Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 14 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 2

Written Answers. - Adoption Services.

Gay Mitchell

Ceist:

116 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will have examinations made into the contents of a letter (details supplied); the proposals if any he has to remedy the current situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16839/00]

Nora Owen

Ceist:

118 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make arrangements to remove the discrimination that exists for couples waiting to have assessments for foreign adoptions whereby, depending on what part of the country you live in, you can get your assessment either in a matter of months or a matter of years; if he will make whatever resources are available to remove this discrimination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16861/00]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Ms Hanafin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 118 together.

A key characteristic of the intercountry adoption service is its demand-led nature. The inability of service providers to respond to the enormous increase in demand was one of the reasons which led to the review of the intercountry adoption assessment service in the report "Towards a Standardised Framework for Intercountry Adoption Assessment Procedures". While patterns are undoubtedly linked to the decreasing availability of Irish children for domestic adoption, this alone does not explain the growth in interest in intercountry adoption of recent years. There is no doubt but that this service was considerably under-resourced in the past. However, the level of unpredictability experienced in recent years is bound to affect the ability of the individual boards to make rapid responses to such increases. For example, between 1998 and 1999 four of the boards saw an increase in applications, some almost a two-fold increase, the other four saw a decrease in numbers applying. Preliminary indications are that applications in 2000 may well exceed applications in 1999 in some of the boards.

The Deputy will be aware of the additional funding £1 million already allocated, £500,000 in both 1999 and 2000, following the publication of the report on intercountry adoption assessment procedures in 1999. This funding was allocated on the basis of waiting lists in December 1998 and September 1999 respectively. In other words, those boards with the largest number of people on their waiting lists received the bulk of the funding. The largest beneficiaries of the additional funding were the Eastern Regional Health Authority, formerly the Eastern Health Board, and the Southern Health Board.

The additional funding was used to recruit additional social work staff, improve office accommodation, information technology and clerical and administrative support. Several training initiatives on the new assessment model have also been organised and funded on a cross-board basis. Additional guidance on the implementation of the new standardised framework has also been commissioned by my Department and will be available to social workers shortly. These initiatives are contributing to a reduction in waiting times and the duration of assessment as well as the fast-tracking of second assessments. It must be acknowledged that there are variations in progress between boards.

According to data received at 31 March 2000 there were a total of 1036 applications awaiting assessment, including second time applicants. While some boards have a considerably greater number of applications than others, waiting time is obviously dependent on the numbers of social workers engaged in assessment in the individual boards. In that regard, I must point out that there have been considerably difficulties in the recruitment of social workers and this has inevitably delayed the expected impact of the additional funding in some boards. This has also been exacerbated by the adverse media attention on the intercountry adoption service in the Eastern Regional Health Authority. Clearly, the availability, recruitment and retention of appropriately qualified staff will be a key element in reducing waiting times for assessments. I am satisfied that the boards are doing their utmost to recruit the necessary staff. The difficulties being experienced are part of a general shortage of social work staff in the child care area, including child protection services.

An implementation group was established to plan, prioritise and cost the implementation of the report "Towards a Standardised Framework for Inter-country Adoption Assessment Procedures". This group is nearly finished its work and have advised that a report on progress will be made available to me in the coming weeks. I understand that this report will contain,inter alia, a comprehensive outline of developments arising from the implementation of the Standardised Framework as well as findings and recommendations in relation to the future of the intercountry adoption service.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

117 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the health boards insist on people who have completed an assessment already for the adoption of one non-national child have to wait for a full waiting period again for assessment for a second child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16860/00]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Ms Hanafin)

The Deputy's question refers to one of the recommendations in the report "Towards a Standardised Framework for Intercountry Adoption Assessment Procedures" that applications for second assessment should be prioritised within the boards' waiting lists. However, the report also noted that when a couple or single applicant have an initial assessment, the recommendation is generally based on the assessment of capacity to parent one child. Therefore, there is a clear need for a second application to go through a second assessment process. In addition, it commented that good practice dictates that the first child settles prior to introducing a sibling.

The waiting time for first and second assessment in each of the boards at the end of March this year are outlined in the following table. It is evident from the table that this recommendation to fast-track second assessments is already being implemented in the boards. The "Guide for Practitioners" which has been commissioned by my Department to provide guidance in relation to all stages of the standardised model of assessment will include a framework for second assessments which will further facilitate streamlining of these applications.

Waiting time for assessment in each of the health boards at 31 March, 2000

	First assessment	Second/subsequentassessment
E.R.H.A.	22 months	19 months
M.H.B.	10 months	5 months
M.W.H.B.	28 months	10 months
N.E.H.B.	13 months	2-3 months
N.W.H.B.	11-12 months	11-12 months
S.E.H.B.	30 months	6 months
S.H.B.	Kerry 11 monthsCork 18 months	7 months
W.H.B.	4-6 months	3-4 months