Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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270. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of the Tusla budget that goes directly to aftercare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8968/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am committed to implementing the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 which entitles eligible young people to a formal aftercare plan, prepared by Tusla in collaboration with the young person leaving care. My Department is working closely with Tusla to ensure that the provisions of the Act can be fully implemented as quickly as possible in the coming months.

In terms of funding, I secured an additional €37m for Tusla in Budget 2017, which will bring its total allocation to over €700m. This included additional funding to support service delivery to implement legislation. Tusla is identifying gaps in the aftercare service nationally and has indicated that this will require an expansion in aftercare management and workers. Tusla is currently finalising arrangements for the publication of its 2017 Business Plan which sets out the priorities for these important services in 2017.

It is important to note that young people leaving care typically receive supports relating to accommodation, further education, employment and training, which are funded by other Government Departments. This means that the part of Tusla’s budget for 2017 which is ultimately allocated to aftercare services under the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 will represent just a small proportion of the total spending by the State on those in receipt of aftercare services.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action her Department, in conjunction with Tusla, is taking to ensure that every young person leaving care has an aftercare plan; the number of young persons in care who exited from 2013 to 2016 who received an aftercare plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8969/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am committed to implementing the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 which entitles eligible young people to a formal aftercare plan, prepared by Tusla in collaboration with the young person leaving care. I am pleased that the Act creates an explicit, as opposed to a current implicit, statement of Tusla’s duty to satisfy itself as to the young persons need for assistance and support as they leave care.

My Department is working closely with Tusla to ensure that the provisions of the Act can be fully implemented as quickly as possible in the coming months. In preparation for the commencement of new legislation, Tusla has introduced a number of new practices. It has developed dedicated aftercare teams, it has standardised the financial supports that it offers to those leaving care, and it continues to roll out inter-agency steering committees to strongly promote good co-ordination of these services at local level. Fourteen committees are currently in operation with a final three committees in development. Tusla has also further developed the information it provides regarding aftercare services.

Consultation is underway with all key stakeholders in order to finalise the revision of Tusla’s Aftercare policy. The consultation process has included foster carers, young people/young adults, aftercare staff, social work staff, NGO's, private foster care and residential care providers and other State departments. All have been invited to events and offered the opportunity to make written submissions. Ten events have taken place to date with two remaining. Following these consultations feedback will be considered and amendments made to the draft document. The final draft of the Aftercare documents will be presented to the National Policy Oversight Committee in Tusla for approval. The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 will be commenced as soon as practicable after approval of the revised policy.

Tusla has informed me that in 2016 a total of 605 young adults were discharged from care by reason of reaching 18 years of age, compared to 542 young adults in 2015. This data was not collated prior to 2015. In 2016, of the 467 young adults discharged prior to the end of September by reason of reaching 18 years of age, 457 were eligible for aftercare supports and 412 were availing of these. 2016 is the first year for which Tusla has collated data regarding uptake of aftercare supports. There were a total of 1,841 young people aged 18 to 22 years in receipt of aftercare supports from Tusla at the end of the third quarter in 2016, and 82% of these young people had an aftercare plan in place.

Once the amendments to the Child Care Act are commenced there will be a statutory obligation on Tusla to have an aftercare plan prior to the young person leaving care. Those who have left care before the changes, and who do not have an aftercare plan, can under these amendments obtain an aftercare plan from Tusla up to their 21st birthday. I believe that our young people leaving care deserve high quality supports throughout the system, and that full implementation of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 will be a key element of how our society helps them to make this critical transition in their lives.