Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 October 2015
2. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs how he plans, to accommodate the 60% of persons who leave care who currently have not been assigned aftercare workers; to reduce the 68% of young persons who experience homelessness within two years of leaving care. [36232/15]
View answerI wish to ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs how he plans to accommodate the 60% of people who leave care without being assigned aftercare workers, and how he plans to reduce the 68% of young persons who experience homelessness within two years of leaving care.
I strongly refute the figures quoted by the Deputy. I believe they are the ones contained in a study that was published some 15 years ago and are based on a very small sample size. I am pleased to inform the House that of those leaving care this year, approximately 80% were reported as having an allocated aftercare worker. In addition, Tusla has advised that almost 90% of young adults currently receiving an aftercare service are in some form of stable accommodation, including 45% who remain living with their former foster families. The figures of 80% and 90% are important.
Every year, between 450 and 500 young adults leave the care of the State. The majority of those are eligible for an aftercare plan. The Government has decided to amend the legislative provisions regarding aftercare. The aim is to create a clear statement of Tusla's duty to satisfy itself as to the young person’s need for assistance by preparing a plan that identifies those needs for aftercare supports. I published the new Aftercare Bill yesterday.
I am concerned about the one in ten young people who have left care and are reported by Tusla to be in unstable accommodation. The purpose of the legislation is to ensure that an aftercare plan, developed before the young person leaves care, identifies his or her care needs and that appropriate supports are put in place. Some young people may not engage with the supports offered or, in some instances, appropriate services such as accommodation may prove difficult to source.
Funding is made available to support a young person leaving care who is to remain on with his or her foster family as part of his or her aftercare plan. In other cases, funding supports are available to facilitate independent living or supported lodgings. Supports are also provided by other State bodies. For example, an exception is made to the jobseeker's allowance payment in favour of young adults leaving care, in that those aged 18 to 24 receive a higher rate than other jobseekers of the same age.
Tusla has continued to develop its aftercare service since the introduction of its national leaving and aftercare policy of 2011. The implementation of the policy has seen the introduction of new practices, including the establishment of steering groups and the standardisation of the aftercare allowance. I am happy to report that the additional funding I have secured for Tusla will drive forward this essential service for children and families into 2016 and beyond.
As the Minister is aware, HIQA released findings of reports on the recent inspections of the foster care systems in both the Galway-Roscommon and Cavan-Monaghan regions, respectively. The reports pointed out: "There were delays in receiving some specialists services and difficulties planning aftercare for children. Furthermore, not all children had an allocated social worker, and while there were some systems in place to mitigate risks, not all statutory obligations were met." The reports shine a light again on what appears to be a somewhat dysfunctional system. The welfare of those children is once again being questioned and it is the children who are exiting the system who seem to suffer disproportionately.
What provisions are in place to ensure interaction with aftercare workers, and that such workers are being properly monitored and given sufficient resources to do the level of work required? How will the Minister tackle the lack of other requirements for aftercare services to fulfil their statutory obligation?
It is worth reiterating that the reference to 68% of young persons experiencing homelessness within two years directly after leaving care is from a Focus Ireland study, Left Out on Their Own - Young People Leaving Care in Ireland, which was published in 2000, which is 15 years ago. This study followed just 56 young people who had left the care of a health board. A total of 87% or 49 young people, were tracked for six months after leaving care and 79% or 44 young people were tracked for two years. First, that is clearly a long time ago and, second, such small numbers make it very difficult to draw conclusions on how the wider group of care leavers have been affected. I do not believe that to draw conclusions and apply them to all children leaving care is particularly helpful to the debate.
At the end of March 2015, a total of 1,783 young people of all ages were in receipt of aftercare support. Of those, 1,338 who were aged 18 to 20 years, inclusive, were in full-time education and in receipt of aftercare support.
I have received representations from the Irish Network of Foster Carers regarding the Aftercare Bill. A number of questions were posed to me which I will pose to the Minister. I will respectfully take his answers on board. First, why were the people taking care of 93% of children not involved in scrutinising the provisions of the general scheme of the Bill? How can the Child and Family Agency implement its new aftercare policy before the concerns of foster carers have been addressed? The network pointed out that there are not enough staff members to provide an assigned link worker to support foster families, as per the national standards. It stated that the front-line staff who are available are dealing with unrealistic case loads which are impeding the service they provide.
The network is concerned about the morale of staff in the Child and Family Agency who are under pressure. The members of the network said there is a serious lack of professional supports needed by the children in their care. Does the Minister agree with the concerns expressed by foster carers that the Child and Family Agency aftercare policy will lead to children they have cared for being put in positions of danger?
In response to the issues raised by the foster carers organisation, there has been an increase in the Tusla budget-----
-----of approximately €38 million for next year, plus another €20.7 million was made available to clear any legacy debt. Tusla has a realistic plan to deal with all unallocated cases. The plan was put to us and we met its ask in full in terms of the resources required to implement it. Tusla was due to recruit in the region of 218 social workers. The number has risen to 256 for this year. A total of 100 social workers have already been recruited and others are in the process. Additional funding has been provided for next year for the recruitment of an additional 174 social workers, which will mean that in practice more than 200 social workers will be recruited during the course of next year. That will be a challenge but it will allow Tusla to address the issues raised.
As regards foster carers who do such wonderful work, and who are deeply appreciated by the State, we will continue to consult with them on how matters are progressed from here.
