 Vision The Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service, inspired by the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, seeks to identify, reach, and empower children and families most in need in a society that is constantly changing. Mission The Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service recognising the essential dignity and potential of every person and the right of every child to live as full a life as possible within their own family, undertakes to deliver quality services to children at risk and families most in need. Values The values which underpin all the activities of the Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service are; Honesty Justice Fairness Respect Compassion Our Mission, Vision & Values
Annual Report 2025 | 5 Organisational Structure Board of Directors Chief Executive Officer Leadership & Senior Management Team Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) Management Office Protective Services Goldenbridge ECDS Therapeutic Family Centres Business Support Administrator Strategic Development & Services Sub Committee Governance & Risk Sub Committee Finance & Audit Sub Committee Mosney ECDS Aistear Beo Connaught Street Family Centre Arklow Family Centre Balbriggan Family Centre Cherry Orchard Family Centre Jobstown Family Centre Lisdeel Family Centre Turas Family Centre CRM Administrator Child Protection and Safeguarding Finance Department St Joseph’s ECDS Dublin Safer Families Service Human Resources St Louise’s ECDS St Vincent’s ECDS Tír na nÓg ECDS Louth Assessment Service Meath Assessment Service St Benedict’s Assessment Centre Lisdeel Assessment Centre
6 | Annual Report 2025 456Children & families supported by Early Childhood Development Service 5066Individuals supported across the Organisation 2467Parents / guardians supported across the service 43%Cases in Dublin Safer Families Service with a threat of death present 50%Assessment Cases with Domestic Violence as a risk factor 61Children attending Early Childhood Development Service with additional needs 1092Family Centre Referrals 2599Children supported across the service 483Initial assessments carried out by Assessment Teams Our Impact in 2025 at a Glance
Annual Report 2025 | 7 Who We Are and What We Do Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) We provide quality early childhood care and education to children between the ages of 2 and 6 years old. We operate the ECCE scheme and the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) in all ECDS centres. All staff are trained in delivering the HighScope Preschool Curriculum. Staff are professionally qualified and provided with ongoing training, support and supervision. Children have the opportunity to play, learn, socialise and develop their independence skills in a safe, child centred, friendly and nurturing environment. We are a trauma informed and evidence led organisation. Dublin Safer Families Service (DSFS) We are a Domestic Violence and Abuse Service. Safety is of paramount importance when working with families and is central to all decisions made at DSFS. Sessions with children are flexible and can take place individually, jointly with parents and / or family sessions. The work is always focused on the safety of the child. We will work together to develop a ‘Safety Plan’ and to promote positive change. We work from a trauma and evidence based practice perspective. Family Centres Our Family Centres are welcoming and non-clinical, and our professionally qualified staff work in partnership with parents and referrers to provide interventions that are therapeutic and supportive. We work under best practice guidelines and follow legislation, which strives to protect the rights and welfare of children. Our Family Centres provide outreach services to families in the locality of their centres. No two families are the same and we are here to help. We aim to meet families where they are at and work with them for as long as they need our support. We are a trauma informed service and understand the impact of early childhood trauma on an individual’s development. Assessment Service Our Assessment Teams work in partnership with Tusla. We only accept referrals from Tusla social work departments. We use an assessment tool called Signs of Safety (SOS). It is a strengths based approach and is designed to help us carry out child protection work with a focus on child safety. We will discuss with you and your child / children the details of the notification that has been received. We will help you identify goals and create a safety plan for your family. If needed you will be referred to one of our family centres for therapeutic intervention and / or referred back to Tusla for Social Work intervention.
Family Worker is an amazing person with a heart of gold we will miss her. 8 | Annual Report 2025 Feedback from Families we’ve worked with It helped me to find coping mechanisms and I felt very safe expressing myself. Great service, highly recommend, feel so at ease staff are amazing. Thanks for all of your help, for letting me be heard. Never judging. Being my support system when I didn’t have one. I now know what to do when I am triggered, I know the most important thing is for me to take space from my partner. Your genuine care, professionalism and willingness to help truly stood out.
I don’t have rages anymore and I got student of the week last week. I feel way better now than when I came to the centre first. We are so lucky to not have to worry about our child attending your service he loves going in everyday and doesn’t want to leave. Annual Report 2025 | 9 Just keep it up, its amazing what you do for the kids. I am learning valuable lessons and education in improving difficult and challenging behaviours / relationships. The service is a great place to feel good, safe and heard with really good compassionate and understanding staff. My son is calmer and not as angry anymore, able to express his emotions more. I feel more confident with how I am dealing with issues in my family household. Thank you so much for your help and support I really appreciate it.
10 | Annual Report 2025 Empowering Futures: Bringing Hope to Children and Families’ 2025-2027 The plan focused on 5 key areas relating to 2025 was the first year of the implementation of our new strategic plan: The children, young people & families we serve The actions undertaken in 2025 under this plan are highlighted throughout this report. Excellence in our services Influence & external relations An effective organisation Our valued teams Strategic Plan 2025 - 2027
Annual Report 2025 | 11 The children, young people & families we serve We meet the needs of those we serve wherever they are at. Our aim is that every family requiring assistance will receive the support they need for as long as necessary. We place children and families at the centre of our strategy. We consult regularly and include both parents and children at every stage of the planning. Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) In the ECDS, 2025 has been a year of growth, reflection and continued commitment to providing high-quality early childhood care and education in our ECDS community. The focus has always been on nurturing confident, capable and connected children within a safe, inclusive and stimulating environment. Providing a caring, stimulating environment for children and families is achieved under the umbrella of compliance and governance. Compliance inspections were undertaken by Tusla, Pobal, Department of Education, School Meals and Environmental Health. While in the ECDS the focus is on the child, the centres provide family support and advice to the families attending the centres. In 2025 there were 11 known cases of domestic violence and across the six ECDS centres there were 8 families living in homeless accommodation. This however is not the full picture as numerous families in our Dublin City services live in overcrowded and substandard accommodation. Many families return to live in their parents’ homes when they are evicted or cannot afford rent in the area. These families are not documented as homeless but effectively are, and their situation has a significant impact on children’s behaviour and development. Many immigrant families in our Dublin centres, rent from the private sector and may sublet the space to make ends meet. On home visits it has been noted that many of these rentals are not fit for purpose, with overcrowding, damp/poor ventilation resulting in mould and draughts.
