Judge warns of 'tsunami' of cases due to shortage of care placements for vulnerable children

The new Child Law Project publication details 70 reports arising out of court hearings in the first half of 2024. Picture: iStock 

A judge has warned of a “tsunami about to reach shore” as a report highlights a shortage of special care placements for vulnerable children.

The latest publication from the Child Law Project (CLP) contains 70 reports, arising out of court hearings attended in the first half of this year by reporters from the project.

One relates to a teenager who, it was alleged, was raped while in the care of Tusla and who was believed to have been sexually trafficked across Ireland.

On one occasion, she was found two hours away from her placement after she made a call at 11pm to her guardian ad litem to say she had no idea where she was.

Although her case had been in court over 10 times, there was no special care bed available for the teenager, who had the cognitive ability of a 10-year-old child.

An accommodation unit was eventually secured for her in Britain.

A judge described her case as “shocking” and “the worst case I have ever come across”.

The volume highlights that three out of the 15 cases in the first High Court special care list after the court Christmas vacation related to children where special care orders had been made a number of weeks previously but where no special care beds were available for them.

A judge expressed concern about “what would we do when someone has to explain where a child who should have been in special care commits suicide or dies as a result of the conduct that meant they should be in special care?”

He said: “I don’t know why those in the CFA [Tusla, the child and family agency] are not dealing with this as a crisis situation.

This is a tsunami about to reach shore and nothing is being done.

In another case, during the review of a special care order made four weeks earlier for a teenage boy, the court heard that there was no bed available “and no immediate prospect of a bed”.

The court heard that the teenager was found to have had shop vouchers and expensive clothing, which raised the concern that he was already being exploited.

The judge said: “This is a scandalous situation to exist and in large measure the situation and the crisis is going completely under the radar on a national level due to the in camera nature of these proceedings.”

Meanwhile, the volume also raises concerns about the availability of foster and residential care for children.

In one such case, a judge made a series of one-week extensions to interim care orders because of the lack of appropriate placements for five siblings.

Normally extensions are for 28 days.

The judge said the situation was “unacceptable and appalling” and that the children could have grounds for a future civil action against the State for negligence.

CLP chief executive Maria Corbett, warned: “The lack of suitable care placements is having a domino effect that risks collapsing the care system.

“The knock-on effects of a lack of appropriate placements are compounding existing difficulties for children and staff and so we fear the system has begun to unravel.

The knock-on effects of a dearth of placements include [Tusla] delaying applications to take children into care and continuing to use unregulated or unsuitable emergency placements.

“Many children are experiencing multiple placement moves, often over a short period of time, despite stability being a known key ingredient for a successful outcome to care.

“Urgent action across government is needed to halt this spiral of poor practice and to build trust in the care system.”

The publication is the last volume to be published by the CLP under a three-year grant from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, which expires in October this year.

The project has been running for the past 11 years.