The capacity and sustainability of foster care arrangements for lone children seeking international protection in Ireland have been met with serious apprehension. This following two reports published by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) on Tuesday. The reports scrutinise child protection, welfare, and foster care services dispensed by the Tusla-run Separated Children Seeking International Protection outfit.
Notably, this comprises the first-ever inspection of the foster care service for these children. The identified risks include rushing children to foster homes even before Garda vetting takes place, and placing children into care with an individual facing an ongoing investigation over an alleged incident. Hiqa pointed out lapses adhering to reporting protocols linked to a child’s allegation in an appropriate time frame.
The reports disclosed carer approvals on pressing cases, sidelining mandatory foster training pre-requisites in certain cases, and even missing Garda vetting procedures. The services examined under eight foster care standards were found significantly compliant with three, yet severely lacking in five.
Inspectors lauded the workforce as devoted, diligent, and child-focused, but acknowledged their struggle in delivering fundamental services for fostered kids. The service suffered acute resource struggles, as the report described. Moreover, observance of regulations such as assigning every foster child a social worker and periodic visits were found inadequate.
Furthermore, care plan reviews did not stick to prescribed timeframes, with a calling for managerial supervision in streamlining care plan reviews. While there was recognition that changes in service delivery would demand time to materialise, the slow pace of improvements was viewed as worryingly sluggish.
Post-inspection, a compliance plan was submitted by the management to rectify the problematic areas identified. However, Hiqa suggested that certain measures within the plan were deemed unsatisfactory, and did not provide the inspectors with adequate reassurance that the service would become compliant with necessary standards.
Following a subsequent Hiqa evaluation of child protection and welfare services, better support was evident compared to their previous inspection in February 2023. Despite this improvement, the inspectors reported ongoing issues of excessively high caseloads, highlighting a recurring concern. They emphasised the considerable pressure on the workforce due to the escalating intake of cases involving vulnerable children.
An alarming rise was witnessed in solitary children seeking asylum within Ireland, putting additional stress on the services. The report underscored that the mounting workloads of the staff remained unresolved. It outlined how managers and staff at various levels were persistently under-supported in an environment driven by crises.
Initially, Hiqa noted that progressive efforts were underway to establish robust governance arrangements within the service. However, the agency strongly emphasised the need for continued reforms to ensure the development and implementation of proper systems, which would facilitate a safe and effective service provision.