12 | Annual Report 2025 ECDS stats for 2025 The children, young people & families we serve Parents Children’s Disability Network Team Local National Schools Social Work DoCCFS Assessment Teams & Family Support Workers Public Health Nurse Addiction Teams Referral Sources to ECDS 375 Children attended ECDS 61 Children with additional needs 65 Children with speech and language difficulties 45 Children with English as a second language 54 Children living in Direct Provision 456 Families supported by ECDS 11 Families experiencing Domestic Violence 26 Child safeguarding concerns 8 Families living in homeless accommodation 15 CPWRF’s submitted to Tusla
Annual Report 2025 | 13 Our services support children and families from a wide range of backgrounds, with diverse needs and experiences. Our Mosney centre Mabuhay ECDS serves children and families living in Independent Living (formerly Direct Provision). They accommodate families referred through both IPAS and IRPP. All our other centres operate in vulnerable communities throughout Dublin City. They all work in partnership with families and strive to offer a wraparound service to those who need it. All our centres implement the HighScope Curriculum in alignment with the National Curriculum Framework – Aistear. HighScope online observational system (COR) is an authentic observational assessment which paints an accurate picture of children’s development and learning. It is designed to help teachers capture and analyse each day’s play-based observations into targeted and individualised support. This allows teachers to provide families with practical information on their child’s day. For example, what they ate at mealtimes / nappy changes and activities engaged. The ECDS have seen an increasing need for services for younger children over the past year. Typically, children’s starting range began at age 2, or 2 and a half. Throughout 2025, with a view to early intervention the service looked at ways to improve services to younger children. One of the ECDS centres opened a baby room for children aged 6mths – 2yrs. There are two groups attending each day providing a service to 6 children. Also, parent / toddler groups commenced in several centres where a parent can attend with their babies and toddlers to mix with other parents, gain information and advice and develop support networks in the local area. The new family worker role in one of the centres has allowed the centre to facilitate parent and toddler groups, baby massage groups, and buggy walking groups to accommodate younger children. Significant work was completed by a manager and acting manager in one of the ECDS centres in relation to placement commencement for a child with complex medical needs. The planning took place over several months and staff completed training to support the child’s placement. In another centre, staff completed epilepsy training to support a child’s attendance at their centre. Parents are encouraged to be active members of the centre’s community. They are invited to attend the Parent’s Advisory Committee. These sessions recommenced in all the centres in 2025, at these meetings parents are encouraged to share their views, give suggestions and feedback of their experience in the centre and generally some policies are read. Parents are also invited to attend outings with their child. Two Family Centres have provided online parenting webinars in 2025 which parents in ECDS have been encouraged to attend. In December 2025 funding under the Food Poverty Scheme from the Children’s Rights Alliance was received, this enabled centres to offer financial support to purchase food for families struggling over the Christmas period. This was a much appreciated and essential support to many families over what can be an expensive and stressful Christmas period. The children, young people & families we serve
Feedback Thank you for all your hard work every year. It’s honestly like family being with you all. Parent My son has come out of his shell and is learning more every day, thanks for everything. Parent Thank you so much for being so kind, welcoming and supportive during my Early Childhood placement. I have learned so much from you all and I truly appreciate the time, patience and encouragement you’ve shown me. Third Level Student Thank you for your thoughts and for taking extra special care of my sweet girl this week. I am so grateful she had your wonderful team giving her care and consistency. Parent who was in hospital The children have settled so well I believe because they attended the parent and toddler group and got to know everyone. You run a great place. Parent Not everyone who gets a degree in Childhood studies is automatically a great teacher, but staff member has this great genuine skill for teaching and inspiring the little ones. She’s a natural. Parent 14 | Annual Report 2025 The children, young people & families we serve
Annual Report 2025 | 15 Therapeutic Family Centres In our therapeutic family centres, there is evidence which demonstrates that service delivery is meeting children and parents' needs where they are at. Children and parents are at the forefront of the work and supports are consistently adapted and selected to meet each individual family’s needs. All family centres continue to offer online and in person work in supporting parents and children who find it difficult to access the family centres. This has been very beneficial during 2025 as parents continue to avail of online psychoeducational webinars across our organisation, including our waiting list clients. Over 32,000 client contacts took place within our therapeutic family centres during 2025, an increase of 4% from 2024. Session activities include face to face, online support and sessions, walk and talk sessions, drop-ins, group work, telephone support and outreach sessions with children and parents. The data below reflects the demands on each of our family centres during 2025. Top Three Primary Reasons for Referral to Family Centres in 2025 The children, young people & families we serve 32,006 Activities with children and parents 1092 New referrals into our family centres 1528 Children received a service 1293 Parents received a service 12% Increase in total clients who received a service in 2025. Emotional Support 220 219 Parenting Support 141 Emotional Wellbeing / Anxiety
The children, young people & families we serve 16 | Annual Report 2025 2025 Additional Reasons for referral to Family Centres These are in addition to the initial reason for referral The service is committed to developing our staff to provide the best possible service to children and families. Family centres provide a variety of interventions to meet the needs of families including Circle of Security, Theraplay, Capacitar, Marte Meo and Parenting Children with Additional Needs. Although we operate a waiting list in each centre, support is offered to children and parents while on our waiting lists in the form of group support, outreach support, online seminar support, and/or holding sessions if a family requires this. Parents are aware they can contact their centre manager at any stage while they are on our waiting lists. Parental feedback is essential to develop and improve our service, so feedback was gathered from parents in 2025. The feedback from parents lived experience underpinned the organisation’s goals of ‘meeting people where they are at’, ‘working with families as long as they need it’ and ‘creating individual support for each family’. Parenting Behavioural Difficulties School Related Trauma Mental Health Impact of Domestic Violence Relationship Difficulties Socialisation & Play Anxiety
The children, young people & families we serve Annual Report 2025 | 17 Top 3 referral sources into Therapeutic Family Centres Activities with children and parents in 2025 130 School Referrals 339 Self Referrals 346 Tusla Referrals Telephone support Group Work Online support and sessions Outreach sessions with children and parents Face to face sessions Drop in’s 32,000 Client Contacts Walk and talk sessions
The work of the family centre encourages child participation, inclusion of the rights and views of the child and family which are respected and considered when planning the work with the child and family. The family centres are delivering a safe, evidence and research based, child-centred, needs led practice model. All the centres have robust child safeguarding protocols in place and provide a holistic family approach. The therapeutic family centres have developed sensory spaces for children, meeting the children where they are at and have achieved the Tusla Youth Participation Awards in all family centres. The children, young people & families we serve 18 | Annual Report 2025 Child Safeguarding The chart below shows the Child Protection and Welfare reports made to Tusla for the whole of DoCCFS in 2025. There were 371 CPWRF’s made to Tusla in 2025 which was an increase of 45% on the number of CPWRF’s made to Tusla of 255 in 2024. Welfare remained the highest category and increased to 53% in 2025 from 47% reported in 2024. 3% Neglect 5% Sexual Abuse 17% Physical Abuse 53% Welfare in 2025 22% Emotional Abuse 47% Welfare in 2024
