Approximately 92% of all children in care in Ireland are in the care of a foster family. This is very high by international standards and is a welcome situation. Almost 6,000 children are in foster care, of whom over 4,000 are in general foster care, with the remainder, some 2,000 children, with relatives.
In 2013, the HSE undertook a national foster care recruitment campaign because there are shortages of foster parents in quite a number of areas. The campaign was extensive and built upon previous local initiatives. There are currently 4,330 foster carers nationally, an increase of 61 since December last year. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to them for the work they do.
The HSE has advised me that it does not routinely gather the information sought by the Deputy. However, anecdotal evidence from Irish and international campaigns suggests that for every 100 inquiries, approximately six will go on to become foster parents. There is a variety of reasons for this, including people making general inquiries, inquiries not meeting the criteria and applicants deciding to opt out once they receive detailed information and training and the role of the foster carer is clarified for them.
I do not have the detail as to why those are the figures.
It would be interesting to see whether there is scope for improvement. If a person lifts a telephone to make an inquiry about becoming a foster carer, it shows that he or she has at least sufficient interest to commence the process. It does seems a very low outturn that only six out of 100 people who make an inquiry go on to become foster parents.
There is an assessment and training process to establish the suitability and competence of applicants. It is carried out by a social worker from the local fostering team and includes Garda vetting, internal Health Service Executive checks to establish previous involvement with child protection services, a medical assessment, personal interviews in the applicant's home, and further discussion. The Garda vetting process involves all members of the family. In short, applicants must undergo a rather onerous process before they can expect to be accepted as a foster parent.
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Applicants are also asked to provide referees who will be interviewed by the social worker as part of the assessment process. The social worker then prepares a report which is shared with the applicant and includes a representation of the latter's view. This report is then presented to the foster care committee for approval, including a recommendation as to the age of the child and type of foster care suitable to the applicant. All approved foster carers are entered on a panel of approved foster carers.
When a child is being placed in foster care, the suitability of a placement with relatives is explored in the first instance. Where the HSE is satisfied that an immediate placement with relatives is in the interests of the child, such placement may occur before full approval of the committee is in place. Such emergency placements are provided for in the regulations. Prior to placement, the relative is assessed by a principal social worker, including early Garda vetting. This is followed by a full assessment and approval by the foster care committee as I have outlined.
The availability of foster carers and the provision of support for their role is the subject of ongoing work within the HSE. With the establishment of the child and family agency, further consideration will be given to the most effective arrangements for foster care recruitment and retention and the further development of information sources at national and regional level. Developments in this area will be further informed by the findings of Health Information and Quality Authority inspection reports into fostering services throughout the country.