THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to make the provision of aftercare a statutory right for hundreds of vulnerable young people who leave the State’s care system each year.
At present, the State has no legal obligation to provide aftercare services to a young person when they leave care at 18.
This is despite research by Focus Ireland which found that as many as two-thirds of young people who leave residential care experienced homelessness within two years.
New research also indicates that as many as one-third of prisoners on remand at Cloverhill Prison come from a care background.
Yesterday, the charity submitted a series of proposed amendments to the 1991 Child Care Act as part of its campaign to secure a legal right to aftercare for young people leaving State care.
Official figures show there are more than 5,000 children and young people in care with 80 per cent in foster care.
The remainder are in residential centres or other forms of State care.
Focus Ireland’s life president Sr Stanislaus Kennedy said the right to aftercare would protect vulnerable young people leaving State care from many social problems.
“Young people leaving care are often very vulnerable and need support. I believe to effectively tackle problems in society we must tackle their root causes. We must know how is it that a young person ends up homeless, hooked on drugs and terribly damaged,” she said.
“Many people using our services have a history of leaving State care without support. A right to aftercare would act to protect these young people and it would also act to protect their future children and break the cycle of intergenerational homelessness, neglect, addition problems and marginalisation that we see repeating itself time after time.”
Legal expert Geoffrey Shannon said securing a right to aftercare makes financial sense, as it would result in significant savings in the criminal justice system and other services.
“What we seem to forget is that a young person’s vulnerability may not end by simply reaching 18. A mandatory aftercare provision would be particularly beneficial for young people in danger of becoming offenders.
“Some people may ask: ‘How can we afford any extra investment in aftercare services given the current recession?’ I would say: ‘How can we afford not to make this investment?’ If we do not, the long-term cost to society will be a far higher price to pay.”
The Health Service Executive, as well as groups such as Focus Ireland, fund a number of aftercare projects.
However, most social workers agree that they cater to a small proportion of young people who need such support.
