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Children in Care

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 January 2019

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

Questions (243, 246)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

243. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children in single care residential placements in each of the years 2015 to 2018. [4496/19]

View answer

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

246. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children in single care foster care placements in each of the years 2015 to 2018. [4499/19]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 246 together.

I understand the Deputy to be asking about the number of children who have had a single foster care or residential care placement during their time in care. I therefore propose to answer on the basis of data available on placement stability.

Depending on the reason for admission to care or the circumstances, a child may initially be placed in an emergency placement, and then moved to a stable, long term placement. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, use the number of children on their third, or greater, placement within a year, as an indicator of placement stability. Figures are published based on that metric.

The following table, which includes figures from the prepublication 2017 Review of Adequacy, shows the overall placement stability indicator for the years 2015-2017. Data is not yet available for 2018.

Overall Placement Stability

2015

2016

2017 (provisional)

Total children in care

6,384

6,267

6,116

Number in less than 3 placements

6,252

6,098

5,974

Number in third placement

132

169

142

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