The children, young people & families we serve Annual Report 2025 | 19 Assessment Service The assessment service consists of four assessment centres that carry out Initial assessments using the signs of safety model on behalf of Tusla. In January 2025 to add to our two well established assessment teams in Dublin North and Dublin North City, recruitment commenced to set up two further assessment teams for Meath and Louth areas. Both centres commenced work in May and completed a two-week induction for new staff and engaged with intensive training in the use of the signs of safety model. This amounted to fourteen new staff joining the service. As the DoCCFS had not worked in these areas before there was a lot of work needed in getting to know the areas and networking with local agencies. The centres have developed their work with Tusla teams and other agencies in the counties and now have a good understanding of the model and the needs of children and families in the areas. Cases referred for Initial Assessment continue to be at the high medium level of safety. Family Assessment Workers are in regular contact with parents to keep them updated on the progress of the assessment and to provide families with feedback from professionals involved in the case. The team work in close partnership with Tusla, with regular training on the Signs of Safety, case consults and meetings to ensure a consistent approach in the work. There is a focus on ensuring that the initial assessments are balanced, fair, comprehensive and strength based. It is essential to capture the voice of the child during the assessment and to reflect their views in the safety plans to ensure a holistic process. 609Children received a service in 2025 483Initial Assessments completed in 2025 340Families referred in 2025
The children, young people & families we serve 20 | Annual Report 2025 Referral Categories Across the four assessment teams 90% of cases had medium risk at the time of referral. It was noted that 45% of cases across all our assessment centres had DV present at referral. Almost a third of cases returned to Tusla following assessment with a recommendation to remain open. Risk identified at referral across the four assessment centres 2025 Referral Categories 2025 Cases Closed / Cases remaining open following assessment Medium Risk Low Risk 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Emotional 34% Welfare 31% Physical 19% Neglect 16% Closed 65% Open 35% 65% 34% 31% 16% 19% 35%
The children, young people & families we serve Annual Report 2025 | 21 Dublin Safer Families Service In 2025, Dublin Safer Families highlighted an increase in cases with coercive control and identified other forms of abuse present in families such as financial abuse, stalking, strangulation and sexual assault. There has been an increase in rates of financial abuse now present in 50% of cases, threats of death increased to 43% from 23% in 2024, assault during pregnancy at 15% and use of weapons 18% up by 3% on 2024 figures. The centre received 58 referrals with 97 families receiving a service and 113 adults worked with and 57 cases closed in the year. Dublin Safer Families Service uses several interventions in the work including No Violence Contracts and Psychoeducation which teaches families communication and problem-solving skills using a strengths-based approach. Further tools used in the work include genogram work, motivational intervention techniques, narrative therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy and risk assessment work. Perpetrators are held to account for their behaviour in this model as well as the use of the in-room consultant, stable third, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). The team are flexible in their engagement and meet families in person, in the home, in other centres and by zoom and Microsoft teams so the families can engage in the work with the service. Domestic abuse impacts on the whole family and can be traumatising for all who experience domestic violence. The team had internal trauma training run by the DoCCFS this year. Families attending Dublin Safer Families avail of work for as long as is necessary. This process is evaluated and assessed at each supervision session with the team. The work is also evaluated by Trinity Research in Childhood Centre (TRiCC) and this year there was intensive work carried out on revamping our outcome measures to capture the needs of families availing of Dublin Safer Families Service. Creating safety for the victims and children is extremely important and the team along with the victim will plan on when to invite the perpetrator to begin work and subsequently the children. 58 Referrals 57 Cases closed 97 Families received a service 113 Adults worked with
The children, young people & families we serve I can never forget how good ye have been to me and my family. Ye are just wonderful staff. Ye have brought me through my hell to such a different place in my life which I could not have imagined. Victim Feedback Attending the service made things better. I am more confident in myself, and I know I can get help if I need it. Attending the service made me feel less alone and more assertive. I feel more positive about getting help and support if I have worries about my children’s wellbeing. This is a really good service that give you time to work through issues that you’re having difficulties with. I’m very grateful to have gotten the help I got from Dublin Safer Families. Victim Feedback I was like a broken glass I felt I would never be able to put the pieces back together but thanks to your work I feel I have been able to do that. Victim Feedback 22 | Annual Report 2025 Service Trends Quotes from DSFS service users The chart above shows that there have been increases reported in Financial Abuse, Threat of Death, Assault During Pregnancy and the Use of Weapons. 50% Financial Abuse 43% Threat of Death 15% Assault During Pregnancy 18% Use of Weapons
The children, young people & families we serve I found attending my sessions with our lovely Family Worker who went above and beyond to make me feel at home and really opened my eyes to everything I suffered in life. I feel a much better person and most of all a better father. I feel without the Family Worker I would be still struggling. I feel the service has helped my partner and myself massively since we first started attending and the tools we have developed will make us a better family and a much happier household. This service is perfect. Perpetrator feedback I am managing my emotions better and my kids are not afraid to come and talk to me. My family are telling me that I have changed since coming to Dublin Safer Families, I am feeling good building relationships and the mam of my children can now rely on me and ask me for help. I feel since attending DSF I can now challenge myself and feel motivated to make the changes. Perpetrator Feedback I liked meeting my Family Worker each week and enjoyed using things in the playroom like the sand and toys. I liked how I always was supported and that children are understood. Child’s Feedback I feel powerful since coming to DSFS. I have my paperwork in order for court, I am angry with the father of my child, but I no longer react. I am not to blame for the perpetrators’ behaviours, and I do not feel bad applying for a Protection Order. I have been able to give myself time and space to calm down and I know what to do when I get upset. I am grateful for the service and to speak to someone who helps me feel calm. Victim Feedback I feel since I came to this service, things in my life have gotten so much better in every way possible. Perpetrator Feedback I now understand where some of my triggers come from and this is connected to my childhood experiences and feeling not good enough. Perpetrator Feedback I can see the positive changes with my children and feel I am a better parent since starting with the service. I am starting to feel empathy for the mother of my children which has a positive effect on our parenting together. Perpetrator feedback Annual Report 2025 | 23
