Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2016
679. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when the practice of sending children to placement out of State will end and the State will focus on developing therapeutic services and expertise here; and the number of children currently out of State in care at the moment. [30913/16]
View answerUnder the Child Care Act, 1991 and the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has a duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care or protection. When a child cannot live with their parents and is received into care, it is Tusla policy to place them in care settings, preferably in foster care, as close as possible to their home and community.
A very small minority of young people under 18 years of age have highly specialised needs arising from severe behavioural or other difficulties, due to their childhood experiences or in some cases as a result of injury, accident or disability. Tusla is on occasion required to make arrangements for their placement in care and treatment facilities outside of the State, primarily in the UK, to allow for access to an individually tailored mix of care and therapeutic services and psychiatric treatment not currently available in this country. This is done on as infrequent a basis as possible and only where such placements are considered to be in the best interests of the child. Placements where a child will be detained are made under the order and supervision of the High Court.
In a very small number of circumstances it is necessary to provide placements in other countries to facilitate a foster care placement within the context of the child's extended family or family network. There are also cases in which a foster family is moving abroad and it is in the best interests of the child to remain with the foster family. As of the 30 June 2016, there were 15 children in an out of state placement, including foster care, general residential and other specialised secure care placements. All of these children had an allocated social worker.
The Department of Health has advised that the HSE is developing a new national forensic mental health service to replace the Central Mental Hospital. A 10 bed forensic CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) is included as part of this development and should be operational by mid-2018. A residential setting for long-term care will not be included in this development given the lack of demand as evidenced by the small number of children requiring such a facility currently and the range of diagnoses and needs that would have to be catered for,
