Irish Foster Care Association Meeting with Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Today, Tuesday 20^th September, the Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA) met with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.  IFCA highlighted to the Committee that foster care in Ireland is at a critical juncture with extreme challenges to the system at present.  There is an urgent need for investment in foster care services including:

• The provision of psychological assessment for each child entering care
• The provision of appropriate assessments for existing children in care
• The provision of timely services as recommended by children’s assessments
• The recruitment of more social workers and more foster care families
• The review of social work administrative tasks, to provide for more, “relational” time, with foster carers and children in care, which is the essence of social work practice
• The delegation of some foster care tasks to IFCA to reduce workloads on social workers, such as the training of all new foster carers, the provision of foster care support groups locally, the addition of advocacy support services as an early intervention for complex foster care placements to prevent placement breakdowns.
• The extension of IFCA’s national advocacy and counselling services to support foster care families who have been subject to allegations of abuse or serious welfare concerns, and placement breakdowns.
• The financial and pension recognition of foster parents

The main recommendations from IFCA’s submission includes:

• Greater investment in foster care
• Strengthen the contract to foster between Tusla and foster carers to give due recognition to the role they play on behalf of the State in the provision of the Alternative Care System
• The establishment of a permanent advisory panel on alternative care, comprised of those with in-depth knowledge of the subject, by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth. This permanent advisory group’s remit should review current provision of foster care services, and make recommendations for enhancement, and future developments.
• The advisory group should act as a resource to Tusla in the development and maintaining of alternative care services in Ireland.
• Retain the National Standards for Foster Care, (2003).
• Adequately fund IFCA as the only independent national organisation that supports foster care in Ireland, to meet the support needs of foster care families and to aid recruitment and retention.
• Provide manageable caseloads and higher levels of support for social workers to improve recruitment and retention.
• Introduce a part-time social work degree to facilitate those currently in employment who wish to train as social workers.

Notes to Editor:

• You can view the full submission here
  
• Catherine Bond, CEO, IFCA is available for interview
• The Irish Foster Care Association is the national organisation that supports foster families and the wider fostering community. We advance and promote best practice in foster care through support, learning and advocacy. Membership is broad based and includes foster and relative carers, social workers, child care workers, academics and others with an interest in or who are involved in foster care. IFCA’s Vision is a society where the importance of fostering is recognised, valued and supported. Where every child can grow up in a safe and caring family.
• Listen to our podcast series ‘Stories from Foster Care’ available here