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Intensive Home Support Service

IHSS is a home-based service which focuses on strengthening family unity, sustaining young people at home and helping the family to develop positive, healthy relationships.

How do I get support?

Dublin North City

Tel: +353 (0)86 777 7251

Email: [email protected]

Kildare, West Wicklow & South West Dublin

Tel: +353 (0)86 137 0749

Email: [email protected]

South East Dublin & Wicklow

Tel: +353 (0)86 170 3416

Email: [email protected]

IHSS is an intensive home-based support service provided to families where significant child protection issues have been identified and children are at risk of being taken into care.

Families typically present with complex needs, such as abuse, addiction, mental health issues, criminality, poor attachment and poor parenting capacity. The service is usually provided to families for 6-9 months, with the aim of maintaining children and young people safely in the family home or foster care.

Families who participate in IHSS are typically supported by one Lead project worker, who work closely with them throughout their time on the programme.

€250,000 - the estimated cost of keeping one young person in residential care for a year

€50,000 - the average cost for Extern to work with a whole family for a year under the IHSS programme

The nature and extent of the support project workers’ involvement with the family is flexible and will be negotiated throughout the case, depending on the needs and circumstances of the family.

IHSS stems from the creation of Creative Community Alternatives, a new fund from Tusla, the Child & Family Agency. Referrals are made through the local Tusla Social Work department.

How Extern Helped Our Family Thrive and Grow

The IHSS team supported us hugely through weekly sessions and activities with the kids. They helped me to become more organised and to work on my parenting skills.

With the help of Extern I have put so much time into improving my home and worked very hard in all aspects of my life. I can now make a phone call confidently and manage my own responsibilities whereas before I would have let other people do those things for me.

I am so proud of how far we have all come. We wouldn’t be where we are without Extern – they have been the best thing that has ever happened to my family.

Parent - Intensive Home Support Service, Dublin

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