Ms Catherine Bond:

The Irish Foster Carers Association, IFCA, would concur with a number of the points raised by the Irish Association of Social Workers. On behalf of IFCA, I would like to thank the committee for the invitation to address the joint committee on issues relating to foster care. I am accompanied by the chairperson of IFCA, and a foster carer, Mr. Raymond Nolan, Dr. Helen Gogarty, expert in children's attachment, and Mr. Brendan Gillen, who is on-line, and who is an IFCA director. I have included supplementary information on IFCA in appendix 2 in the opening statement.

As already said, foster care is the backbone of care for children who are in the care of the State in Ireland. Ireland is quite unique in that the majority of the children who are in State care live with foster care families where they experience family life, which is testament to the value and importance of the family in our society and this is reflected in our legislation. Ms O'Toole has already attested to this. However, IFCA would view that foster care is at a critical juncture in Ireland with extreme challenges to the system at present. The predominant challenges are the complex issues for children who are received into care and the lack of services to respond to their needs, the challenges for foster care families in supporting those needs and the absence of investment in supporting foster care.

When a child comes into the care of the State, it is assessed that they are at risk and required care and-or protection. Foster care is the predominant type of care for children in the State, where foster families offer warm, caring family life to children, tending to their physical, social, emotional and other needs, which are underpinned by the stability of family life. Foster care families support children who may be dealing with issues of neglect, abuse, or abandonment and to help them to feel supported, loved and accepted unconditionally. This was also attested to by Ms O'Toole.

While the number of children being received into care has fallen from 6,044 in 2018 to 5,836 at the end of June 2022, so too has the percentage of children placed in foster care, falling from 92% in 2018 to just 90% in June 2022. This decrease relates to higher numbers of children being placed in non-foster care placements. This trend is worrying and one which we will be required to watch.

By the time a decision is made to place a child in care, they have already experienced many adverse early life events. These may include exposure to alcoholin utero, which can result in children having foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, substance abuse in utero, insecure or disorganised attachments and trauma. Research shows that children in care present with attachment profiles and are significantly more insecure than children in the general population who are not in care. In a 2002 study, only 6% of children in care were classified as having secure attachments, compared to the general population. This presents great challenges in responding to the needs of children in foster care. For many children these adversities remain undiagnosed.

However, as children settle into the security of the foster care family, emergent expressed unmet needs are presented, whereby foster care families are required to support the child through ranges of emotions and behaviours. To support these needs, foster care families require supports and responsive services for children. Prior to the establishment of Tusla, foster care services were located within the HSE, and had access to professional services. These included speech and language therapists and other relevant professionals to meet the needs of children. Children in the care of the State were also prioritised for such services as stipulated in the national standards for foster care.

With the establishment of Tusla and the transferring of foster care services to that agency, this is no longer the case. The outcome of this decision is that children in care who have experienced early life trauma do not have access to, nor priority for, the required services.

The challenges in recruiting and retaining social workers have been identified by Tusla, which in its 2021 annual report stated there is "a risk to operational service delivery in terms of social work resources available". Tusla also identified in its annual report the risk "to the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children in foster care, due to inadequate capacity/resources/systems to ensure compliance with national standards for safeguarding". This is a perfect storm. Placing children with high levels of need with foster carers without adequate resources or supports places these foster care families under severe pressure. This can result in placement endings, as attested by Dr. O'Brien, whereby insufficient services and the absence of social work resources place unrealistic demands and pressures on foster care families.

IFCA is the only independent organisation in Ireland that supports foster carers. During 2021, IFCA supported 30 foster care families whose children’s placements were in crisis and at risk of ending, which would result in a move for the child to another foster care placement if one were available. Another stress for foster care parents is the risk of allegations of abuse being made against them. The challenges faced by foster parents are great and, without support placements, flounder and can fail. It is reported that the outcomes for children in care are poor if they have a higher number of placements.

Foster carers have expressed that they do not feel valued or recognised by the State for their contribution to the State's alternative care system. This manifests in the lack of supports offered to them. These include on-the-ground support as provided by IFCA, financial supports as outlined in the pre-budget submission to the Government, and recognition by the State of pension rights. There is a shortage of foster care families to meet the demand of children coming into the care of the State, as advertised by Tusla in its most recent recruitment campaign. Foster care is the lynchpin of the State's alternative care system. Without foster carers, more children will be placed in residential care, which, as evidenced, does not offer outcomes that are as favourable for children.

There is an urgent need for investment in foster care services. We need investment in the provision of psychological and other assessments for each child entering care and the provision of appropriate assessments for existing children in care. We then need the provision of timely services as recommended by these assessments. We need more social workers and foster care families to be recruited. We need a review of social work administrative tasks to provide for more relational time with foster carers and children in care. This is the essence of social work practice. Some foster care tasks should be delegated to IFCA to reduce the workloads of social workers. These tasks could include training new foster carers, the provision of local foster care support groups and the addition of advocacy support services as an early intervention for complex foster care placements to prevent placement breakdowns. IFCA's national advocacy and counselling services should be extended. There should be financial and pension recognition of foster parents.

IFCA recommends greater investment in foster care. The contract between Tusla and foster carers must be strengthened to give due recognition to the role foster carers play on behalf of the State in the provision of the alternative care system. We advocate the establishment of a permanent advisory panel on alternative care, comprising those with in-depth knowledge of the subject, by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. This permanent advisory group's remit should review the current provision of foster care services and make recommendations for their enhancement and future developments. The advisory group should act as a resource for Tusla in the development and maintaining of alternative care services in Ireland.

We advocate the retention of the 2003 national standards for foster care. We recommend adequately funding IFCA, the only independent national organisation that supports foster care in Ireland, to meet the support needs of foster care families and to aid recruitment and retention of foster carers. We recommend the provision of manageable caseloads and higher levels of support for social workers to improve recruitment and retention and the introduction of a part-time social work degree to facilitate those currently in employment who wish to train as social workers. As an urgent measure the Government should seriously consider IFCA's pre-budget submission regarding financial supports for foster carers.

Foster care is the backbone of the care of children in the State and requires robust infrastructure to support it. As it stands today, foster care is at a precarious juncture. Children coming into the care system must be prioritised and receive all necessary assessments and supports. Foster carers must also receive the supports required to enable them to care for children with very complex needs on behalf of the State. Supports must be timely and available. Investment is required in the foster care system and in IFCA to provide supports that foster carers require in their role. I thank the Chairperson and committee members.