About the TARA Project
Who We Are
Dr Maria Lotty - Principal Investigator
Dr Maria Lotty is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in the School of Applied Social Studies in University College Cork (UCC), a research associate with the Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st Century (ISS21) and a member of UCC Futures: Children as well as a CORU registered Social Worker. Maria has over 20 years professional practice experience (youth work,
probation, social work) that reflects a comprehensive experience of working with children and families in assessment, therapeutic and project management roles. Maria is the Project Lead for the Barnahus Ireland – Trauma-informed Care Professional Education Project, (national training design and development for professionals) under the capacity building strategy for the Council of Europe as part of the Support the implementation of the Barnahus project in Ireland. Maria is the Principal Investigator for the TARA Project , that aims to integrate trauma-informed practices in child welfare and protection services in Ireland. Maria is a graduate of UCC (B. Soc. Sc.; PhD) and Goldsmith's College, University of London (MA/DIPSW). She holds a PhD in Arts (Social Work) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Through her doctoral study, Maria successfully led a unique research collaboration between UCC and TUSLA that designed, developed and evaluated the internationally recognized Trauma-informed Foster Care Program: Fostering Connections.
Dr Aoife Price - Postdoctoral Researcher (Phase 2)
Dr Aoife Price is an interdisciplinary scholar and educator. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on the TARA Project at University College Cork, which aims to integrate trauma-informed practices into child welfare and protection services in Ireland. She also teaches on the Certificate in Continuing Development in Trauma-informed Care, which is designed to meet the educational and professional needs of front-line practitioners in integrating trauma-informed practices into their roles in working with children, young people, adults, and/or their families who have experienced trauma.
She is an active member of the disability community in Ireland, currently serving on the steering committee of Disabled Women Ireland, as Co-Chair of the National Disabled Postgraduate Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission's Disability Advisory Group. Most recently, she has been appointed by Minister Norma Foley to a role in monitoring the implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. She completed her PhD in Disability Law and Policy at the University of Galway in 2024. Previously, Aoife worked at the University of Galway, the European Disability Forum, and the Union of Students in Ireland. She is a graduate with an MSc in Applied Social Research from Trinity College Dublin and a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Limerick.
Emeritus Professor Frederico AM - International Oversight
Emeritus Professor Frederico AM (BA, Dip Soc Studs, MSW, MBA, DSc) is an international leader in social work research and evaluation in child maltreatment. She is Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University, Australia, external examiner for Certificate in Child Trauma University College Cork Ireland, and international research consultant for the TARA Project. She is Principal Research Consultant at Berry Street/Yooralla Take Two. She was a finalist in Robin Clark Leadership Award,2022 Victorian Protecting Children Awards, Victorian (Australia) Department of Families Fairness and Housing. Her research in child maltreatment and trauma has a translational focus in closing the ‘know-do’ gap between knowledge and practice. CI Frederico has more than 40 years of experience in social work education and research in Australia and internationally.
Tadgh L O’Shea - Statistical Expert
Tadhg began his lecturing career in 1985 in NUIG and RTC Galway. In 1987, he joined RTC Tralee (MTU Munster) as a lecturer in Business administration, Economics and Quantitative Methods. He authored Essential
Statistics for Researchers in 2013, and this text is used throughout Irish third level colleges. He is currently engaged in a series of research collaboration projects with both private and public sector clients. Tadhg has also provided statistical support to students of Southwest Specialist Training Programme in General Practice who are based on the MTU Kerry Campus.
Stakeholder Group
A stakeholder group was established to support the project. This group includes individuals with lived experience in child welfare and protection (e.g., parents, foster carers, care-experienced persons) and multidisciplinary professionals (e.g., social work, social care, youth and community work, psychology, teaching, nursing, psychotherapy). These professionals
represented both intra-agency (TUSLA) and inter-agency entities (e.g., Barnardos, schools, advocacy groups, health providers) as well as academics. Stakeholder group members provide expert reviews of the research process during meetings and through ongoing feedback. The stakeholder group is an integral part of the Project, with their input actively listened to and incorporated.
Phase 1
The TARA (Trauma, Attachment, Resilience into Action) Project is a collaborative initiative between the Dublin South Central Integrated Service Area (DSC) of TUSLA and University College Cork (UCC). The project aims to integrate trauma-informed practices within DSC to better address the complex needs of children and families. In Phase 1, the project evaluated the effects of Trauma-informed care on practitioner outcomes in the DSC Area (2022-2023).
Key Findings from Phase 1 Report:
Program Success: The UCC graduate-level program effectively supports child welfare professionals in adopting trauma-informed practices.
Impact Areas:
Program Acceptability: Positive feedback on design, content, and experience.
Dynamic Learning Acquisition: Enhanced trauma-informed knowledge, self-reflection, practice confidence, and integration of new and existing knowledge.
Practice Changes: Improvements in child and family practices, practitioner resilience, and collaborative practices.
Sustainability: Emphasis on a shared agency approach and ongoing support to maintain progress and address inconsistencies.
The Certificate in Continuing Development in Trauma-informed Care is now open to the wider public and is designed to meet the educational and professional needs for front-line practitioners in the integration of trauma-informed practices into their role as a response to working with children, young people, adults and/or their families who have experienced trauma. The programme focuses on both developing practitioner’s understanding of the lived and living experience of trauma and effectively intervening with those that have experienced trauma across the life span.
Phase 2
Phase 2 of the project which adopts a participatory research approach, focusing on creating initiatives informed by the TARA model with frontline professionals that blend trauma-informed practices with existing service delivery processes. Interested practitioners expressed an interest via an online survey in joining a working group (clusters).
Those who completed the survey were assigned to their first preference, which comprised groups focusing on Practitioner Resilience, Collaborative Practice, Working with Children and Families, and The Child's Journey across Teams. In total 31 eligible participants put their names forward for this. From January 2025, TUSLA professionals engaged in collaborative project development guided through the clusters to produce practice initiatives by engaging with four workshops:
- Define and understand
- Explore and prepare
- Develop and present
- Improve following feedback.
At the first workshop cluster members decided on their name and what they would focus on for the project. The Practitioner Resilience group chose to keep the original name and prioritise supervision. This focus is intended to positively impact practitioner retention and resilience, an area of interest and previous work for those involved.
The Child's Journey across Teams was renamed The Ripple Effect. Their main aim was to create a set of resources in the form of animations that highlight, recognise and address the needs of children and workers who experience the difficult transitions during moves in care.
The Collaborative Practice group were renamed the Communication Cogs, and its focus was on communication, particularly TUSLA’s role in working with external groups and agencies and recognising barriers in understanding TUSLA’s work and approach from an external perspective. They created a tool that help TUSLA staff reflect on a number of domains in relation to communication with others.
The Working with Children and Families group was renamed to the Time Bandits, and this was the only group that ended up having more than one initiative, with a total of four initiatives coming from this cluster. The initiatives focused on developing tools to assist them and incorporating trauma-informed practices into their work. This included a sensory pack, a journal, and a support in brining foster siblings together.
The research design was informed by the Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC). BSC facilitation is responsive to participants' and teams' interests, contexts, and realities, allowing participants to lead in identifying and creating beneficial practices. The BSC focuses on changing organisational cultures and beliefs by fundamentally altering practices. It contrasts real-world implementation, replication, and sustainability with traditional pilot projects. The intent is to shift practice at all levels of the agency, involving members from various levels, especially those most impacted by the work.