CUTS TO care services are forcing foster parents to step into the role of social workers by organising extra support and access visits for children in their care.
Seán O’Gorman, chairman of the Irish Foster Care Association, said many temporary social workers were being made redundant and some ancillary services previously available to foster carers had been cut back or abolished. With more than 90 per cent of the 6,000 children in State care placed with carers, he said foster care was the “backbone of the Irish care system” and needed to be properly supported.
“Foster carers, especially new carers, are being asked to organise access. Sometimes this involves transporting the child to and from the access visit and also supervising the access,” he said.
“Some foster carers are being asked to pay for additional educational and health supports from the foster care allowance. The foster care allowance is expected to cover more and more expenses.”
He added: “All that we ask for is recognition of the emotional and financial contribution that we make to the lives of the children placed in our care.”
Mr O’Gorman said the association was disappointed the Government had not introduced a mandatory entitlement to aftercare.
He said children who leave care at the age of 18 should be entitled to a uniform aftercare service.
While some children – especially those who are academically inclined – tend to receive a good service, the same could not be said of more vulnerable young people.
“It is often children who have experienced multiple care placements and are unsettled that find it is difficult to access an aftercare service. Unfortunately, some of these children have fallen through the gaps and in some cases have subsequently been the subject of harrowing reports,” he said.
Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has pledged that an additional 60 social workers will be in place by the end of this year.
This is in addition to 200 extra social workers recruited last year on foot of the Ryan report’s recommendations.
New figures show that the number of young people in receipt of aftercare is on the increase. Some 1,051 young people were receiving aftercare as of March 2011, up from 849 in 2009.
Ms Fitzgerald said all young people who have had a care history with the HSE – be it foster care, residential care or high support – are entitled to an aftercare service based on their assessed needs.
The Child Care Act (1991) places a duty on the HSE to determine whether there is need for assistance and to provide services in accordance with the legislation, she told the Dáil last week.
Mr O’Gorman also said the proportion of children in the foster system in Ireland, at 90 per cent, was significantly higher than in the US or UK, where the figure is closer to 75 per cent.
Outcomes for the foster system are typically much better, while the system is also significantly cheaper.
While residential care can cost up to €4,500 a week, allowances for foster carers are up to €339 a week, depending on the age of the child.
