Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Section 45 of the Child Care Act 1991 places a statutory duty on the HSE to form a view on whether each person leaving care has a need for assistance. If it forms such a view, it is required to provide services in accordance with the legislation and subject to resources. Under the 1995 child care regulations , the HSE is required to consider a child's need for assistance, in accordance with the provisions of section 45, two years prior to the child leaving care. All young people who have had a care history with the HSE are entitled to an aftercare service based on their assessed needs.

The core eligible age range for aftercare is 18 to 21 years. The HSE policy allows for this to be extended up to the age of 23 years on the basis of a need for assistance.

As I have previously advised the Deputy, regular statistics for young adults in receipt of aftercare only commenced being compiled and published by the HSE after I took office in 2011. I am now receiving quarterly reports on the numbers leaving aftercare; therefore, we now have more up-to-date figures than were previously available. I believe I supplied the Deputy with figures for the years 2007 to 2010, inclusive. As of June 2012, the statistics indicate that 1,053 young adults were in receipt of an aftercare service. As I told the Deputy previously, the budgets for aftercare provision across the country have increased substantially. While regular figures were not available before 2011, we are aware that the number of children in aftercare has increased, for example, from 847 in 2009 to 1,053 in June 2012. I will be getting new figures at the end of September. I have asked the HSE if it can compile the precise information requested by the Deputy for the seven year period. Although I do not have that information available today, I will try to get it. We have given all the data we have available.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The basis of an aftercare service is an individual needs assessment which identifies a young person’s need for accommodation, financial support, social network support and training and education. The level of support required will vary for each individual from advice to accommodation to further education, employment or training and social support. The most important requirements for young people leaving care are for secure, suitable accommodation, as well as further education, employment or training and social support. The most vulnerable group of young people leaving care are those who are not in education and training and those who have left residential care. Young people with mental health problems or a disability are also in need of particular support. Aftercare provision incorporates advice, guidance, networks and practical support. It is essential that all young people leaving care are provided with the type of transitional support that their individual situation requires. The provision of an appropriate aftercare service has been highlighted as a key element in achieving positive outcomes for young people leaving care.

Some 90% of children in care are in foster care, a large number of whom remain living with their foster families, supported financially by the HSE, on reaching 18 years of age. Many of these young people continue in education and training, as planned. This remains a key component of aftercare for young people when they leave care.

The HSE national aftercare service is underpinned by a national policy and procedures document which has been developed in co-operation with the key stakeholders, including the voluntary sector agencies representing children in care and those involved in aftercare provision and my Department. The policy which was finalised in April 2011 commits to promoting and achieving the best outcomes for young people leaving care and ensuring consistency of support for these young people. The HSE has established an intra-agency national aftercare implementation group to monitor progress in implementing the national policy. The work of this group is ongoing and I have asked Mr. Gordon Jeyes, national director for children and family services in the HSE, to prepare a report on aftercare. This report will include, inter alia, the key findings of the group, examples of best practice, assessment criteria and effective aftercare supports. The report will guide the development of policy to underpin the strengthening of legislation for services in this important area.

The Deputy will be aware that I am examining options, in association with the Attorney General, to strengthen legislation to make explicit the HSE's obligations in the provision of aftercare. The experience in implementing the national aftercare policies and procedures and the involvement of a range of important stakeholders in this process provide an opportunity to further improve policy and legislation in this area.

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