Watchdog uncovers ‘failings’ in foster services

Inspections of foster care services in Co Mayo have found that watchdogs had to issue an immediate action plan due to a number of serious failings in the area.

Inspectors found that for a small number of children, there was a delay in responding to early warning signs of possible abuse, and that some protective measures taken were inadequate.

“As a result, some children experienced unsafe placements for a significant period of time.”

The inspection report into the HSE Fostering Service in the Mayo Local Health Area by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) found that the Mayo LHA “did not have effective systems in place to support the delivery of a safe, effective foster care service”.

Flaws uncovered last April included:

- No local risk register in place at the time of inspection;

- Poor response times to indicators of risk in some foster care placements:

- An incomplete register of children placed with carers:

- Poor use of data to inform the development of the service.

Inspectors found that when allegations against foster carers were upheld, the foster carers were not always removed from the foster carer panel promptly, while a strategic decision was taken by managers not to undertake child-in-care reviews and not to carry out required reviews of foster carers within the regulatory timeframes, due to limited social worker resources.

The Mayo LHA had 123 children in foster care, all with an allocated social worker, with 81 foster carers and 26 relative foster carers in 107 households, at the time of the inspection.

Approximately one-third of the children placed in foster care did not have a timely child-in-care review, while not all foster carers had received adequate support or training.

There were also 16 concerns about the welfare and protection of children, which related to eight foster care families, in the previous 12 months.

Some deficiencies were also uncovered in a separate HIQA Inspection of the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Service in Waterford Local Health Area, with 397 children on a waiting list for initial assessment and 31 children awaiting further assessments, although overall the area provided a safe and effective service to children.

A HSE West spokesperson said: “No children were removed from foster care as a result of the recent HIQA inspection. The Mayo Child & Family Service implemented an action plan immediately to address these concerns and an audit has since confirmed that there are no current safeguarding issues in the Foster Care Service. A Draft National Safe Care policy has been implemented and a comprehensive risk management process is in place.”

A spokesman for Empowering People in Care (EPIC) said: “The fostering inspection highlights serious concerns for children in Mayo... Actions recommended by HIQA in both reports urgently need to be implemented.”