24 | Annual Report 2025 Our valued teams We cultivate an inclusive, safe and nurturing working environment. We aim to provide all of our employees with a safe, secure and supportive work environment, and to be a desirable employer that offers staff opportunities for professional growth. We do this through our evidence-based training, providing professional development plans for employees and encouragement of cross-skills development. Staff Wellbeing and Support DoCCFS Staff Wellbeing and Support Our Human Resources Café programme is an internal communication process that gives all staff an opportunity to speak directly to the Head of HR. Topics for discussion vary but usually focus on personal support, advice and guidance, discussion about training and development and how various HR Policies might apply in practice. HR Café meetings can be arranged virtually via teams or can take place in person during centre visits by the HR Senior Manager. HR continues to support the implementation of the organisations strategy and in particular promoting the activities and initiatives which highlight our commitment to Our Valued Teams. All staff came together to celebrate our founder St. Louise, known as St Louise’s Day an annual celebration. It took place in The Avon in Blessington. This day was attended by 175 members of staff. Staff had an opportunity to attend yoga, sound baths, paint, walk or just take it easy by the lakeside. The sun shone and staff reported it was their favourite St Louise’s day to date and asked for this type of self-care day to be provided annually. Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) Webinars HR Café Internal Staff Training Pay Parity
Annual Report 2025 | 25 Our valued teams Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) The operating structures within the ECDS in 2025 saw a few changes. Having the acting manager work as float staff who can work in different areas of the centre allows them to provide more support to centre managers. This will enable them to learn the systems necessary to become a manager and provide cover if the manager is absent. This assists in the upskilling of staff and succession planning for the future. Another system put in place was in relation to students and graduate applicants for positions. New graduates are offered AIM plus roles. This provides them with almost full hours at almost entry level salary, but without the responsibility of operating a group. They are an assistant in the classroom with some paperwork responsibilities for the child they are AIM support for. They also gain experience in working with parents as they work in partnership with their AIM child’s parents. Other staff supports include Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), supervision and HR Café across services, and a huge achievement this year was the WRC pay awards advocated for strongly by our CEO. Team meetings are held on a regular basis, generally one day per month, when the centres are closed to facilitate team days. Staff inductions take place at centre level, and an organisation induction is in the planning process for 2026. Training provided by DoCCFS for the ECDS Marte Meo Practitioner Training Supervision Training in Tony Morrison Model HighScope Curriculum Training HACCP FAR First Aid Training Paediatric First Aid Training Manual Handling Training Tracheostomy Care Training Epilepsy Training Lámh Training Persistent Demand Avoidance Anaphylaxis and Emergency Response Training Fire Safety Training
26 | Annual Report 2025 Our valued teams Therapeutic Family Centres During 2025 the senior service manager for the therapeutic family centres met with a representative sample of staff individually to get their feedback on their experience of working for our organisation during 2025. Below is some of the feedback from staff. Staff acknowledged the work the organisation has done in relation to pay parity. Staff are looking forward to further supports coming on board in 2026 such as our new Restorative Supervision model and our new policy system, Board X. Arklow Family Centre’s Drugs Task Force funded post continued to develop during 2025. This post has progressed from a pilot project to an annual funded post to support children and parents impacted by substance misuse. This post is funded by the HSE’s drug task force to support children in the catchment area to steer away from drug use. The support I receive from my manager during supervision is a great help. I have seen a lot of positive changes. I love seeing the positive impact my work has on children and parents. The organisation has been good to me; I have felt very supported. I went through a tough personal time and was fully supported by my manager and the organisation.
Annual Report 2025 | 27 Our valued teams Wellbeing Team Days Study Support Senior Management Team Visits Town Hall Meetings Planning Days Annual Centre Reviews Staff Training St Louise’s Day Flexible Working Model (where possible) Space to Review the Work of the Centre Fantastic Friday News Celebrating the work across DoCCFS Additional Supports to DoCCFS Staff
28 | Annual Report 2025 Assessment Service The service expanded with the addition of two new Assessment Centres in May 2025, covering the Meath and Louth areas. All new staff underwent a two-week induction programme which ensured the new assessment workers understood the organisation, its structure, they also visited family centres, and shadowing assessment workers in the Dublin assessment teams. They received appropriate training in the Signs of Safety model and internal training. Our valued teams Training for Assessment Teams Signs of Safety Training PHECC First Aid Training 16 Days of Action Cyber Security Training Community Addiction Studies TCM Training (Louth and Meath)
Annual Report 2025 | 29 Our valued teams Dublin Safer Families Service (DSFS) Staff receive monthly supervision and ongoing ad hoc supervisions; peer supervision and the team benefit from team consultations which occur 3 days over the year. The service has also attended several relevant conferences to keep up to date with developments in the field. Our organisation continues to be an organisation of learning. This continued to be the case in 2025 with our centres accommodating students to support their learning. We have expanded our college base in 2025 to student placements studying Art Psychotherapy, Art Therapy, Play Therapy and group Psychoanalytical courses. There continues to be investment in staff development and strategic practice staff report feeling supported, well led, and valued. Major investments in Marte Meo, Circle of Security, sensory spaces, and trauma-informed practice are driving quality improvements. CRM processes have strengthened data accuracy, supporting evidence- based planning and service delivery. Above are some of the trainings DSFS staff attended in 2025. Cyber Security Training WWP EN How Perpertrator Programmes Can Keep Children Safe WWP EN How to identity and respond to high risk domestic violence perpetrators WWP EN Toolkit Training Voice of the Child in Court Consultation -Community of Practice x 2 days 2025 Alcohol Action Ireland- ‘A discussion on the role of men’s drinking in domestic violence’ Joint Forces: Advancing Police Responses to Domestic Violence- WWP-EN 8 Stage Homicide Timeline Modules 1-5 Online Course Jane Monkton Smyth Homicide Timeline with Prof. Jane Monckton Smith Responding Effectively to Coercive Control in Child Protection Level 9 Trauma Informed practice with children and adolescents. 2025 Alcohol Action Ireland- ‘A discussion on the role of men’s drinking in domestic violence’ WWP EN Survivor Safety Training Danger Assessment Risk Assessment tool training for all staff and certificate received DoCCFS-Trauma Informed Practice Training
30 | Annual Report 2025 Our valued teams Introduction of Restorative Supervision in the Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service Following feedback from our teams to develop our new service strategy it was identified that the service needed to review our supervision approach. In order to address this gap, it was decided to explore options for a new supervision model that would stand alone to focus on a staff support and to provide a reflective space to process the impact of the work for all frontline staff across the service. The managerial supervision model currently would remain in place, to manage cases, address risk issues and link in staff with organisational developments and adherence to policies and procedures as well as dealing with performance management and staff support in general. Restorative Supervision would focus on staff emotional support and the impact of the work. Following a tender process, the seven eyed restorative model of supervision was considered the most appropriate to address the frontline staff support needs. Staff will be selected for training to deliver this model to staff teams in 2026.
