On Monday 28th July 2025, Norma Foley, Minister for Children, Disability and Equality launched the KCYS Family Support Evaluation Report which was undertaken by Finbarr Fitzpatrick, Business Improvement Solutions.
The launch was attended by a wide cross section of statutory and community services working with children and families in Kerry. In her opening address, Minister Foley commended KCYS for taking this courageous step and congratulated the organisation on its long history of supporting children, young people and families in the community. She particularly welcomed the engagement of young people and parents in the research and stressed that the participation of young people in service design and decisions affecting their lives must be central to how we work.
Researcher Finbarr Fitzpatrick gave a brief overview of the key findings and recommendations included in the report advising that two main strengths emerged: intensive family support interventions led to positive outcomes for family functioning and targeted work with teens produced multiple benefits for youth mental health.
KCYS Intensive Family Support Services receives considerable funding from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Breda Lynch, Area 
Manager for Tusla Kerry spoke of the universal need for family support and how the collaboration between Tusla and KCYS, dating back to 1971 when the charity was first founded, enables additional resources to be made available to work more intensively with families when needed. She advised that the ultimate aim of this community-based service is to provide a range of supports to families referred by Tusla which could include increasing parenting capacity, strengthening fostering arrangements or supporting a family reunification process in line with Tusla’s mandate to keep children and young people protected and safe from harm.
Tim Nolan, Interim Manager of KCYS Intensive Family Support Services spoke of the principles that underpin their project’s work: strengths-based, voluntary engagement, partnership approach and a commitment to building trust by meeting the family ‘where they are at’.
Berni Smyth, CEO of KCYS explained that the review of KCYS Family Support Services coincided with the recent name change and re-brand the organisation undertaken in 2024 – transitioning from Kerry Diocesan to Kerry Community Youth Service. The evaluation allowed the organisation the space to reflect upon where family support sits within the KCYS integrated youth work model. KCYS concluded that family support and youth work are complementary and have many guiding principles and approaches in common.
‘Our integrated youth work model aims to be as accessible and inclusive as possible. By providing a range of supports, services and activities from universal to highly targeted interventions we are continuously striving to assist young people to reach their full potential which is the ultimate Purpose of our organisation. For some young people, work with their family is the vital first step towards creating stability and opens the door multiple opportunities on offer to young people via our integrated youth work model’.
The KCYS Family Support Evaluation Report is available to download at HERE
