The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published three inspection reports on foster care services operated by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in the Dublin South Central, Cavan/Monaghan and Dublin North City service areas.

HIQA is authorised by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs under Section 69 of the Child Care Act, 1991, as amended by Section 26 of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011, to inspect foster care services provided by Tusla, to report on its findings to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and to inspect services taking care of a child on behalf of Tusla, including non-statutory providers of foster care. HIQA monitors foster care services against the 2003 National Standards for Foster Care.

As part of the 2017/2018 monitoring programme, HIQA is conducting thematic inspections across all 17 Tusla service areas focusing on the recruitment, assessment, approval, supervision and review of foster carers. These thematic inspections are announced and cover eight standards relating to this theme.

While the standard on assessment and approval of non-relative carers was found to be compliant or substantially compliant in all three service areas, the standards on safeguarding and reviews of foster carers was judged to be majorly non-compliant in the three areas. In all three inspections, inspectors found that there were not always appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place, child protection concerns were not always managed in line with Children First (2011) and routine reviews of foster carers were not taking place. This meant that the service could not ensure that foster carers had the continuing capacity to provide safe care. Garda Síochána (police) vetting had not been updated and foster carers’ performance, training needs and support requirements had also not been reviewed.

Cavan/Monaghan area

Of the eight standards assessed in the inspection of the Cavan/Monaghan foster care service, seven were found to be non-compliant, two of which were judged to be majorly non-compliant. These included safeguarding and child protection and reviews of foster carers.

Good practice was found in relation to assessments of both general and relative foster carers, though there were some delays in completing assessments of relative carers. The quality of supervision, when it did occur, was good. However, there were insufficient foster carers in the area to meet the demands of the service. At times this resulted in more children being placed in a foster care household than is recommended. The foster care committee in the area was not fully compliant with national policy. 

While there were a number of safeguarding measures in place, not all foster carers or members of foster care households who were over 16 years were Garda vetted. In addition, foster carers did not always have regular home visits with their link worker. Of the 113 foster carers in the area, 52 (42%) had not had a review in over three years. The Standards outline that the first review should take place one year after the first placement and subsequent reviews should take place at three-yearly intervals thereafter.

Dublin South Central area

In relation to the Dublin South Central foster care service, one standard was compliant, while seven were found to be non-compliant. Six standards were found to be in major non-compliance.

Similar to an inspection of this area in November 2016, the management of the service was crisis led rather than delivered in a planned manner. Inspectors found that improvements had been achieved in relation to Garda vetting of all staff. However, the area continued to be challenged by staff vacancies which impacted on the completion of assessments, support and supervision of foster carers and the completion of up-to-date reviews of foster carers.

A number of serious risks were identified in this service including long delays in the commencement and completion of relative foster carer assessments and in achieving a decision from the foster care committee. Following the 2016 inspection, 41 unassessed and unapproved relative carers with whom children were living had been escalated to the area manager. While work had commenced on assessing the majority of these carers, only 11 assessments had been concluded in the 10 months following the 2016 inspection.

Not all children received a timely and appropriate response when a child protection concern was made. Other safeguarding components, including supervision and support of foster carers, the use of safety plans, updated Garda vetting of foster carers and Garda vetting of members of foster care households who were over 16 years, and training were inadequate.

In addition, inspectors found that regular reviews of foster carers to assess their continuing capacity to provide high-quality care to the children placed with them were not occurring.

Dublin North City area

Of the eight standards assessed in the inspection of the Dublin North City foster care service, two standards were substantially compliant, and six standards were found to be non-compliant. Five standards were judged to be in major non-compliance. 

Good quality assessments of general foster carers were being carried out, though not always within the 16-week time frame set out in the Standards. The service had significant challenges in completing assessments of relative carers and there was drift  and delay with some of these assessments. Assessments carried out by Tusla were of good quality, but there were gaps in Tusla’s oversight of those undertaken by private agencies.

Appropriate safeguarding arrangements were not in place for all foster carers. Not all members of foster care households who were over 16 years of age were Garda vetted and foster carers did not always have regular home visits with their link worker.

In addition, 30 (9%) foster carers in the area had not been allocated a link worker and more needed to be done to ensure that these carers received adequate support and supervision. Regular reviews of foster carers were not occurring to assess their continuing capacity to provide high-quality care to the children placed with them. Of the 329 foster carers, 304 (94%) had not had a review in the past three years, as per the Standards. Furthermore, the area did not have sufficient foster carers to meet its needs.

All of the service areas have provided action plan responses to address the non-compliances identified on inspection, which contain timelines for implementing these actions.