Annual Report 2025 | 31 We provide services that are evidence-based and tailored to meet specific needs, collaborating with Trinity Research in Childhood Centre (TRiCC) in Trinity College Dublin to guide policies. We utilise a collaborative working model which provides families with access to a range of professional services. Excellence in our services Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) The ECDS currently records children’s progress in the centre by using HighScope observations, recorded on a designated platform. Inspections and compliance - all ECDS centres were compliant in any inspections that took place in 2025. 2 Tusla Inspections 2 School Meals Inspections 1 Pobal Inspection 2 Environmental Health Inspections 2 Fit for Purpose Inspections 1 Unannounced Tusla Inspection
32 | Annual Report 2025 Excellence in our services Measuring Quality in Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) Feedback from children and families and the completion of outcome measures indicates high quality across the ECDS services. The centres operate the ECCE and National Childcare Schemes in all centres. Waiting lists are managed effectively, with most children receiving a place in the following September if their age allows or immediately if possible. Centres with parent and toddler groups can invite parents of younger children to attend the group to provide a service while awaiting placement. ECDS Staff have been actively involved in the strategy and continue to give input to the strategy at all team meetings. They are represented on the staff strategy committee, monitoring the implementation of the strategic plan. ECDS centres offer centres of excellence for student placements for level 7 and level 8 degrees. Placement tutors consistently compliment staff on their professionalism and the level of support offered to students. One ECDS centre had a visit from the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality and received very positive feedback relating to the creative and positive environment staff have cultivated and commended the care and attention in supporting children and families attending. Three ECDS centres were successful in securing National Lottery grants enabling centres to develop the outdoor garden areas and external sensory spaces.
Annual Report 2025 | 33 Excellence in our services Protective Services The four assessment teams complete Initial Assessments (IA) to a very high standard. They receive compliments and positive feedback from Tusla on the quality and detail of work carried out with families at the end of the assessment. Towards the end of 2025 Tusla allocated funding to DoCCFS for an additional two Family Assessment Workers on the Dublin North City team. In 2025 joint training for all four assessment team staff has been undertaken on various aspects of Signs of Safety and IA work and this helps streamline the work in all the Centres. It is facilitated by all four managers. The two new assessment teams in Louth and Meath also undertook extensive outreach visits to key stakeholders in their areas such as schools, pre-schools, GP’s, An Garda Síochána and so on to inform them of their upcoming services. They also visited other local community projects in their areas such as Meath Women’s Refuge and Family Support services. As Tusla is the principal stakeholder, work is ongoing to establish good working relationships with the social work teams with frequent collaborative work taking place including shared practice, joint learning and aligned approaches to assessment. They made it very comfortable to talk All my questions were answered and explained They helped me see hope when I felt there was none. They made me feel heard and understood. They also made my son feel heard and that his views were also important. Since we met our Family Worker, she fitted in with my family straight away. A lovely person. Very easy to talk to. Great with my children. Very supportive of us and showed great understanding of our lives. Every step was discussed and explained clearly Feedback from families worked with in Assessment
Dublin Safer Families Service Dublin Safer Families team as part of their brief provide training and presentations both within the DoCCFS and outside our organisation. In 2025 this work included providing external training with Tusla, An Garda Siochana and academic institutions as well as DSFS 16 Days of ActionEvent. Outcome Measures is a critical piece in demonstrating the efficacy of the work being completed in our Centres. Therapeutic Family Centres Our Teams are embedded into the communities they serve and continue to upskill in new trainings to enhance the supports on offer within each centre to meet the ever-changing needs of children and parents attending. There is an open and transparent pathway for referrals for our core funders, self- referrals and other community services. Our referral form accepts multiple referrals on one form and incorporates digital methods of accessing further information on our service. Although we operate a waiting list in each centre, support is offered to children and families while they are on our waiting lists in the form of group support, online seminar support, outreach support and/or holding sessions if a family requires this. Parents are aware they can contact centres for support while they wait on our waiting lists. Our family centres are constantly looking at ways to support these referrals, by upskilling our staff to deliver programmes such as ‘Parenting children with additional needs’ to parents and upskilling on how to work with Neurodiverse children. Our centres accessed Lottery funding and developed sensory rooms and sensory gardens. 34 | Annual Report 2025 Excellence in our services 35 Aistear Beo FC 73 Connaught Street 267 Cherry Orchard FC 150 Lisdeel FC 114 Arklow FC 232 Turas FC 102 Balbriggan FC 137 Jobstown FC 1.1k Referrals Received in DoCCFS Family Centres
Annual Report 2025 | 35 Excellence in our services Family Centre Case Study Reason for referral: The child was referred due to selective mutism, extreme shyness, and significant anxiety in unfamiliar environments. The child completed 25 sessions of child centred play with Turas Family Centre, alongside parental support sessions with mam’s experience of her eldest child’s challenging and aggressive behaviour and diagnosis journey. Her parents described difficulties settling into school, fears that her mother would not return to collect her, bedwetting, and limited confidence when interacting with others. The child also lives with 2 older sisters, the eldest who was recently diagnosed as neurodiverse and whose emotional outbursts could be overwhelming for her. Additionally, the child experienced her mother’s cancer diagnosis at the age of three, although her mother has since recovered. The child experienced the effects of the pandemic lockdown. The child’s dad is in the army and spent months away at a time when she was a baby. The family worker began therapeutic support by stating the child did not have to talk in the room, and she could do so when she felt ready. Removing all pressure to speak was the cornerstone of the intervention. Through support, the child engaged in rich symbolic play, initially using small world play before gradually expanding into more complex narratives with a wide range of figurines and puppets. Her play consistently centred on themes of discharging emotional energy and reclaiming a sense of power. Psychoeducation was provided to her mother regarding the victim aggressor dynamic in play, helping her understand how children who feel powerless may explore these roles symbolically as part of healthy emotional processing. Meaningful change became evident during the intervention. By session 14, the child’s mother reported that she had begun speaking more at home, was communicating with adults, and was talking to more people in school, commenting that “the intervention is working.” She also observed the child becoming more assertive with her older sister. By session 19, the child spoke directly to the family worker during therapeutic support for the first time. By session 25, she confidently participated verbally throughout a “Yes or No” game and, significantly, spoke in a busy reception area with her mother present. The child’s journey demonstrates how play can provide a safe, developmentally appropriate space for children experiencing selective mutism and anxiety to process emotions, build confidence, and gradually find their voice. Her progress extended beyond Turas family centre into her home and school environments, reflecting meaningful improvements in communication, confidence, and emotional resilience. All names have been anonymized to protect the identity of the family.
