Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

893. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the fluctuation in the number of children in State care or fosterage over the past five years; the degree to which adequate provision continues to be made for supervision and ongoing review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24048/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and, if necessary, to receive a child into the care of the State. I am satisfied that Tusla takes its responsibility very seriously regarding the welfare of children in care and that there is a robust framework of regulations and standards, to ensure that children are placed in safe and caring settings. The following table shows the number of children in care at the end of each year and the latest available figure for 2016, the number in foster care (General and Relative) and the corresponding percentage:

All children in care should have an allocated social worker but it is important to note that if a child has not been allocated a social worker, the cases are reviewed regularly by the principal social worker and are managed by duty social work teams to ensure the necessary needs of the children are being met. At the end of April 2016, over 93% of all children in care had an allocated social worker.

As the majority of children in care are in foster care family settings in the community, indicators of stability of the placement and participation in education are useful in monitoring the performance of Tusla in relation to overall welfare. I am happy to say that Tusla has reported that the results for these indicators are positive and show that placement stability is high and participation in education is on a par with the national participation rates.

Foster carers are selected on the basis of their ability to meet the needs of individual children. In some cases a child may require a foster care placement with additional supports to meet additional needs and in these cases extra supports and respite facilities may be provided when required. Social work support is also provided for foster carers in the form of a link worker. The link worker is a professionally qualified social worker and meets regularly with foster carers to provide training, information and whatever other support that may be required.

I would also note that the Agency provides funding to the Irish Foster Care Association which provides additional supports to carers.