Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 44: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason in March of this year that the Health Service Executive reported having 3,769 foster carers, only 3,138 of whom were approved by the Foster Care Panel under Part III of the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) regulations, 1995; the reason for this disparity; her views on whether this is an adequate level of care to provide to children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15127/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Under the Child Care Act, 1991(as amended) the Health Service Executive (HSE) has a statutory duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. If a child is in need of care and protection and is unlikely to receive it at home, the HSE has a duty to ensure they receive appropriate care. The majority of children in care are in foster care.

There are a number of different types of foster care:

Relative foster care is when another family member, e.g. a grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult sister/brother, or family friend becomes the foster parent of the child. In this situation, the relative foster carer is assessed by the HSE.

Day foster care is an alternative form of care, which provides a support system in the community. The child is spared the upset of separation from their family, can go home each evening, yet benefit from the additional care offered in the foster home. There is minimal disruption to family life, while the parents can obtain practical help, advice and support from the foster parents.

Short term foster care provides temporary care for a child separated from their birth family. Being short term the child will, after a period, move back to their family or move on to a long term family or an adoptive family.

Long term foster care is needed for children who are unlikely to be able to live with their birth family, and who, for a variety of reasons cannot be adopted. Many children in long term care become so much part of their foster family that they continue to live with them until their independence, just as the birth children of the foster family do.

Respite foster care is provided by some foster carers to provide a break for a child's family or another foster family.

Emergency foster care is provided for children who need care in a crisis situation with no advance notice. The children may be coming into care from their own home or from another placement.

There are also foster carers for children with special needs.

General Foster Care

Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer applies to the fostering team in their local social work department. Prospective foster carers or applicants undergo an assessment and training process to establish their suitability and competence as future foster carers. The assessment procedure is carried out by a social worker from the fostering team and will include Garda vetting, a medical assessment, personal interviews in the applicant's home and if the applicant(s) have children, the social worker will also talk to them about being part of a foster family. Garda vetting includes adult children and extended family members residing in the home. The applicant(s) will also be asked to provide references who will be interviewed by the social worker as part of the assessment process. The social worker will prepare a report based on discussions with the applicant(s), their family, the referees and the medical report. This report will be shared with the applicant(s) and the applicant(s) views will be represented. This report is then presented to the foster care committee (or Foster Care panel) for approval, including a recommendation as to the age of the child and type of foster care suitable to the applicant(s). It should be noted that some foster carers may have gone through the assessment and training stage with a recommendation for approval but the application may not have been formally approved by the foster care committee.

Relative Foster Care

When a child is being placed in foster care, the suitability of a placement with relatives is explored in the first instance. Where the HSE is satisfied that an immediate placement with relatives is in the interests of the child, such placement may occur before full approval of the committee is in place. Such emergency placements are provided for in the regulations. Prior to placement, the relative is assessed by a principal social worker, including early garda vetting. This is followed by a full assessment and approval by the foster care committee as outlined above.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) compiles and publishes monthly performance reports which include statistics in relation to children in foster care. Information in relation to the number of foster carers is published on a quarterly basis and the HSE reported that there were 3,769 foster carers, of whom 3,138 were approved by the Foster Care panel under Part III of the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) regulations, 1995, at the end of December 2011. Data for Galway is not included in these figures.

I am informed by the HSE that 85.6% of the unapproved foster carers (540 foster carers) were relatives of the young people in foster care. In these cases, an initial assessment is completed, followed by the full assessment and approval process as above.