36 | Annual Report 2025 Excellence in our services Outcome Measures In 2025, the outcome measures champions group and Trinity College Dublin TRiCC (Trinity Research in Childhood Centre) reviewed all the outcome measure surveys that were currently being used. One of the issues that had been highlighted was the length of the surveys and the need to include some new measures so that the DoCCFS can evaluate our impact with families and measure the areas where children and families are really struggling. After much research and discussion, it was agreed to add in new measures to look at trauma and poverty as these are issues that are impacting the families the service works with. The current measures that the service was using for older children were proving confusing for young people to use so a new measure for children and young people will be introduced in 2026. A new measure will give clarity and be more child centred and user friendly. A pilot of the use of digital devices for completion of outcome measures was commenced in 2025 with the aim of implementing across all centres if effective. Ethics and Professional Practice The ethics committee has been in operation in the DoCCFS for many years and much of the work of the committee has involved reviewing research proposals from students asking for ethical approval to conduct a piece of work for their college course. This year the committee sought to expand their work to include professional practice and exploring ethical dilemmas in the work. To begin this process a survey was circulated to all DoCCFS staff in the autumn of 2025 to look at values and ethics across the service, so that feedback was received from staff and the service could address gaps in training and look at areas that would support staff in the areas of professional practice and ethical dilemmas. In the survey analysis, the majority of staff strongly agreed that their personal values were in line with the DoCCFS service values. The highest ethical dilemmas in the work for staff tends to be in the area of child protection, specifically in the area of confidentiality versus duty to report and in cases of parental conflict and child behaviour. 77% of staff said that they had not encountered a work situation where they felt unsure of how to respond effectively in line with organisational practice. The majority of staff were aware of the service’s ethical guidelines. Overall staff and organisational values seem to align and there was a good understanding of the ethical practice in the work. Further work needs to be carried out on training in the areas of ethics and professional practice.
Annual Report 2025 | 37 We maintain rigorous standards and quality in our services, clearly communicating expectations to our staff, promoting a positive and supportive culture. We advocate for comprehensive long-term support and back our policies and interventions with evidence from our research. We promote effective and engaging internal communication through regular internal meetings and consultation. We maintain a healthy feedback loop and conduct frequent surveys for both service users and staff. An effective organisation Organisational Resource Review An organisational review was undertaken in 2025 to ensure that the most effective senior management structure was in place to support the implementation of the strategic plan. The recommendations of the review were accepted by the Board and plans to recruit for positions commenced in late 2025. Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) The ECDS services operate with a clear leadership and governance structure. Each centre has a manager and acting manager, with a dedicated ECDS senior service manager offering support and guidance to centres. The organisation’s structure is displayed in centres and communicated to staff and families. This team of management also receives support from the Senior Leadership team. A positive organisational culture is in evidence and collaboration across services is increasing, partly due to all managers meetings which take place quarterly. These meetings facilitate group discussion around particular topics such as child protection; this has been very informative and provides the different sectors with an insight into the work undertaken in each area of the organisation. Our internal intranet (The Hub) is also a great method of shared communication. Centres share news stories and photos on the Hub, and we have a weekly Fantastic Friday blog about everything happening across the organisation during the week. It provides a great sense of the general work but also how staff go the extra mile in the service. Staff retention across the ECDS is excellent, with many staff working for the service for over 20+ years. The ECDS ensures a warm welcoming environment for the children attending, but this is also true for staff, with staff reporting that there is always a lovely atmosphere across the centres. The centre teams also have a combination of notice boards in staff rooms, regular catch ups between more formal meetings and WhatsApp groups as a means of communicating information to the staff. Formal monthly meetings are held on days or half days when children are not attending.
38 | Annual Report 2025 An effective organisation Protective Services Every staff member is given time to understand their role as outlined in their job description. They are also given opportunities to train to continually upskill. Staff are encouraged to participate in staff meetings with an emphasis on what is working well, what isn’t and what improvements need to be made. Staff make themselves available to families and professionals in the community to ensure they are working collaboratively. Managers regularly attend Protective Services Managers meetings, Assessment Managers meetings and All Managers’ meetings with all Centre Managers and despite managers operating in different services, all services work with children and families. Staff also are part of working groups such as the CRM development group and some of our managers are part of the Strategy Steering committee and trauma working group. Quality assurance was strengthened through scheduled centre reviews and routine centre visits which provided insight into daily practice, identify areas for improvement and ensure standards are upheld. Findings from these reviews feed directly into supervision, where staff receive individualised support, reflective space and guidance to enhance their practice.
Annual Report 2025 | 39 An effective organisation Dublin Safer Families Service Interagency work is an essential and integral aspect of the work of DSFS and is constantly progressing. Dublin Safer Families Service work collaboratively with our partners, referring agencies and all who may be able to work to increase safety for families. This is commonly achieved through meetings, Safety Review Meetings, Child Protection Case Conferences, Case Reviews, Family Support Meetings, Attending Court among many other methods of interagency work. The agencies that are worked with most include: Tusla Social Work Departments, Gardaí and Domestic Abuse Coordinators (DAC) Colleagues, Women’s Refuges/ Housing, Schools and legal professionals. Dublin Safer Families professional feedback received in 2025 Having the Gardai and DSF doing a presentation that is relevant to the current time in DV is very important to us. CEO of external organisation DSFS is like gold dust, ye do such great work, and Tusla knows how important your service is to them. Social Worker Being in the room with everyone has made me think that we should round table with the Garda, Tusla and Support Organizations more often. I have been able to get answers to questions, meet the people who I interact with on a face-to-face basis, and I leave feeling that I have created a safe circle for my clients. Social Worker DSFS is a classy service, so unique and does such amazing work. Garda Inspector
