Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1223. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children reported missing whilst under the care of Tusla in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42611/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraChildren reported missing from care are recognised as being among the most vulnerable in society. Tusla along with An Garda Síochána work together on such cases through a Joint Protocol where children can be listed as missing from care after a certain period if there is a concern about their safety, well-being, or if there is a risk present. The joint protocol sets out how social workers and social care workers should make a report of a missing child in care; when and how information about the child may be released to the public if the child is not located, and arrangements for the return of the child to care when they are found.
Tusla has further advised that if social work or social care staff determine that a child is missing they must report the child as missing to An Garda Siochána in line with the joint protocol. The Gardaí have primary responsibility for investigating once a child is reported missing and throughout the Garda investigation, Tusla staff and carers maintain regular contact with the Gardaí, pass on all relevant information and assist in the safe return of the child. Tusla has stated that this also applies in the small number of cases where a child remains absent for a longer period.
Tusla has advised that most of the children and young people reported missing return to their placement after a brief period of time and remain in a safe and caring environment.
Due to the very vulnerable nature of children in care, Tusla has also advised that they prepare an Absence Management Plan for each child in care. This plan is a tool to manage the risk in the event of a child going missing.?? It aims to ensure that children are given age-appropriate curfews/coming in times which reflect their ability to keep themselves safe when they are unsupervised within the community.? Interventions following incidents are focused on the individual child, the care placements and/or “pull” factors in the community following which, the Absence Management Plan for the young person may be reviewed to ensure the ongoing safety and well-being of the young person.
Tusla does not currently collect national data on missing children across all care types (Foster Care and Residential Care) as part of their statistical matrix. However, following the roll out of their new agency information system later in 2022, they hope to be in position to provide validated statistics in their data sets in 2023.
Data is available in relation to children placed in Residential Care (statutory, voluntary, private, and special care) from 2018 until 1st September 2022. This data is maintained on the National Significant Event Database and the information requested is set out in the table below.
Tusla would like to highlight the following in respect of the data provided:
- The figures relate to children placed in residential care by Tusla across all care settings including statutory, voluntary, private and special care.
- The figures refer to incidents where a child is missing for a period of 20 minutes or longer. It is important to note that generally most of the incidents/reports are for children missing for less than 24 hours.
- In all these cases, the children were returned to the care of Tusla.
|
Number of children reported missing from Residential Care Homes |
|
|
2018 |
337 |
|
2019 |
366 |
|
2020 |
319 |
|
2021 |
295 |
|
2022 – Up to 1st September |
236 |
