Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 October 2022
120. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if HIQA conducts inspections of private residential care homes for children in State care; and if so, the number of inspections that have taken place in each of the years 2019 to 2021 and to date in 2022. [50492/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraResidential services are provided directly by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and also by Private and Voluntary organisations that have been commissioned to do so by the Agency. Tusla uses a mix of these providers and its own directly provided services in order to maximise the availability of placements that are best suited to meet the needs of individual children and young people.
Tusla is the statutory regulator of Private and Voluntary Children’s Residential Centres, and its Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service (ACIMS) is responsible for the registration and inspection of these centres. Registrations are granted based on centre adherence to the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres, 2001, created under Section 63 of the Child Care Act, 1991 and underpinned by the Child Care (Placement in Residential Care) Regulation 1995, and the Child Care (Standards in Children’s Residential Centres) 1996.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is responsible for inspecting those children’s residential care services that are provided directly by Tusla. It also monitors these settings against the relevant Regulations, as well as the National Standards for Children’s Residential Services.
Both Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are committed to promoting safe and high quality practice in all areas of Alternative Care. This is achieved through the application of Regulations and Standards that govern the placement of children and young people, including where Residential Care placements are operated by a private provider.
Tusla has provided the information below regarding the number of inspections that it has conducted of Voluntary and Private Residential Centres in each of the years 2019 to 2021, and to date in 2022:
Tusla ACIMS Inspections of Private and Voluntary Residential Centres:
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 - YTD Q2 |
|
128 |
112 |
165 |
91 |