40 | Annual Report 2025 Dublin Safer Families Service - Case Study Reason for referral: The Flynn family were referred to Dublin Safer Families Service by Tusla Social Work Dept. Mam Mary and Father Jack have been together for 11 years. Mam reports Domestic Abuse starting when she became pregnant with their first child with some controlling behaviours prior to this. There were reports of Domestic violence to An Garda Síochána and Tusla for 5 years. These reports consisted of physical, emotional, verbal and coercive control from school which the children disclosed and further anonymous reports from family members. Children experienced this violence. Mam was minimising the reports of abuse and Dad was denying most of the allegations apart from verbal abuse. Work began with Mam June 2024, and she attended for 20 individual sessions. Mam attended weekly sessions and she rarely cancelled. Dad was difficult to engage initially however attended weekly when he began the sessions. The work began with Mam and included Domestic Abuse psychoeducational work – patterns of abuse, safety assessing, safety planning, identifying triggers, self-reflection and exploration, impact of Domestic abuse on self, self-worth, confidence building outside of relationship, independence, social networks, support networks, safety networks. Reflecting on accountability and responsibility. Genogram work took place and this included past experiences, impact of domestic abuse throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood, projecting future impact of domestic abuse, and projecting impact of positive changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy work took place in relation to domestic abuse – thoughts, feelings, behaviours and physiology. Motivational Interviewing was used exploring motivation for change, role as a parent, breaking a cycle, creating a new positive identity. Mam discussed her experiences of domestic violence and abuse however she wanted to remain in a relationship with Dad. Using the methods noted above Mam engaged very well gaining further insight into her abusive relationship, the impact of it on her and the children and learned coping and safety mechanisms to help her feel safer and gain more independence. Mam met with a Domestic Abuse Coordinator Garda (DAC) and engaged well with her, going to court and obtaining a protection order. Mam created a safety plan that worked for her and had put this in practice at times. Names have been anonymized to protect their identity. An effective organisation
Annual Report 2025 | 41 Therapeutic Family Centres Family centres are committed to providing high quality, evidence based, trauma informed therapeutic support to child and families. In the therapeutic family centres, our staff come from a variety of disciplines and are trauma informed. The teams are client- led, child centred and are committed to meet families where they are at. Centres have a flexible approach to meeting the needs of children on an individual basis, group setting, parent/child work, and family-based approach. In the family centres there is networking and liaising with multi-agencies to advocate for the needs of the clients. This work includes providing outreach support in schools, youth services etc to meet clients who cannot travel to centres. The centres adapt to the ever-changing demands and needs of client group and families and resources available to them. The family centre staff are part of a number of working, groups and committees such as the CRM working group, trauma working group, strategy implementation group and ethics committee so they are involved and feeding into all aspects of the service. At centre reviews staff can give their views on the service and provide and ideas and suggestions of how to improve the service. There are regular meetings, team days, planning sessions, town hall meetings so that staff are provided with many avenues to express their views and provide feedback on the service. Dad attended 13 individual sessions and denied most of the allegations made in the referral form however engaged in the work and opened up about his experience of domestic abuse as a child. Dad explored his role of parenting and how he would like to parent and how he would like his children to experience it. The work with Dad lead to the home being safer for Mam and the children however some elements of control remained. Mam reported some positive changes in the family home from Dad and violence had reduced. Mam noted that Dad had stopped being verbally abusive around the children. Safety plans were completed and agreed individually and jointly with parents. A safety person (Stable Third technique) from Mam’s family was identified to stay linked in with the children about any concerns or worries they would have. The work with the family closed April 2025. An effective organisation
42 | Annual Report 2025 We provide comprehensive, needs-led, evidence-based services. We strive to enhance the organisation’s visibility through the following initiatives: advancing local and nationwide advocacy, establishing a specific advocacy focus each year, building our profile around the unique evidence-based approach of our service. Influence & external relations Over this year the DoCCFS has been involved in a wide range of advocacy and networking activities and have taken part in a number of groups such as PEIN, Mental Health Reform, Children’s Rights Alliance, National Parenting Model implementation Group and the RiVeR project steering group. Our senior management team are represented on six children and young people’s services committee (CYPSC) in the Greater Dublin region, Wicklow and Louth as well as our centre managers and centre workers actively involved in CYPSC subgroups. Advocacy takes place on both a local level and national level as the service highlights gaps in service delivery, high risk cases, growing waiting lists and lack of services for children with additional needs. The service has constructive relationships with our funders, government departments, and local community networks and organisations. Below is a chart of some of the organisations that the services liaise with in our work. DoCCFS Infact Mental Health Foróige Garda Diversion Meitheals PEIN Public Health Nurses River Project The Wheel IPAS GP’s CFSN TRiCC CNDT Children Rights Alliance Children living with DV NVR Networks CYPSC PPFS
Annual Report 2025 | 43 Influence & external relations Early Childhood Development Service (ECDS) All centres within the ECDS work closely with Pobal in relation to schemes and Better Start in relation to children with additional needs. The centres have excellent relationships with the Better Start specialists who work with all staff working in the centres and work in collaboration to support children and to implement plans. The ECDS retain our AIM staff and have supports in place for our children before the new academic year in September. All centres work in collaboration with external professionals including, social work, Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT), childcare committees, homeless services, addiction services, Pobal, Public Health Nurses and local partnerships. The senior service manager and two centre managers attended Technological University Dublin (TUD) Tallaght Careers Fair and spoke with students and lecturers explaining the work that we do and giving information and leaflets on all our services. The SSM and one manager attended the First Five Public Consultation, where they had an opportunity to provide feedback and discuss how things work/don’t work on the ground to inform phase two of the Early Years Action Plan. Protective Services The Assessment teams have built very strong relationships both with Tusla and other services in the communities such as CAMHS, CDNT, CFSN, Adult Mental Health, homeless and addiction services. Tusla will now include assessment workers in their in-house trainings. Dublin North City held a coffee morning for Tusla staff. The Dublin North Manager has set up monthly meetings with PSW from Tusla to discuss cases. For the two new teams in Louth and Meath they have met with services and have built relationships with these services. The fantastic work being carried out by all the Assessment teams in 2025 has placed them at the centre of positive support for the community.
44 | Annual Report 2025 Influence & external relations Dublin Safer Families Service (DSFS) The Dublin Safer Families team meet with families, Tusla, attend child protection case conferences (CPC’s), and safety and network meetings (SOS) meetings. An essential part of the work of DSF involved meetings with the Domestic Abuse Coordinators (DAC) Teams / Gardai, phone calls with DAC Gardai and other services such as women’s refuges and Domestic Violence services to advocate for client’s needs. Engaging in this interagency work ensures the clients are receiving the wrap around support they need and this increases safety for the victim and children. DSFS actively advocates for and supports parents and children. This takes place through practical assistance by writing housing support letters, completing application for financial assistance, and accessing grocery vouchers through the poverty fund. Through these actions, DSFS ensures families feel supported, empowered, and access the resources they need. The centre provides information, education and advice to families involved in court processes, including family and law court proceedings. Support is offered through preparation for court attendance, meetings with Section 32/47 assessors and the completion of reports and letters for family court. Therapeutic Family Centres Our Family Centres have a good level of engagement with stakeholders and work in partnership with statutory and voluntary partners. Our Brookfield Tusla funded post continues in Jobstown family centre, the post is to support the impact of the traumatic event that occurred in the Brookfield area of the community in 2024.
