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Foster care rules are 'being ignored and bypassed'

Almost one in five foster carers have not been allocated a social worker.

ALMOST ONE IN five foster carers do not have a social worker allocated to them, new figures have revealed.

All foster carers who take in children in state care are supposed to be assigned a link social worker for support.

The problem is particularly prevalent among relatives of children who have been approved as foster carers. Figures from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency show that 30% of these relatives have not been provided with the appropriate service.

Supports for foster families 

According to the regulations, each foster family is to be allocated a link social worker, separate to the the child’s social worker.

The link worker is there to support the family and work closely with the placement team to ensure the best match for the family. They are also charged with:

  • Keeping in regular contact with foster parents through home visits and phone calls
  • Accompanying foster families to meetings about the child in care
  • Liaising with birth parents and the child’s social worker
  • Arranging training and coordinating local support groups
  • Providing practical support and advice

Tusla said that many carers are also members of the Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA) which is funded by Tusla to provide support and advice.

It stated there is no regulated time period for allocating a link worker.

However, at a family court proceeding – attended by TheJournal.ie earlier this year - one judge was very critical of the delay in allocating a link support worker to relatives who were caring for a child.

‘Breach of regulations’

He stated the agency was in breach of “clear regulations” as the social worker confirmed no link worker had been appointed  because the relatives had not gone through a fostering assessment.

“At the risk of repeating myself on this issue… the regulations are absolutely clear,”the judge said before opening his law book and reading the section aloud to the court that deals with emergency assessments.

Even when a child is placed with family members, it should take place as soon as possible, he explained, and no later than 12 weeks time from the date of the placement.

He said one of the most important times for extra support for foster parents is at the beginning of the process.

This is not rocket science. It’s all set out in the regulations… which are all being ignored and bypassed.

Whistleblower allegations 

Questions over the safeguards of children in state care have been raised following revelations from a whistleblower that a young woman with intellectual disabilities, known as Grace, was placed in a foster home despite an allegation of sexual assault having been made by a former resident.

HSE Director General Tony O’Brien told RTÉ’s This Week that other people were placed there privately and some remained in the home even after the removal of Grace.

There were persons in that home over a long period of time in addition to Grace and the 44 people we have talked about, including some who were there privately, remained after Grace.

O’Brien is due to appear before the Pubic Accounts Committee today, where further details are to be released about the circumstances of the case.

Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland, Chairperson of the Irish Association of Social Workers, Donal O’Malley said he is not confident there are enough safeguards in place to prevent another case like this happening again.

While O’Malley said the vast majority of foster carers are excellent and have been vetted by both Tusla and the HSE, there were some unfortunate cases where foster carers were not suitable. 

He was also critical that a number of children in care did not have any social worker assigned to them.

Austerity cuts impacting services 

The Irish Association of Social Workers previously said in a special interest report that austerity cuts had seriously impacted on the ‘ability of social workers to provide important supports and meet a range of National Standards for Foster Care’.

A Health Information and Quality Authority from 2012, cited:

Insufficient and inconsistent monitoring, support and supervision of Foster Carers posed a risk to the stability of children’s placements.

In a statement about the shortfall in support workers for foster families, Tusla said that a child’s allocated social worker could visit the child while the family waited for a link social worker to be allocated.

The agency said each child is placed in a care setting appropriate to his or her needs and care plan.

Read: HSE confirm that people were left in a foster home after allegations of sexual abuse>

Read: HSE accused of failing to heed abuse warning regarding foster child with intellectual disabilities>

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16 Comments
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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
    Favourite Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 6:45 AM

    Very simple answer to this. The government embargo on recruitment has ensured that there are not enough social workers to service the needs of the legislation. This is not the fault of the social workers, it is directly the fault of the Government.

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    Mute Oran Joyce
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 7:06 AM

    Exactly.
    The buck stops with the economic management council.
    Taoiseach (Chair)
    Tánaiste & Minister for Social Protection
    Minister for Finance
    Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform.

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    Mute Marg murphy
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 7:24 AM

    It’s also the fault of social workers in that they’re 9 to 5 ers. They don’t work out of hours which is a ridiculous attitude to take in a career path that is any but 9 to 5. This problem is very much a public sector union one. Unaccountability, untouchability and intransigence.

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    Mute Susie Kennedy
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 8:38 AM

    I used to work in Child Protection and left partly due to the hours but also due to the incredible stress and the frustration of always feeling like you haven’t done enough. I rarely finished at 5 and, I was always in before 9. You have no understanding of this job if you think its 9-5. The powers that be are quite happy to believe its 9-5 so they don’t pay us for the real hours we work. If a crisis happens the social worker is there until a solution has been found, be that 5pm or 2am. I’ve done it, I know countless others have to. In 9-5 social workers are expected to see all the children, the parents, other professionals, visit prisons, go to drug treatment centres, be the unofficial link worker because there is none and you desperately want this placement to last. Oh and make sure all the paperwork is done because if you don’t you get in trouble. There is accountability – ever been shouted at by a judge because you are tge face of Tusla/HSE? I have over matters that I have no say in and cannot change. All these extra hours in work then have to be justified and can become a ‘work performance issue’ if we build up too many hours so people don’t declare them. Have you ever left someone so worried that they might kill themselves but the mental health people say they are fine? Do you have any idea of tge pressurw of this job- feeling you cannot give all the children in your care enough time. This is why people don’t stay. The things we know can never be unknown, the worry about a child stays with you. Your attitude shows that people do not value the work social workers do but that’s fine they still come into work and do the job anyway.

