Children’s rights groups have warned that many families still have to “fight the system” every day to secure adequate services, just as the foster carers of a girl abandoned at birth vied to get the full range of supports she needed.

The €40,000 disparity between the cost of placing a child in care through a private foster care agency as opposed to foster carers registered directly with Tusla is to be examined by an Oireachtas committee.

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The Child and Family Agency has announced a major programme of early intervention measures for children after it received over €8m in one-off Atlantic Philanthropies funding.

The no side in the children’s rights referendum campaign have said it will take a “miracle” for them to win but have attacked the media and others for allegedly failing to inform the public on issues sufficiently.

The Irish Foster Care Association has demanded immediate action to have all foster carers properly vetted.

IRELAND’s number one mum, Fionnuala Marston, is described as “the daughter I never had” by her mother-in-law who nominated her for the title.

THE Minister for Children Barry Andrews has met with senior Health Service Executive officials to discuss child welfare and protection services after ongoing cracks in services for children in care emerged during the week.

A CHILDREN’S legal rights expert has expressed alarm at proposed changes to the way the HSE funds representation for vulnerable children in the courts.

THE role played by foster carers in Irish society tends to be invisible even though more than 5,000 children depend on them. It’s a task that requires sensitivity and flexibility if a caring bond is to be forged successfully.

THE state will be failing its responsibility as a “parent” to children in care if it does not make statutory provision to support over- 18-year-olds within the system, children’s charity Barnardos has said.

Couples were today urged to consider fostering children who cannot live with their own families.

THE Irish Foster Care Association has expressed concern about delays by the Adoption Board in finalising the adoption process involved in the landmark Baby Ann ruling by the Supreme Court this week.

MINISTER for Children Brian Lenihan has resisted calls for urgent constitutional reform to protect the rights of the child following yesterday’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Baby Ann.

FOSTER parents caring for children for more than five years will be granted limited parenting rights under new Government legislation.

Foster parents caring for children for more than five years will be granted limited parenting rights under new legislation.

A CAMPAIGN to urgently find new foster carers was launched by the East Coast Area Health Board (ECAHB) yesterday as numbers fall throughout the country.

A GUIDE to help foster parents avoid being left open to allegations of sexual abuse was launched yesterday.

CASH-STRAPPED health boards are being forced to advertise for professional foster carers to look after some of the country’s most vulnerable children.