Annual Report 2025 | 45 Influence & external relations Governance & Compliance 2025 Public Policy Area Specific Details Results Intended to Secure Designated Public Officials Lobbied Department Budgetary Matters Contacted councillor Niall Ring regarding funding support Funding to support family during festive period Councillor Niall Ring Dublin City Council Budgetary Matters Submitted letter to the Taoiseach requesting increase in Budget as part of Mental Health Reform Group Increase in budget Simon Harris, the Taoiseach Department of the Taoiseach The Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service is committed to the highest level of governance across the organisation and is fully compliance with all its legal and regulatory requirements. In 2025 DoCCFS was fully compliant with the Charities Governance Code, Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, Revenue Commissioners, Department of Children, Disability & Equality Core funding submissions, public procurement, and SEAI Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Ensuring all legal and regulatory requirements are meet. As the DoCCFS is over 80% publicly funded we are required to report annually on our energy consumption, GHG emission and activity data such as staff numbers and floor area and are committed to reducing our carbon emissions. The organisation strengthened its governance & compliance further in 2025 with the introduction of a board management system Board X. The policy module within Board X ensures the organisation is fully compliant with all organisational policies ensuring all board members, staff and volunteers are aware of, have easy access and have read all organisational policies. This system will keep an up-to-date track of all policies and procedures. The system will send notifications when policies are up for renewal ensuring the organisation is fully compliant. The board approved and implemented a revised risk policy and risk monitoring log. This will improve risk review for the board.
46 | Annual Report 2025 Influence & external relations Gender Pay Gap Report The 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report reflects the workforce profile of the DoCCFS, where 94% of employees are female and 6% are male. As an organisation operating within the child and family support sector, this gender imbalance is consistent with the wider caring profession, where women continue to make up the majority of the workforce. This context is important when interpreting the findings, as the relatively small number of male employees means that a small number of individuals in higher-paid or longer-serving roles can have a disproportionate impact on the overall gender pay gap figures. The report identified a mean gender pay gap of 13.57%, an improvement from 23.39% in the previous reporting year, while the median gender pay gap was 21.72%, compared with 19.07% in 2024. The report emphasises that these figures do not indicate unequal pay for equal work but instead reflect the gender composition of the workforce and the distribution of employees across roles, grades and working patterns. Pay within the organisation is determined through transparent pay scales or fixed rates for specific roles and is applied consistently regardless of gender. SEAI Energy Reporting f DoCCFS are committed to sustainability and green initiatives across the service and to reduce our carbon footprint. f Since 2009, the organisation has shown a 50% improvement in reaching the 2030 Energy Emission targets. f All our centres are committed to recycling waste and reducing food waste and packaging. f The service offers the bike to work scheme, Taxsaver rail tickets, staff carpool where possible and we promote the use of public transport across all our locations. f Flexible working has been introduced where service delivery allows, we have also increased our online sessions, webinars and online training to reduce the need to travel to centres. f DoCCFS is continuously reviewing energy consumption in all centres, this can be challenging as some of the centres are shared buildings with other services. We have changed lighting to LED in some centres and are committed to upgrading all our centres lighting to LED in 2025/2026. We are committed to using recycled paper and purchasing to reduce our carbon footprint. f The DoCCFS are committed to our ESG responsibilities as a responsible and ethical employer however, funding and resources are required to ensure we can comply. We endeavour to progress whatever actions we can within the limitations of our current resources.
Community Donations Annual Report 2025 | 47 Influence & external relations Our Funders
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT Year Ended 31 December 2025 2025 € 2024 € Income Tusla - Child and Family Agency 7,921,203 7,014,390 Other income 1,861,352 1,615,328 Total income 9,782,555 8,629,718 Expenditure Remuneration 8,238,849 7,292,890 Infrastructural & Maintenance Costs 604,481 604,197 Service Provision Costs 267,197 266,025 Information technology & Communication and Administration Costs 259,565 263,771 Insurance, Legal & Professional 212,153 133,723 Recruitment & Development Costs 114,401 90,569 Depreciation / Amortisation 16,078 12,059 Total expenditure 9,712,724 8,663,234 Surplus /Deficit 69,831 (33,516) 48 | Annual Report 2025 Financial Summary 2025
BALANCE SHEET Year Ended 31 December 2025 Notes 2025 € 2024 € Tangible Assets 1 52,255 68,333 Current Assets Debtors 2 221,973 262,502 Bank 3,869,570 3,503,872 4,091,543 3,766,374 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 3 (2,751,050) (2,511,790) Net current assets 1,392,748 1,322,917 Net assets 1,392,748 1,322,917 Capital and Reserves Income and expenditure account 4 1,392,748 1,322,917 Total equity 1,392,748 1,322,917 Annual Report 2025 | 49
1 Tangible Assets 2025 € 2024 € Costs: At 1 January 2025 80,392 - Additions - 80,392 At 31 December 2025 80,392 80,392 Accumulated Depreciation: At 1 January 2025 12,059 - Charge for the year 16,078 12,059 At 31 December 2025 28,137 12,059 Net Book Value: At 31 December 2025 52,255 68,333 2 Debtors 2025 € 2024 € Amounts falling due within one year: Debtors 221,973 262,502 Amounts due from related parties (see note 5) - - 221,973 262,502 50 | Annual Report 2025
3 Creditors 2025 € 2024 € Amounts falling due within one year: Trade creditors 52,493 54,022 Other creditors and accruals 574,365 498,464 PAYE/PRSI 279,125 234,021 Deferred Income 1,845,067 1,725,283 2,751,050 2,511,790 4 Reserves 2025 € 2024 € Opening balance 1 January 1,322,917 1,356,433 Deficit for the financial year 69,831 (33,516) At end of year 1,392,748 1,322,917 5 Related party transactions During the year, the Company recorded contributions receivable totalling €79,684 (2024: €141,211) from the Sacred Heart Home Child and Family Services (the “Daughters of Charity”). The amount owed by the Daughters of Charity to the Company at the year-end was €0 (2024: €0). The Daughters of Charity is a related party by virtue of common members on the Board of Directors of the Company and the congregation of the Daughters of Charity. Annual Report 2025 | 51
52 | Annual Report 2025 Notes
Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service, Registered Office: Suite 9, Northwood House, Northwood Crescent, Northwood, Dublin 9, D09 WV82 www.docchildandfamily.ie Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service (@DOCChildFamily) / Twitter www.linkedin.com/company/daughters-of-charity-child-and-family-services-doccfs Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service is a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital, registered in Dublin. CRO Number: 431293, CRA Number: 20064730, CHY Number: 17418.