More children than ever before are in State care. But who are they, what are their stories and what is their verdict on a system that is meant to protect them?
WHEN THE STATE takes a child into its care, a profound moment in the life of a young person is reached. The State, in effect, takes over as the child’s parent. It decides where the child should live. It decides the kind of care and protection the child needs. And it decides what is in the child’s best interests.
These days the State is acting as a parent to a growing number of children; 6,175 of them are in care, the highest figure since records began. Yet we know remarkably little about them.
So who are they? What are their experiences? And why are they being taken into State care in record numbers? Statistics tell us that the vast majority of them, more than 90 per cent, are in foster care. The remainder are in residential care, such as hostels, high-support units or “other forms of care”, which can include disability services.
If media reports are anything to go by, the State’s care system appears to be a highly dangerous and chaotic environment for vulnerable young people who badly need structure, care and support.
The deaths of more than 200 young people who were either in care or known to social services have grabbed headlines, as have the horrific individual stories of young people in care, such as Tracey Fay, Danny Talbot and David Foley.
Inevitably, it’s the bad and dramatic news that makes the headlines; the bigger picture of the care system is much more complex.Many people are complimentary about their experiences in care and go on to flourish in adult life; many others, especially older young people in care, are highly critical of what they see as a dysfunctional system that fails to meet their needs.
Jennifer Gargan is the director of Epic, a group that works to empower young people in care. She is well placed to get an overall sense of the experiences of young people in the care system.
“We know that a stable care placement produces the best outcomes, so young people in foster care tend to have better experiences,” she says. But the outcomes for young people in residential care or multiple care placements are much worse. “The damage that disruption and multiple placements can have on the lives of young people, coupled with inappropriate support from social workers and link workers, is heartbreaking.”
Outcomes tend to be better for younger people admitted into care. When older teenagers enter the care system, they may well have been damaged by abuse or neglect during their childhood, and are much less likely to settle.
While statistics tell us that increasing numbers of children are being admitted into care, they don’t tell us why. Many reasons are offered. Social-work groups and children’s charities say the upward trend may be linked to a greater awareness of abuse and neglect following several high-profile cases, including one in Roscommon in 2009-10 that resulted in a mother and a father being sentenced to jail for sexually abusing and neglecting their children over a period of years, despite having come to the attention of social workers a decade before their arrest.
“There’s an atmosphere out there of erring on the side of caution,” says Ineke Durville, president of the Irish Association of Social Workers. “Since Roscommon, may be quicker to take children into care.”
However, some practitioners fear that the increase may also be linked to the economic downturn, with support services affected by cutbacks and parents with drug, alcohol or health problems no longer able to cope.
There is widespread agreement that the system needs to change. Social services need to be able to intervene earlier in the lives of children at risk, to give them a better start.
It is children in care, and the young people who have recently left it, who are best qualified to comment on the system. They are the ones with first-hand experience of how it works. By listening to their voices, policymakers can get a better understanding of what is needed to improve a system that is still letting too many vulnerable children down.
SHAUNA WATSON
19, from Co Wexford
“I’ve been in family care, with my grandmother, for the past 15 or 16 years. I can’t really think of any negatives. It was the best option for me. When I was younger it was hard dealing with the fact that others in my class had a conventional family and lived with their parents. That was difficult. But my granny has done so much for me to make my life better and ensure I’m always happy.
“Social workers with the HSE have always been there when I needed them. I’ve been very lucky that way. I’ve heard of other people who’ve had terrible experiences, but in my case they were always there to support me if I was struggling with study or personal problems. I appreciate everything they’ve done for me. Without their help, and my granny’s, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“I’m studying law and business at Trinity College Dublin, and really enjoying it. The care system has a bad name, and there can be a stigma around children in care, but for me I can say it was definitely the best option.”
LOUISE RAFTER
23, from Co Meath
“I was admitted into care when I was 10 months old. It was for my own welfare. Despite being with a very good foster family for a long time, my overall impression of the care system is that it’s a shambles.
“I ended up being abused by another child in the system. As a teenager I was moved from care placement to care placement. There was no structure or stability. I’ve lost count of the number of different social workers who came and went. My real needs and wants were, for the most part, never taken seriously.
“My low point was being admitted to an adult psychiatric hospital at the age of 16. I was ‘out of control’. I had tried to take my own life. I felt that I was to blame for everything. I didn’t trust anyone. I felt no one wanted me. I remember a social worker telling me at the age of 13 that ‘no one wants to take a teenager, especially not a troubled teenager’.
“Today I’m a mother of two children: Calum, who’s two and a half, and Eoin, who’s just five months. I want to make sure that they have a better life. I also plan to go to university to study, maybe childcare. I’m determined to try to make a difference and improve things for other young people like me.”
LEYLAH
20, from Somalia
“I was 14 when I went into care. I was an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum. I’m from Somalia. I was in a number of hostels, which took a lot of getting used to. When I arrived I didn’t leave my room for three weeks I was so scared. I was in a new country and didn’t know what to expect.
“The first hostel was well supervised, with two care staff there all the time. The staff were helpful. The main problem was that there was such a diverse group of young people from different countries: Albania, Russia, Nigeria. Food, for example, was awful. I just couldn’t eat it.
“Later on, when I was bit older, I was placed in a different hostel. There were no staff: just a hostel manager, a chef and security staff. You could do what you wanted. No one really cared or minded you. Trying to study for the Leaving Cert was difficult. There was no one to motivate you.
“Overall, my experience of the system was mixed. It has its good and bad points. Personally I experienced more bad than good. But I’m here. It’s worked out. I’ve finished college – I studied at Dublin City University – and my life has worked out well. And I’m a better person for the experience of it all."
