Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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262. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the pilot for supports for parents whose children are taken into care. [38325/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As this relates to information held by Tusla, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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263. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the rollout of in-house therapeutic services for children in care. [38326/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is required under the Child and Family Agency Act (2013) to support and promote the welfare and protection of children; to support and encourage the effective functioning of families; and to provide services relating to the psychological welfare of children and their families (excluding the provision of specialist mental health services for children).

As the Deputy will be aware, Tusla has committed to a strategic approach seeking to deliver an integrated framework for therapeutic services as part of a three-year plan to establish the high-level framework and operating model for Tusla Therapeutic Services. As part of this plan Tusla has established multi-disciplinary teams across six service areas by recruiting Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists to work with existing therapeutic staff, such as psychologists.

Tusla has advised that the focus of these teams is on the early identification of therapeutic needs of children on admission to care, including children to be placed in foster care, and which will inform their care plan.

Tusla has set out a specific action contained within its 2024 Business Plan to have six fully operational Multidisciplinary Area Based Therapeutic teams put in place. Tusla has advised that the teams in the six service areas are nearly at full strength. I am also aware that it is an aim of Tusla that 100% of new children or young people coming into State care in the six areas where Therapeutic Teams have been funded will have multidisciplinary input into their care planning.

I can assure the Deputy that I will work closely with Government colleagues and with Tusla to support the provision of therapeutic services to children in care.