Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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273. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of child-care cases awaiting allocation to a social worker in each Tusla local office area, by the priority status of the case and the average waiting time in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22378/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Addressing the number of children who are awaiting the allocation of a social worker is a priority for me. I secured additional funding for the purpose of addressing this issue in 2017, and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is now in the second year of a 3-year plan to provide for the allocation of a dedicated social worker to all children who need one. The Deputy should note that all urgent and emergency cases notified to Tusla are dealt with immediately. Urgent and emergency cases could involve cases of abandonment, allegations of physical and sexual abuse, parental ill health leading to the need for an immediate placement, or threat to the safety or life of a child by a third party.

At the end of February 2017 (the latest data available), there was a total of 25,387 open child welfare and protection cases nationwide. An open case is one which is assessed as needing a dedicated (allocated) social work service. Of the 25,387 open cases, 77% (19,667) had an allocated social worker and 5,720 were waiting to be allocated a dedicated social worker. Of the children awaiting allocation to a social worker at the end of February, 1,057 were high priority, 3,260 were medium priority and 1,403 were low priority.

Cases that are unallocated are monitored, supported and managed by the duty social work team under the supervision of the principal social worker. The following tables provides a breakdown of the number of cases awaiting allocation of a social worker (at the end of February) and also information on waiting times by administrative area.

I can inform the Deputy that the average length of time cases are waiting is not collated nationally but rather by the number of cases waiting in time bands.

It is a continuing priority of Tusla to address the problem of unallocated cases in 2017. Tusla currently has 1,480 whole time equivalent (WTE) social workers and an end of 2017 target of 1,520 WTE. This target is short of the target set in Survival to Sustainability by approximately 100 WTE and reflects the constraints of the social work labour supply. Funding is in place to address the issue of unallocated cases, however, the recruitment environment for social workers is very challenging. Tusla is employing additional social care staff to work alongside social workers, for instance, facilitating access between children in care and their families. This allows allocated social workers to address more immediate child protection problems. Additional administrative support is also being provided.

My Department will continue to closely monitor progress in this regard. I attach a high priority to tackling this matter and I will continue to engage directly with the Tusla Board and senior management team, over the course of the year, to review progress.