A 17-year-old boy living in State care at a residential centre in Co Meath made an impassioned plea to Tusla to secure appropriate supports as he approached his 18th birthday, saying he was “very worried” he would become homeless, an inquest has been told.
The inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Jordan Duffy from Tallaght, Dublin, concluded in Navan on Monday.
The teenager’s body was found in his room at Heather Lodge, The Mayne, Clonee on May 17th, 2020. He died by suicide.
The inquest heard there were repeated delays in arranging aftercare for him as he approached his adulthood. The jury was also told that at one stage he had been prescribed an antidepressant drug which he self-administered.
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Dr Gerry McCarney, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, told the inquest he had carried out an assessment of Jordan in February 2020 at the request of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to find out his capacity for decision making. He had ADHD, autism spectrum disorder and a mild learning disability, all of which impacted his day-to-day function in engaging with life events. His intermittent substance misuse had added to his vulnerability.
Dr McCarney expressed the opinion that, given Jordan’s vulnerability, he would not be expected to have the capacity and maturity to live independently. In addition, Jordan had expressed superficial knowledge of Tusla and his appointed guardian ad litem – the individual appointed to represent his voice in court.
“Jordan is a very vulnerable young man who functions at a level far below his chronological age and this is likely to persist over a long period of time and probably for the duration of his life,” the psychiatrist said.
In reply to the coroner Nathaniel Lacy, Dr McCarney said that as Jordan moved from childhood to adulthood he wanted somewhere where he could have a degree of freedom. He was talking about shared accommodation that would be supported by a professional person but not to a degree of supervision he was currently having.
Liz Cullen, a social worker with the Child and Family Agency, said she had carried out a desktop review of the services Jordan would have access to from the agency. He had been received into the care of the agency in 2010 and a care order was granted in 2012. He resided with foster carers until 2018 alongside his younger brother. In 2018 he experienced a placement breakdown and he was then placed in foster care in Tallaght and Mullingar. In Clonee he had developed into a very social young person, charismatic and charming with a unique style of humour, Ms Cullen said.
She said it had been agreed that Jordan would remain at Clonee after the age of 18 under an interim wardship order with a guardian ad litem appointed to him. That order was to last eight weeks until April 20th, 2020, but a further six-week extension was granted because another centre was not ready to take him. The context of Covid-19 contributed to this delay. His case was almost continuously before the courts on a monthly basis because of the uncertainty around his aftercare placement.
In January 2020, the District Court ordered that a capacity assessment be completed in relation to Jordan. An intermediary who was a speech and language therapist was to be provided to assist professionals when communicating with Jordan because of his difficulty in understanding wardship. This did not occur due to Covid-19. “There was to be a third assessment by a medical officer on May 18th, 2020. Sadly, this did not take place due to Jordan’s passing,” Ms Cullen said.
In a letter to Tusla on January 30th, 2020, regarding the lack of certainty surrounding his aftercare placement, Jordan said: “I have nowhere to live after the house. I’m turning 18 on February 25th. I’ve not been told about my plan after I turn 18 and not taken into account what I want ...
“I am very worried that I might go into homeless accommodation because this is stressing me out on a daily basis. I want to be informed about what is happening in my life. I would like to go into aftercare services with little support for people my age and be at my level. I want to be able to go out and about without supervision because I am able to function well. I know the difference between right and wrong and can follow the law.”
The jury returned a narrative verdict that death was in accordance with the medical evidence given to the inquest by consultant pathologist Muna Sabah.
The jury issued a number of recommendations, including that when prescribing the drug Lexapro the GP should make the recipient aware of all side effects, and all care givers are also made aware. It also recommended that the preparation of an aftercare plan should begin when the young person has his or her 17th birthday and, at the six-month statutory mark, if the plan is not completed, it is escalated to the highest level.
It further recommended that the guardian ad litem should begin a District Court application to ensure the plan progresses in a timely manner, and the young person should also be kept informed in a manner that they can understand.
The jury, along with the coroner and gardaí, extended their condolences to the Duffy family.
If you are affected by any issue in this article, please contact Pieta House on 1800-247247 or the Samaritans by telephoning 116123 (free) or by emailing jo@samaritans.ie
