Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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732. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 324 of 16 July 2014, in relation to the advice from the Child and Family Agency that it is in the process of changing its model of care provision for children who require additional supports; if a new strategy for high support and special care will be devised and published by the agency; if the criteria for admission to special care will be amended from the criteria currently being used by the Agency which were published in March 2012. [33654/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, children who required a high support placement were previously accommodated in one of two national high support units. However, this arrangement was not always found to be in the best interests of the child, given that this usually meant that the child was placed outside their local area at a time when building relationships with a family and community was important. The Child and Family Agency (the Agency) decided to increase the number of special care places and to provide high support to children who need it by way of individualised care packages in their local area.

The Agency recently revised the Standard Operating Process for referrals to Special Care and a copy of these documents are available on request from the Agency.