Service Details
Target Age
- 0 - 11 years
- 12 - 16 years
- 12 - 18 years
- 16 - 18 years
Categories
- Child & Family Support
Support Type
- In-person - Group
- Online - Group
County
- Laois
- Offaly
Meitheal
Contact Details
Contact Person(s)
Martina Muller
Address
Tusla Primary Care Center, Tullamore, Offaly
Telephone
Contact Hours
09:00-13:00
14:00-17:00
Emergency Assistance
Open Up is not a crisis service. If you or someone you know needs immediate help please contact one of the services below immediately.
If someone is hurt or in danger call the emergency services straight away. Emergency services can be contacted at any time by dialling 999 or 112 in Republic of Ireland or 112 in Europe.
Additional Service Information
Referral Process
- GP referral
- Other healthcare/socialcare provider
- Referral with parental consent for under 18's
Service Description
Meitheal is a Tusla-led Early Intervention Practice Model designed to ensure that the strengths and needs of children and their families are effectively identified, understood, and responded to in a timely way so that children and families get the help and support needed to improve children’s outcomes and realise their rights. It is an early intervention, multi-agency (when necessary) response, tailored to the needs of the individual child or young person.
Meitheal is voluntary and can only be undertaken when the parent/carer agrees to cooperate, engage with, and actively participate in the process. The parent signs the Meitheal forms to indicate this agreement and willingness to engage at each stage. Meitheal is used in partnership with parents to help them share their own knowledge, expertise, and concerns about their child and to hear the views of practitioners working with them. The ultimate goal is to enable parents and practitioners to work together to achieve a better life for the child.
Check out our videos and learn more about Meitheal on the links below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp89nsR5jcE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RrE4u39E-c
https://www.tusla.ie/national-child-and-family-support-week/parenting-and-family-supports/meitheal/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDxl-1crxBw
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=559677851222785
List of Services Available
Meitheal is about early help where children have unmet additional and/or complex needs that need to be responded to, but who do not require a Child Protection or Welfare Response.
You might decide to consider a Meitheal:
• when you have concerns about how well the child is progressing;
• when the child/young person’s needs are unclear and/or broader than the remit of a single agency provider;
• when a number of agencies are already involved and a Meitheal would help to agree desired outcomes, coordinate, and review the supportive interventions;
• when the child/family raises concerns with you in relation to the child’s progress.
A Meitheal can be carried out at any time – on unborn babies, new-born babies, children, and young people up to 18 years of age (once initiated before their 18th birthday). Ultimately the family are best placed to decide what form of support they would prefer.
Wheelchair Access
Wheelchair accessible
