Child had no social worker visits for 9 years

A child in foster care did not receive a single visit from a social worker in nine years and others were fostered to homes where undisclosed allegations had been upheld against adults, according to a review of foster and children’s residential services.

The report by the health watchdog, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), shows the placing of children with unapproved foster carers continues, despite a statutory obligation on the HSE to ensure prospective foster carers undergo a rigorous approval process.

The HSE’s figures for 2012 show 559 unapproved foster carers were used last year and, in the case of 343, children had been with them for more than three months.