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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 May 2003

Vol. 566 No. 1

Written Answers. - Fostering Services.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

99 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the concerns expressed by the Irish Foster Care Association that the State's fostering services are in a state of crisis, and that some children in residential institutions have been waiting for up to three years in view of the fact that foster placements could not be found. [11993/03]

Foster care is the main form of alternative care for children who cannot, for a number of reasons, be looked after in their own home. There are now approximately 4,000 children and young people under 18 years of age in foster care in Ireland compared with approximately 1,900 in 1989.

In 2001, the Working Group Report on Foster Care was published. The report contains a wide range of recommendations designed to ensure that the structures and services necessary to meet the needs of children in foster care, their families and foster carers be strengthened and further developed. The Government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the report on a phased basis.

This report noted that the foster care allowance was not adequate to meet the needs of children in foster care and it recommended that the allowance be increased. In August 2001, the allowance was substantially increased, alleviating the need for foster parents to apply to health boards for every extra financial need of their foster child or children. Pre-August 2001, the allowance was €90.85 per week for a child under 12 years and €108.88 per week for a child of 12 years and over. The current rates of payment are €281.50 and €308.50 per week respectively.
Another important recommendation of the working group report was the development of national standards incorporating planning and key performance indicators for the foster care service. A committee was set up in 2001 to formulate these standards, taking into account the representative views of all bodies and individuals involved in foster care, including the children themselves. I am pleased to report that last week I launched the national standards for foster care together with a children's version. The standards include good practice procedures relating to the recruitment and retention, support and training of foster carers. I am confident that the standards will significantly improve the quality of our foster care services and encourage new foster care applicants.
It should also be noted that, in parallel with these developments, the health boards undertake local initiatives on an ongoing basis to recruit foster carers. These initiatives include prominent displays of promotional materials, advertisements in local media and sponsorship of events organised in conjunction with the Irish Foster Care Association.
As the Deputy will be aware, foster care placements may not always meet the specific needs of individual children. A broad spectrum of services is required, therefore, to meet the needs of the children in our care, for example, family support services, foster care placements, residential placements and youth advocacy programmes. Information from seven of the ten health boards indicates that 39 children in residential care were awaiting foster care placements at the end of 2002. The health boards are actively working towards providing appropriate foster care placements for these children.
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