Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018
390. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she plans to take to ensure children's safety is paramount while they are in foster care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19058/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Child Care Act, 1991, as amended, and the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has a statutory duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Where appropriate, children who are in need of care and protection are received into the care of the State under the Child Care Act, 1991, as amended.
Regulations govern the placement of children in care. These provide for the welfare of the child, the care practices, care records, accommodation and safety precautions. The Regulations also provide that the allocated social worker oversees the implementation of the child's care plan, visits the child and consults with family members, foster carers and other people involved with the child to ensure that his or her needs are being met and that the care being provided is optimal.
Children, depending on their identified need, may be placed in foster care either with relatives or general foster carers, in residential care, special care or other placement types. The majority of children in care in Ireland are in foster care. Matching carers with children and young people is outlined in the National Standards for Foster Care (2003), and the National Standards for Children's Residential Centres (2001) outlines the need for suitable placements in residential care.
It is vital that all children in care, and their carers, receive adequate support to ensure a successful placement. Foster care is the main form of alternative care for children in need of care and protection, and is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their parents or guardians. At the end of December 2017, there were 6,189 children in care in Ireland. 92% (5,702) of these were cared for in foster placements. The majority of children are in the care of general foster carers.
Key elements of the support to be provided to children in care include: access to a link social worker for supervision and support to the foster carers; allocation of a dedicated social worker for children in care; onward referral and advocacy for access to specialist services to meet the child's identified needs, such as speech and language therapy, counselling and psychology services.
The link worker is a professionally qualified social worker and meets regularly with foster carers to supervise the capacity of the foster carers to adequately meet the needs of the child and to provide training, information and whatever other support that may be required. At the end of December 2017, 81% (3554/4384) of foster carers had a link social worker and 95%(5415/5702) of children in foster care had an allocated social worker.
Tusla provides funding to the Irish Foster Care Association which provides supports to carers, including training and a phone advice service.
My Department receives regular detailed reports on key performance and activity indicators of service provision, including on children in care, from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. My officials have regular meetings on a monthly and quarterly basis with Tusla management to review the overall level of service provision, including areas in need of improvement. In addition to regular reports, Tusla also provides occasional or special topic reports, as required, which can then be used for budget and resource planning.
In addition to the reporting arrangements with Tusla my Department also reviews the findings of a number of independent bodies, which are made available in the inspection reports from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) who inspect all statutory children's residential centres and special care units run by the State, as well as Fostering Services and Child Protection and Welfare Services in each area. Services are required to develop an Action Plan in response to any recommendations made by Inspectors. HIQA undertakes follow-up inspections to examine the progress being made against Action Plans. All of these Reports are published on HIQA's website www.hiqa.ie. All 17 areas have been inspected at least once by HIQA as well as a number of private foster care services.
Registration and inspection of non-statutory run Residential Centres is carried out by Inspection and Monitoring Officers employed by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. My Department also receives reports on child deaths and serious incidents from the independently chaired National Review Panel, and reports from the Ombudsman for Children.