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    Mute Marg murphy
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 9:40 AM

    @susie Kennedy. You make very good points and I’ve no doubt you do excellent work but can you seriously speak for all if your colleagues. Everybody blames the HSE or a “systems” failure but what is the HSE and “system” but people, employed to a job at great expense to the taxpayer. When an enormous “systems” failure occurs, Galway, portlaoise, our lady of Lourdes or many others, is anyone ever held accountable for anything? does anyone ever lose their jobs or face criminal or negligence charges? the sufferings of HSE patients and clients aren’t the fault of any “system” but the individuals whose lack of attention, or incompetence, laziness or wilful neglect to their charges brings about tragedy but heads never roll. Not like they would in other jurisdictions or in other institutions and organisations. The HSE is a law onto itself bolstered by untouchable public sector unions whose raisin d’être is continue the status quo and the gravy train.

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    Mute Kerry Wynne
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 9:50 AM

    Marg Murphy. How can it be the fault of social workers? What more can you expect them to do if they are not give the resources. It is not the social workers fault that they have been failed in that no proper out of hours service has been set up and the goodwill of s/w’s is being relied on.S?W’s continue to work often at great risk to their own physical well being. This is a report from Community Care a UK based magazine but do not think that things are any different in Ireland http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2014/09/16/violence-social-workers-just-part-job-70-incidents-investigated/ Being a social worker in this country is a thankless task as Susie has outlined.

    Where is the support for s/w’s? This Government pay lip service to children and their needs. Will there be days and days of coverage of this appalling failure of this Govt and previous ones who have failed to protect some of the most vulnerable in our society? No of course not because there are scapegoats in the form of social workers as we have seen with the above reply. Will children be am issue during the election? I doubt it very much as politicians are only interested in the issue of CSA when they can make political capital out of it as in the case of Mairia Cahill. She was someone who was given the opportunity to have her day in court but turned it down. While our politicians were using every photo opportunity they could with her. THOUSANDS of children that they were responsible for were still waiting for an allocated social worker. Who cared? The likes of Susie, that is who. They struggle on day after day trying to do the best they can under very difficult circumstances and yet some have the gall to try and hold them responsible for the lack of resources which Govt should be providing. Instead Govt would prefer to spend billions bailing out the banks and developers. Of course keep on blaming the s/w’s. Attitudes like that only drive more and more s/w’s away and who could blame them

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    Mute Susie Kennedy
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 2:35 PM

    Have you much experience of social workers? I can’t speak for all of them all I can say is that my experience has been overwhelmingly of people trying their best with what they have. To say that working in the hse is a gravy train is madness, in your job do you receive death threats, are you at risk of assault, are you verbally abused regularly? Can you work with a parent who has harmed their child or been neglected? Could you work with a parent who sexually abused their child? CP social workers face all of this then public recriminations because they still are seen as not doing enough. You don’t hear the stories when social workers intervene and parents get help and things improve and are better for the children and parents. And nor should you, people are entitled to privacy. The hse should be examined and incompetent workers removed but to tar all social workers is reductive, unhelpful and will not bring about change. Frontline staff are rarely the problem. Lack of properly resourced, consistent services are.

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    Mute Yarry
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 5:28 PM

    We need to hear more from brilliant people like yourself. You and your colleagues do a thankless job. Unfortunately all the good work you do is never reported. Thank you.

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    Mute Rathminder
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 7:35 AM

    Usually government positions in social work are the lowest paying and taken by people who need work experience. They leave when ready to step up to better paying positions. An adequate number of social workers are not being employed to meet legal requirements. We can talk about a so-called recovery, but the lack of trained health professionals in all areas has been just one of the ways to meet austerity goals.

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 8:46 AM

    I think Susie’s outline of what it is like to work as a social worker illustrate the huge commitment they give to their work. I would state again that government policy ensures that not enough social workers are employed to manage the excessive workload. Each case needs an input of time and the government ignores this. Of course foster children not having a vote might have something to do with it!!

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    Mute Louise Ní Riain
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 8:32 AM

    H.s.e…is a farce as for social workers, i know a case with children not assinged a s.w for 6 months, total breach by the h.s.e Foster parents who never fostered children before ,assinged long term foster children. The h.s.e will use any excuse, short staffed, embargo, anything to save there ass. Parents and extended family abolished from children’s lives, as 10 changes of s.w over 10 years, sure how can these poor kids trust any form of authority. More investigations need to happen now!!

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    Mute Dave Meagher
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 7:37 AM

    But did they pay their road tax and TV licence ??

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    Mute Séa Graham
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 8:26 AM

    Another case of barn doors and bolting horses looms.

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    Mute Live Long
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 10:24 AM

    A very well known case in England where an abused boy died at the hands of his parents after social workers failed to act and follow up. As usual in gombeen Ireland nothing happens until there is a tragedy.

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    Mute NO 2 FF/FG/LAB
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 6:08 AM

    Anyone on the journal covering the iowa caucus no?

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    Mute Michele Tobin
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    Feb 2nd 2016, 6:40 AM

    Google is your friend

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    Mute Sanita Vecbrale
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    Mar 16th 2016, 8:24 AM

    Foster care is usually just tickking box and getting money. High quality is only on piece of paper. It is sad reality. You can complain for years and nobody will listen you. Very few get to the point when your voice is heard. Lack of honesty and willing do the job properly is biggest problem. Money comes first, not children, and that’s shame.

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