"Instead, they had an "allocated worker" such as a social care worker or social care leader, and there were a number of children who had no allocated worker to coordinate their care. 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."
"There was an ongoing deficit in the children-in-care workforce capacity and this had negatively impacted on the quality of care provided to some of the children in foster care. Systems in place for the management of concerns and allegations against foster carers required significant improvement to ensure adherence to Children First: National Guidance on the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017). Care plans and review records reflected the assessment of children's care needs and they were updated in line with statutory requirements"
Hiqa found the Tusla foster care service capacity had not improved since February 2024. Many children lacked an allocated worker; some had allocated social care workers or leaders instead. One child reported eight social workers in two and a half years; another said they had different social workers every 40 days on entry to care. There were 288 children in foster care, 208 in general foster care (seven in private foster care) and 80 in relative foster care. Two of five national standards were substantially compliant and three were non-compliant. Governance existed but oversight, workforce capacity, allegation management and placement plan updates required significant improvement.
Read at Irish Independent
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