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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Nov 1999

Vol. 511 No. 3

Written Answers. - Foreign Adoptions.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

206 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Health and Children the waiting periods for assessment for inter-country adoption in the eight health board areas; the additional resources, if any, he proposes to made available particularly to the Eastern Health Board where the waiting periods can be as long as three years from the time of first contact with the board. [24107/99]

The report, Towards a Standardised Framework for Inter-country Adoption Assessment Procedures to which I have referred previously in detail in the House examined the applications for assessment which were processed to completion in 1998. I would refer the Deputy to extracts of table 4.12, length of time between receipt of application and allocation to social worker and 4.13, length of time between allocation of social worker and commencement of assessment. The data demonstrates the waiting periods for assessment for inter-country adoption in 1998.

I have previously outlined to the House details of the additional £500,000 which was allocated to inter-country adoption services in 1999. A sum of £213,000 of the total was allocated to the Eastern Health Board. In addition, I have recently outlined to the House the initiatives which that board has taken to improve the service for applicants for inter-country adoption which will assist in reducing both the waiting period for assessment to commence and the assessment itself, in addition to the recruitment of additional social workers. I would refer the Deputy to my previous reply in the House of 11 November 1999 in this regard.

Based on the increase in staff assigned to assessment and the introduction of the standardised framework model, it is hoped that there will be a significant improvement in the number of assessments being completed in the Eastern Health Board area during the year 2000.
Table 4.12
Length of Time (months) between Receipt of Application and Allocation to Social Worker

Health Board

0-2mths

3-4mths

5-6mths

7-8mths

9-10mths

11-12mths

13-14mths

15-16mths

17-18mths

19 +mths

Total

EHB

2

3

2

7

6

12

7

12

3

2

34.1%(56)

MHB

1

1

0

0

3

2

1

0

0

0

4.9%(8)

MWHB

4

2

1

2

3

0

1

0

0

0

7.9%(13)

St. Caths

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.6%(1)

NEHB

0

2

0

1

1

2

4

5

1

0

9.8%(16)

NWHB*

St. Muras

8

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4.9%(8)

SEHB

9

7

3

0

0

1

0

0

0

2

13.4%(22)

SHB

0

1

4

5

9

2

3

1

0

0

15.2%(25)

WHB

3

1

2

1

3

0

0

0

0

3

7.9%(13)

PACT

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1.2%(2)

Total

18.3%(30)

10.4%(17)

7.3%(12)

9.8%(16)

15.2%(25)

11.6%(19)

9.8%(16)

11%(18)

2.4%(4)

4.3%(7)

100%(164)

No. of records missing is 11, sample total is 164
*Only one case was completed in NWHB in 1998 (separate from St Mura's). In this one case limited information was available which results in missing data relating to NWHB.
Table. 4.13
Length of Time between Allocation of Social Worker and Commencement of Assessment

Health Board

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6+ months

Total

EHB

56

0

0

0

1

0

33.7%(57)

MHB

9

0

0

0

0

2

6.5%(11)

MWHB

12

0

1

0

0

0

7.7%(13)

St. Caths

0

0

1

0

0

0

.6%(1)

NEHB

16

0

0

0

0

0

9.5%(16)

NWHB

St. Muras

1

1

2

2

0

0

3.6%

SEHB

12

3

3

2

0

3

13.6%(23)

SHB

24

1

0

0

0

0

14.8%(25)

WHB

13

1

0

0

0

0

8.3%(14)

PACT

3

0

0

0

0

0

1.8%(3)

Total

86.4%(146)

3.6%(6)

4.1%(7)

2.4%(4)

0.6%(1)

3%(5)

100%(169)

Cases missing = 6
*Only one case was completed in NWHB in 1998 (separate from St Mura's). In this one case limited information was available which results in missing data relating to NWHB.
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