Report reveals crisis in Cork’s foster care service

THE number of children in foster care on the northside of Cork city is almost double that of the southside and the demand on social workers’ time means reports of neglect and abuse are not always dealt with in a timely manner.

These are among the alarming findings of a new report examining foster care services in Cork city and county.

Published yesterday, the report said the complexity of some cases, and the requirement for court appearances and report writing, had “an unequivocal impact” on social workers’ capacity to fulfil statutory requirements both to children in care and to children/families at risk.