Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1690. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children leaving care in 2015 and 2016 broken down by area, in tabular form; the number that had a completed after-care plan; the number that had an allocated after-care worker in the Child and Family Agency; and the number with an allocated after-care worker from outside the Child and Family Agency. [41838/16]

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

Aftercare is a term used to describe the planning and support put in place to meet the needs of a young person who is leaving statutory care at 18 years of age, to assist him/her in making the transition to independent living. Formal planning for a child who is leaving care normally begins when they turn 16 years of age and an aftercare plan is expected to be in place in the run up to their 18th Birthday. It should be noted that young people leaving care at 18 years are not obliged to avail of an aftercare service, and those that choose not to engage are encouraged and supported to avail of the services at any stage up to the age of 21 years.

Tusla publishes figures of children being discharged from care on turning 18 years of age and the most recent data is to quarter 3 of 2016 and is provided in the table below.

Table 1: Number discharged and reported with an aftercare worker in 2015 (Tusla Quarterly reports)

Table 2: Number discharged and reported with an aftercare worker up to Q3 2016 (Tusla Quarterly reports)

In terms of funding, I secured an additional €37m for Tusla in Budget 2017 and one of the priorities is to implement the legislation on aftercare and this additional funding will enable Tusla to employ more aftercare workers.

Tusla reports that at the end of September, 2016, the vast majority of 18-22 years olds in receipt of an aftercare service were residing in some form of stable accommodation. In fact, 46% of those care leavers remained living with their foster carers, 26% were living independently, 10% returned home, 3% were living in supported lodgings and 6% were living in residential centres. Only a small minority (9%) were living in other types of less stable accommodation including psychiatric services, supported living for young mothers, disability services and detention centres.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1691. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of young persons aged between 18 and 21 years of age that left care at 18 years of age and are now homeless. [41839/16]

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

I have been advised by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that at the end of September 2016, there were 1,841 young people between the age of 18 years and 22 years inclusive who were in receipt of an aftercare service. This was an increase of 78 over the end of 2015. Figures and information on the young people's accommodation type when leaving care is provided in the table below:

Tusla has advised that any young person who is identified as homeless after leaving care is prioritised at steering aftercare meetings and an interagency response is developed to meet their needs. These committees facilitate the delivery of interagency wrap around aftercare plans for young people, particularly for those with complex needs, including housing requirements. This information is not currently collected nationally by Tusla. However I intend to review this gap on enactment of the legislation.

Under the current National Leaving and Aftercare Policy of Tusla, all young people leaving care who have been in care for 12 months on their 16th birthday or for 12 consecutive months prior to their 18th birthday are entitled to an aftercare plan. Tusla is currently reviewing the National Leaving and Aftercare Policy in line with the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015. Tusla welcomes this new legislation which will place the provision of an aftercare plan on a statutory footing. Tusla will continue to work in partnership with other state agencies to ensure that care leavers are provided with a robust and comprehensive aftercare plan.

The transition to independent adulthood can be challenging for many young people and a key factor in achieving success is ensuring that assessment, preparation and planning for leaving care begins in the years prior to leaving care and continues as part of the care planning process. This work is based on collaboration with the young person, their carers and partner agencies to generate an aftercare plan that is specific to the individual young person's needs.

The supports provided to the young person will be based on their assessed needs which can vary widely. Advice, guidance, support and signposting are key elements of this service and these supports are available to all care leavers. For those young people who are not in training or education, aftercare services have a key role in providing support to them in liaising with the relevant departments and agencies in accessing financial assistance, employment opportunities, training or supporting them to return to education

In addition to the aftercare planning and supports provided by Tusla, Rebuilding Ireland – the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessnesscommits to ensuring that young people leaving State care and at risk of homelessness are identified and catered for through appropriate housing and other supports. For the first time, the provision of accommodation for those leaving State care may be funded under the Capital Assistance Scheme of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.