"The inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) of the Tusla service in July said overall it found that the capacity of the service to provide a quality, safe and effective foster care service had not improved since the previous inspection in February 2024. One child told inspectors that they have had "eight social workers in two and half years" and the other child said that they had "different social workers every 40 days" when they first came into care."
"Some 288 children were in foster care and all but 18 were living within the service area boundaries. The vast majority of children - 208 - were placed in general foster care, with seven of these being placed in private foster care. Eighty children were placed in relative foster care. Of the five national standards assessed two were substantially compliant and three were not compliant."
Tusla's foster care service lacked consistent allocated workers for some children, and several children experienced frequent social worker changes. A Hiqa inspection in July found no improvement in the service's capacity to provide a quality, safe and effective foster care service since February 2024. Of 288 children in foster care, most were in general foster placements and 80 were in relative foster care. Two of five national standards were substantially compliant and three were not. Governance arrangements existed but oversight and quality assurance were weak. Workforce deficits negatively impacted care quality and allegation-management systems required significant improvement.
Read at Irish Independent
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