Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 April 2019
312. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way in which supervision of the arrangement is managed in relation to the 13 children in foster care outside the country and by whom with particular reference to facilitating contact with their family of origin. [15856/19]
View answer313. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way in which children are kept in contact with their families when they are placed in residential units in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15857/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 313 together.
Any decision by a Tusla social work team to place a child outside the State must be approved by the Agency's Chief Operations Officer. In addition to this, each child placed out of state has a care order in place in Ireland and as such consent must also be provided by the District Court and in some instances the High Court, depending on the nature of the care order.
Out of State placements, in keeping with placements made within the State, are supervised by allocated social workers and the local management of social work team leaders and Principal Social Workers. National oversight of these placements is maintained through a reporting and tracking system in place in the office of the Chief Operations Officer. Tusla Social Workers supervising out of state placements visit at intervals agreed and set out in the child's care plan. Frequency of social work visits range from once every two weeks for some children to once every twelve weeks for children in more settled placements. In some cases, support is also provided by local social services in the country where the child is placed, which may involve placement visits.
The frequency of family contact is determined through the care planning process for each child, taking into account the views of the child, their family, their carers, other professionals involved and Guardians Ad Litem. Family access with the child in an out of state placement is supported by Tusla and this includes booking and paying for flights. The majority of children in out of state placements have regular family contact, including face to face meetings, trips back to Ireland and contact by telephone or through social media. In a very small number of cases there may be no family contact, which can arise as a result of the wishes of the child and/or a social work decision relating to child protection risks.
