Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 October 2022
152. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide statistics of the death rate among persons under 18 years in Ireland; and the death rate among persons aged under 18 years who are in State care, both residential and fostering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52208/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra155. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the action that he is taking to reduce the death rate among children in State care, in both residential care and fostering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52211/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 155 together.
Both Tusla - the Child and Family Agency and my Department are committed to promoting safe and high quality practice in all areas of Alternative Care, including Residential Care and Foster Care. Safe practice is defined as the implementation of safeguarding measures necessary for working with young people in a manner that acknowledges their need to live in as normal an environment as possible. All children have the right to be cared for, fulfill their potential and be protected from harm.
Children who are in the care of the State under the Child Care Act 1991 are assigned an allocated Social Worker to carry out statutory responsibilities for the safety and welfare of the child. Once a child has been received into care, the most crucial task for the social worker is to find a placement that matches that child's needs. Children, depending on their identified need, may be placed in Foster Care, Residential Care, Special Care or other placement types. A key part of the social worker role is to develop, in consultation with the child and relevant others, a care plan which will guide the quality and safety of the child's placement. There are safeguards surrounding each child's care placement, whether foster or residential care, and all placements are supervised by a professionally qualified social worker.
Supervision levels are high in Residential Care, with staff-to-child ratios linked to the Risk Assessment for each child in the group setting. In addition, each child in Residential Care has a Key Worker with responsibility for the child, and this staff member liaises directly with them and also co-ordinates health and social services. A number of policies are in place to safeguard children while they are in Residential Care, such as Children First, and Missing Child from Care, while First Aid Responder training is mandatory for all residential care staff. While children in Residential Care have access to the same level of health care as children living in a home setting, Tusla continues to work with HSE Mental Health Services to strengthen supports and services for children in the care of the State.
Furthermore, Regulations and Standards govern the placement of children in care, including Foster Care and Residential Care. These provide for the welfare of the child, the care practices, care records, accommodation and safety precautions.
The placement of children in Foster Care is governed by the National Standards for Foster Care 2003, and underpinned by the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995 and (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995. The placement of children in Residential Care is governed by the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres 2001, and underpinned by the Child Care (Placement in Residential Care) Regulation 1995, and the Child Care (Standards in Children’s Residential Centres) 1996. The placement of children in Special Care is governed by the National Standards for Special Care Units 2014, as well as the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Children in Special Care Units) Regulations 2017.
HIQA carries out announced and unannounced inspections of Foster Care Services, Statutory Children’s Residential Centres, and Special Care Units. HIQA carry out these inspections against the identified Regulations and Standards. Tusla is the statutory regulator of Private and Voluntary Children’s Residential Centres, and is therefore responsible for the registration and inspection of these centres in accordance with Regulations, Standards, and the relevant provisions of the Child Care Act 1991.
The foregoing sets out the safeguards in place with regard to all placements of children in Foster Care, Residential Care and Special Care. Tusla in discharging its statutory responsibilities under the Child Care Acts must have the best interests of the child as its paramount consideration. The Agency actively monitors every placement of every child in care to ensure its appropriateness to the needs of that child, and any concerns or breaches of Standards or Regulations are addressed in this context.
The death of a child in care is always a tragic event. There are however robust procedures in place to review the circumstances of the death and to identify any learnings that might arise. The State has well developed investigation and review mechanisms in place for when such tragic events occur.
In relation to any unexpected death, an inquest led by the coroner (an independent judicial office holder who investigates unexpected deaths) establishes the facts of each specific case and determines the cause of death of the person involved. A post mortem may be requested by either a coroner or a doctor. The coroner will ask for a post-mortem in the case of a violent, sudden or unnatural death or as part of a criminal investigation, and may use its findings at an inquest.
Tusla has well developed structures and processes to review the circumstances of the death of a child in care and to identify learnings from these cases. All deaths of children in care are notified in line with an Incident Management Policy so that any learning can be shared to inform service improvements. Tusla also notifies any child deaths of children in care to the National Review Panel and to HIQA in line with the Interim Guidance for Tusla on the Operation of the National Review Panel (2021).
My Department is not responsible for collating statistics on the death rate of persons under the age of 18. However, in specific relation to children in the care of the State, Tusla has provided the below information in relation to the number of deaths of children in Foster Care or Residential Care:
Deaths of Children in the care of Tusla in fostering or residential placements notified to the National Review Panel 2014 to Quarter 3, 2022
|
Year |
Total |
|
2014 |
3 |
|
2015 |
3 |
|
2016 |
1 |
|
2017 |
5 |
|
2018 |
1 |
|
2019 |
1 |
|
2020 |
1 |
|
2021 |
4 |
|
2022 to Q3 |
3 |
|
Total |
22 |
*Data is subject to on-going validation.
