The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector and submits it to the Department of Health. Figures supplied from this census of employment in the public health and social care sector, indicate that the number of whole-time equivalent (WTE) social workers employed in the HSE Children and Families service area in the years 2010 - 2012 are as follows:
Years
|
Staff
|
2010
|
1,220
|
2011
|
1,256
|
2012
|
1,452
|
The census numbers reflect the outcome of a process of reclassification of social workers within the HSE into various care groups, including children and families, as part of the process of establishing the Child and Family Agency. Consequently direct comparisons with social work numbers for previous years are not meaningful.