Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2017
37. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of applications for full care orders that have been made in respect of children already on voluntary care orders in the past three years; her plans to review the maximum amount of time a child can spend on a voluntary care agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50309/17]
View answerHow many applications for full care orders have been made in respect of children already on voluntary care orders? I am asking the Minister this question because I have concerns about children being placed on voluntary care orders for very long periods and the uncertainty that brings. I would like her to answer my question.
I thank the Deputy for the explanation of her question. The information requested by the Deputy is not available at present. Tusla’s existing information systems do not directly track movements of children from voluntary to full care orders. However, I am pleased to say the national child care information system, which is being rolled out nationally, will greatly improve information about these trends, including each child’s pathway through the care system. At present, Tusla collects and publishes a great deal of information about the Irish child protection system and about the more than 6,000 children who are currently in the care of the State. Monthly, quarterly and annual data are published on the Tusla website which provides information by age, gender, area and by the reasons for the child's admission to care. It also records the child's care status, whether they are in voluntary care or in care under a court order.
I am committed to helping Tusla improve its central data systems, both for the protection and welfare of our children and to ensure that child protection policy in Ireland is firmly based on high quality evidence. With this in mind, the national child care information system will operate as a central national database supporting the provision of child welfare and protection services. Access to the system will ensure that every social work department has a user friendly way to record the case history of every child who is the subject of a child protection or welfare concern, from the point of initial referral to case closure.
The system has been piloted in Tusla’s mid-west region and the intention is to have it in all areas between now and the end of June 2018. As promised under the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures strategy, my Department has initiated work to review the Child Care Act 1991. All matters relevant to the situation of children in care, including the usage of voluntary care orders, will be considered in the context of the review.
I thank the Minister for her reply. Tusla should start recording and tracking this information. We all know children in care need certainty in their lives. Voluntary care arrangements are intended as temporary solutions for parents who are unable to look after their children. Unfortunately, I have come across a situation far too often in which there are children in voluntary care arrangements for a number of years. It has a huge impact on the children because they have no certainty about where they will be in a year.
This causes them great concern and anguish. A mechanism should be put in place. When a child is in care for a number of years, Tusla should pursue full care orders and have a mechanism in place to protect these children. The current system seems to be somewhat ad hoc in nature, which is not acceptable.
The first issue is the pathway from voluntary care to court-ordered care and that Tusla should be aware of the trends in how many children may move from one to the other. That is an excellent point and Tusla has already taken it into consideration. It is built into the new database that has been developed and that is being rolled out across the country. In recent meetings with the chief executive, the chairperson and other board members of Tusla, I have been assured that the data system should be fully rolled out by the end of June 2018. In that context, we will have considerably more information on the questions and concerns the Deputy raised, which will enable better protection for children in care.
I welcome the Minister's indication that the data system will be rolled out in 2018. Some children aged ten and 11 have been in voluntary care placements for years. These children are vulnerable and do not know whether they are coming or going. Tusla's approach seems to be "If it's not broken, don't fix it". In other words, the relationship is going smoothly. That is not acceptable for children because they want security and to know where they will be in the coming years.
Sometimes other problems arise for children in voluntary care. We have had cases where foster parents were trying to bring children abroad on a holiday but were prevented from doing so on foot of the care order. It is not acceptable that children's lives have to stand still until Tusla gets involved.
This moves into the second area of the Deputy's concerns relating to what happens in the context of voluntary care and decisions that are made to move beyond that. Those are very valid concerns. As the Deputy is aware, voluntary care is an arrangement undertaken by the parents or guardians of a child and Tusla and does not involve the courts system. We need to be aware of the dynamics involved in that, including the kinds of meetings Tusla staff have with the family. Those relationships are important in order to support that voluntary care, which is usually better for the child if it can be supported. On foot of the fact that it does not involve the courts system, it has not benefited as much from extensive research carried out within the Irish child protection system. However, we have some research into voluntary care that has been undertaken, for example, by people in UCC. It appears to be one of the significant pathways to care under a full care order. This is something that my Department has taken into account in its review of the Child Care Act.
