Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 November 2015
123. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 145 of 16 October 2014 which highlights that 43% of young persons in detention had an assigned social worker, while 35% of young persons in detention were subject to a recent care order under the Child Care Act 1991, the reason these young persons are not an eligible group for an aftercare plan under the aftercare Bill. [40777/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2015 is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Bill is primarily concerned with aftercare – the planning and support put in place to meet the needs of a young person who is leaving statutory care at 18 years of age, to assist him or her in making the transition to independent living. The Bill obliges the Child and Family Agency, following an assessment of need, to prepare an aftercare plan identifying relevant aftercare supports for an eligible child or eligible young person.
The Bill builds on the existing provisions of section 45 of the Child Care Act 1991 and obliges the Agency:
(i) to prepare an aftercare plan for an eligible child before they reach the age of 18,
(ii) to prepare an aftercare plan, on request, for an eligible adult aged 18, 19 or 20, and
(iii) in relation to an eligible adult to review the operation of an aftercare plan where there has been a change in that adult’s circumstances or additional needs have arisen.
An eligible child means a child aged 16 years or over who has spent at least 12 months in the care of the State between the ages of 13 and (up to) 18 years old. An eligible adult means a young person aged 18, 19 or 20 who has spent at least 12 months in the care of the State between the ages of 13 and 18 years old.
Where an eligible child is no longer in the care of the Child and Family Agency, that child or a person acting on their behalf (parent, guardian or person acting in loco parentis) may request an aftercare plan from the Agency.
For clarity, any child or young person who meets these criteria will be eligible for an aftercare plan. Young people are not excluded from such planning on the basis of having spent time in detention.
