Irish Foster Care Association calls for full implementation of recommendations of Ryan Report:
Irish Foster Care Association calls for full implementation of recommendations of Ryan Report:
The Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA) is calling on the HSE and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to fully implement the recommendations of the Ryan Report and provide the supports necessary for the safe care of children in care.
There are over 5,500 children in care in Ireland, 92% of these children are cared for by more than 3,100 foster carers, the vast majority of whom have undergone a stringent vetting and assessment process prior to or shortly after these young people were placed with them. IFCA has always advocated that foster carers should be fully assessed and supported in their fostering role.
Vetting refers to the undertaking of Garda checks by the HSE prior to, or at the time of placement in the case of an emergency. References are also looked for and taken up at this time.
Assessment is where vetting is completed and an intensive interviewing process is undertaken by the social worker into all aspects of the prospective foster carer's background to ensure their suitability as foster carers. A training course outlining the challenges and issues faced by foster carers is an integral part of the assessment process and following successful completion of all aspects of the assessment, foster carers are then registered with the HSE.
It is being widely acknowledged that placing children with close family members, i.e. relative care, where appropriate, is best practice and in the best interest of the child. It is important to note that behind every one of these statistics is a child in care and by the very nature of families, a policy of ‘one size fits all' is not always feasible.
IFCA welcomes the appointment of the additional 200 social workers promised by the HSE but these appointments need to be sustained by the necessary support services.
Every child in care should have an active care plan in place and have an allocated social worker, but these two actions alone will not support children in care and lead them to independent living. Adequate resources need to be in place to support the care plan, the social worker and the foster carer.
Psychiatry, psychology, educational, counselling, speech and language and other services identified in the care plan as necessary for the wellbeing of the child in care must be available and accessible to the child and foster family.
The social worker must be in a position to give time to the child in care to build up a relationship with them and be a constant in their lives as they go through the care system. Their caseload must reflect this need and not put them under such pressure that they are unable to get to know the child or they get so ‘burned-out' that they move on to another area of social work.
A recent survey carried out by the Irish Foster Care Association identified that one of the main issues of concern raised by foster carers related to the lack of a suitably resourced out-of-hours service that was available not only to Gardai but also to foster carers who may need the services of social workers in the evenings and at weekends. Some carers described a sense of "isolation", "vulnerability" and general dissatisfaction at having to contact the Gardaí to deal with certain situations. Carers commented on the inevitability of this action escalating the situation, in contrast to a specialised out of hours support service which could provide a more appropriate response and the possibility of a more beneficial and less traumatic outcome.
Serious concern was also expressed by over a quarter of the carers interviewed for the future welfare of the young people in their care. This concern was expressed predominately in relation to difficulty securing aftercare support and services for young people approaching eighteen years of age. For young people in care this is perhaps one of the most important transition stages of their life and a time when clear and consistent direction and support is fundamental to their well-being, inadequacies in aftercare supports can have serious implications for their future.
IFCA welcomes the recent appointment by the HSE of an Assistant National Director for Children and Family Social Services and look forward to continuing our positive working relationship with those directly responsible for foster care. IFCA is also committed to working in partnership with the Irish Association of Young People in Care and other organisations to ensure the best outcomes for children in care.