Fears over the use of hotels as Government urged to act on childcare placement crisis 

In its report on the past decade of child care proceedings, the CLP said the total number of children in care has fallen by 14%, while the proportion in foster care has fallen and the number in residential placements has increased. File picture

The Government has been urged to set up a new committee to address the crisis in childcare placements, with growing fears over the use of hotels and holiday accommodation for vulnerable young people.

The recommendation comes from the Child Law Project (CLP) and is based on its observations on 10 years of covering childcare proceedings across various courts. It also coincides with a warning from a group representing voluntary care providers that the Irish system could "collapse" in a similar way to that in the UK.

In its report on the past decade of child care proceedings, the CLP said the total number of children in care has fallen by 14%, while the proportion in foster care has fallen and the number in residential placements has increased — particularly with private providers.

The most pressing concern, however, is what it called the "crisis in placements". 

According to the report: "The Child and Family Agency [CFA] is currently experiencing a crisis in securing care placements. Where an appropriate placement cannot be identified the CFA may provide a local solution (non-procured Regional Bespoke Placement), such as a hotel room. These placements are not covered by national standards and inspections and raise other governance and resource implications.

"Such placements are often not able to meet the needs of the child to education, access to therapeutic supports, social contact with peers (as they are single child placement) or contact with family (as located a great distance from the child’s home). 

"Our reports have shown that in some cases a child was detained longer then necessary in special care due to the lack of a follow-on placement. We have also observed that the where a lack of a stable and appropriate placement has led to a deterioration of their mental health and to a risk of coming into contact with youth justice services."

Chief executive of the CLP Dr Maria Corbett said Tusla was responding to an emergency situation and was to be commended for that, but added the situation meant the CFA was effectively operating two separate childcare systems.

"It is keeping the child alive, but they [the placements] are not a home," she said.

Dr Corbett said the lack of placements was leading to in some cases to use of inappropriate placements, detention in special care longer than necessary and very late aftercare planning. 

The CLP has called for the establishment of an interdepartmental and inter-agency committee to address the crisis in childcare placements, chaired by the Department of Children.

The report makes a number of observations and acknowledges that some — such as lengthy waiting lists in the courts — can be addressed by proposed legislation including the Family Courts Bill. 

More judges needed

But it said more judges were needed to hear childcare cases on dedicated childcare days in a timely manner and the CLP also recommended the establishment of an independent service comprising suitably qualified experts to carry out assessments and provide expert evidence for the purpose of supporting decision-making by the family court, drawing on the Australian Children’s Court Clinics.

The report also highlighted how there is no national policy or strategy on child protection or alternative care.

Separately, the Children’s Residential and Aftercare Voluntary Association claimed that "decades of under-investment has left a large number of voluntary care providers on the verge of collapse and the care system itself in crisis”.

That has sparked fears that for-profit care providers could pull out of Ireland, adding even more pressure to the care system.

"This long-term under-investment has left the voluntary providers unable to respond to the increasing number of children and young people requiring care, and has opened the market for private for-profit companies, to respond instead," it said.

"This has led to an exponential increase in the number of private companies providing care in the past decade, to the extent that almost 70% of all children in care in Ireland are now in centres run by private for-profit companies, at significant cost to the State.

"We are at imminent risk of replicating the collapse of the UK’s care system. Without immediate intervention, the Irish State is in imminent danger of replicating the experience of the UK.”