The main Ballyfermot Children and Family activity centres around the ABC Programme which is jointly funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Atlantic Philanthropies, and is nationally managed by the Centre for Effective Services (CES) and Pobal. The scheme aims to break the cycle of child poverty within areas where it is most deeply entrenched, and where children most experience disadvantage.
There are 13 ABC programmes nationally – including the Family Matters programme in Ballyfermot.
Family Matters is a child-centred, family wellbeing initiative, providing a spectrum of support programmes for children and young people while enhancing the capacity of parents-guardians as primary educators. The overall aim of the programme is to connect with those families most in need of support. The initiative works under three strands, oral language development, parent and family support, and youth mental health and wellbeing. The Family Matters ABC Programme is a consortium of over 30 local organisations with Ballyfermot Chapelizod Partnership acting as lead agency.
Recently the oral language support service was evaluated and that report can be found here: Ballyfermot SLT Evaluation Report Dec 2018
Furthermore, you can also read the National Evaluation of the Area Based Childhood Programme: Summary Report
For information on Family Matters ABC programme contact Bernie Laverty Programme Coordinator at 01 623 8088
Email: blaverty@bcpartnership.ie