What the report said about three health areas
DUBLIN
NORTH WEST
Inspectors found that foster care services were in a “state of crisis” with evidence of children being left in unsafe placements and child protection concerns not being responded to.
Among inspectors’ findings were that:
- Two children had been left in unsafe placements, even though allegations of abuse had been brought to the attention of social workers and the children were found to have been abused.
- In another case, inspectors found that a child who had run away from the carers, amid allegations of physical and emotional abuse, was being returned to the carers by the HSE, prior to the outcome of an assessment into the allegation.
- Nearly half of the children in foster care in the area did not have a social worker assigned to them.
- The HSE did not check that all children in foster care were safe through social work visits.
- It failed to ensure that all children were being cared for by assessed and approved carers.
- It did not check that all children were in the right placement and whether some could be returned to their birth families.
- It did not keep information about children safe or record information consistently and the system for managing allegations made by children against foster carers was unsafe.
Inspectors say they found some evidence of good practice with children who had been assigned an allocated social worker, while children in the sample group interviewed by inspectors presented as being well cared for, and carers interviewed spoke highly of the social workers.
DUBLIN NORTH CENTRAL
Inspectors also found services here in a “state of crisis” with significant numbers of children in unsafe placements.
Among its findings were that:
- Almost one-third of children were not assigned a social worker.
- Of 316 children in care, inspectors raised safeguarding concerns relating to 38 children.
- More than 50 children had not been visited by a social worker for several years.
- The HSE did not check through social work visits to ensure all children in foster care were safe or that their needs were being met.
- It did not check through the care planning process that all children were in the right placement and whether some could be returned to their birth families.
- It did not ensure all children were cared for by fully assessed and approved carers.
- The system for managing allegations made by children against foster carers was unsafe.
- Evidence also demonstrated an "unsafe approach to protecting and safeguarding children in foster care in the area" and was unacceptable.
- HSE senior management "did not engage in appropriately assessing risk" and there was evidence of a lack of a meaningful response by senior management to concerns articulated by its own social work staff.
The inspection also found some evidence of good practice with children who had been assigned a social worker, while children in the sample group interviewed by inspectors presented as being well cared for and carers interviewed spoke highly of the social workers.
DUBLIN NORTH
THE Health Information and Quality Authority investigation into services found that standards were met in the majority of cases.
Among its findings were that:
- Fostering services were well managed and inspectors found a good standard of social work practice.
- All 107 children had a care plan and a statutory review and while six children were without a social worker initially, all had been assigned one by the second stage of the inspection.
- Just over half of the children in care had been in the same foster placement for over five years.
- Inspectors found evidence that children's parents and foster carers were consulted in the preparation of care plans and reviews.
- Foster carers were seen to have good access to their link social worker for supervision and support in meeting children's needs.
- Children in a sample group were visited by their social workers frequently were seen in private as required by the regulations.
- The senior local management team met on a regular basis and there was evidence of planning and managing risks.
- Inspectors said the comprehensive quality of social histories on file was of particular note.
- The area did not have a register of children in foster care as required by regulations. However, inspectors were provided with up-to-date information from the Social Work Information System.
The authority concluded the fostering service was staffed by “an able, committed and consistent team who impressed inspectors with their child-centered focus and approach to their work”.
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