State not doing enough to protect unaccompanied Ukrainian minors turning 18, forum warns

A civil society group has expressed concern the State is not providing enough support to unaccompanied minors from Ukraine after they turn 18, leaving the cohort vulnerable to potential exploitation.

Emma Lane-Spollen, national co-ordinator of the Ukraine Civil Society Forum, said there were concerns that older teenagers who had sought refuge here could be left at risk of sexual or labour exploitation if left to fend for themselves.

Tusla, the child and family agency, said 76 young people who had arrived as unaccompanied minors had left State care; in 37 cases, they had been reunited with their family.

There were 61 unaccompanied minors from Ukraine being accommodated by the State, 50 of whom were 17 years old.

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About half of the group were in foster care, while the other half were being housed in residential group homes for young people in State care, according to Tusla.

A spokesman for the agency said “each young person has an allocated Tusla worker and a placement/care plan is in place to ensure their care, education, health and any other specific needs are provided for”.

If a young person could not be reunited with family when they turned 18, Tusla refers their case to the Department of Children, Equality and Integration to place them in accommodation.

“Currently the team is liaising with the International Organisation for Migration to assist in placing these young people with pledged accommodation providers,” the spokesman said.

Ms Lane-Spollen said she was “disappointed” officials had not moved to put in place some extra safety net for unaccompanied Ukrainian minors when they turned 18.

The State should, on an exceptional basis, provide support for the vulnerable group until the young people were 21 years old, she said.

Ms Lane-Spollen said she was concerned the State would act only in the aftermath of some “horrific case” of a young Ukrainian person falling victim to serious exploitation.

Tusla offers a package of “aftercare” supports to young people leaving the care system from the age of 17 up to 21, or until 23 if the young person is in full-time education or training.

However, to be eligible for aftercare supports a young person has to have been in care for at least a year between 13 and 18 years of age.

The spokesman for Tusla said where young people did not meet this criteria, it ran a drop-in support service to provide advice for those leaving the care system.

Ms Lane-Spollen said in the case of an 18-year-old refugee from Ukraine, a drop-in centre offering advice was “nothing” compared with the level of support that would be needed.

Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said young Ukrainians who had arrived in Ireland unaccompanied due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine “don’t have a network of family and friends” to support them. She called on the Government and Tusla to allow for aftercare supports to be provided to the cohort on an exceptional basis.