The Genesis Programme for children and families in County Louth was launched on 2nd March 2015 by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. James Reilly, TD at Dundalk’s Crowne Plaza Hotel.
€1.5 million funding has been secured for this new initiative as part of the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme. The Genesis Programme is a consortium of some 50 Partner Organisations and will deliver The Incredible Years suite of programmes to children, families and communities in Dundalk and Drogheda.
The Incredible Years is a series of interlocking, evidence-based programmes for children, their parents and their teachers, supported by over 30 years of research. The goal is to prevent and treat young children’s behavioural problems and promote their social, emotional and academic competence. Each programme has been designed as a stand-alone intervention, taken together, they provide a cohesive and uniform strategy to address and eliminate behavioural difficulties in children.
The launch event also contained a series of interactive workshops which showcased a number of the different strands of The Incredible Years suite of programmes that are being delivered as part of The Genesis Programme.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr James Reilly TD.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr James Reilly TD spoke at the event:
‘[…] I am really pleased to see the wide range of committed statutory and non-statutory services and partners who are working collaboratively to achieve a common purpose and deliver more integrated and coordinated services. The work is building upon the strong foundation of inter-agency working in the area and is strongly connected to Louth Children and Young People’s Services Committee, which will support the mainstreaming of learning across all relevant agencies.’
Joanne Murphy, Co-ordinator of Louth CYPSC speaking at the event.
Gerry Murphy, Chairperson of The Genesis Programme Management Group and member of Louth CYPSC outlined what the Genesis Programme will mean for County Louth:
‘In marginalised areas, there is often reduced ability to cope within the home and the community, thus creating oppression and perpetuating the cycle of disadvantage, early school leaving and educational failure. […] Everyone loses and the gap widens when we leave our most vulnerable behind. The Genesis Programme is Louth’s response to narrowing that gap and raising the bar for children and communities marginalised within our society. This will be a targeted initiative to improve life choices and outcomes for children and their families.’
Click here for the full press release.
Click here for more information on the ABC Programme.
Click here for more information on The Genesis Programme.
Click here for information on how the areas delivering the ABC Programme are connecting with CYPSC.
Click here to read more about Children and Young People's Services Committees.