Children who are in the care of the state and who have challenging behaviour are usually cared for in high support units. When considering the appropriate placement for a child, social workers consider the milieu into which a young person is being placed. The choice of placement is not solely on the basis of presenting behaviours, but can be for a multitude of other reasons such as, those with underlying physical/ intellectual disability and/or a mental health issues or other wider family environmental and attachment issues. The unit needs to be able to meet the full range of physical, therapeutic and care needs of a child. With respect to your question regarding the cost per patient in such units on an annual basis, this has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.