Tusla revamp of foster care will see local services amalgamated

Tusla has had lengthy discussions with foster families and children over the past number of years. File picture

A major revamp of Tulsa’s fostering service will see the amalgamation of local services and will “strengthen the way the agency responds to children”, a spokesperson has said.

Thousands of foster carers across the country have received letters from the agency’s CEO Kate Duggan outlining how some families will see a change in their link workers.

The initiative, which began on January 1, will include a reform programme that will provide more access to services for foster children and foster parents.

Currently Tusla is set up to work across 17 areas in six regions. However, they all differ in size and staffing levels.

This means children, including young people, families and foster carers do not have the same level of access to services.

To address this, Tusla said it will change its structure to work across 30 networks in six regions. This follows lengthy discussions with foster families and children over the past number of years.

A statement to the Irish Examiner said the reform programme will "strengthen the way we respond to children, young people, and families across Ireland". 

"Our reform programme places the child and family at the centre of our planning and service delivery, improving service structures and promoting multidisciplinary working, integration of services, improved access, and equity in resource allocation.

This is not a cost-cutting measure; our goal is to provide better services that are integrated."

As of September 2025, there were 3,789 foster carers in the country and 5,046 children in care.

Tusla said it is “committed to strengthening the supports provided to foster carers, not reducing them".

“Each new network has been indexed according to demographic profiles such as population size, disadvantage, and deprivation using validated data provided by the CSO.

“These areas are more equal in size in terms of service needs, and the staff assigned to them, in an effort to ensure more equal access to services for everyone, no matter where they live", the statement said.

Currently social care teams in Tusla work in separate structures and this means there can be delays for children and young people in accessing the right service, if the needs of the child or young person changes.

A spokesperson said this will be addressed for foster care services, which means that the carer and the child in their care will continue to have a fostering link worker/allocated worker.

'Link worker may change'

However, in the letter to foster carers, Ms Duggan said the link worker "may change if there is a change in the staff assigned to the area you live in".

“Your current fostering link worker/allocated worker will let you and the child/young person in your care know in the coming weeks if there will be any proposed change and how the change will be managed sensitively in the weeks ahead allowing for a timely and transition respectful of your current needs and plans” said Ms Duggan.

One foster carer told the Irish Examiner that the changes may be “difficult for families because continuity is important for children and their foster carer".

“Social workers move all the time. Tusla is losing social workers all the time, so this is a worry," the carer said.

Social workers have told the Irish Examiner they are also concerned about the level of case files that will land on their desk as a result of the amalgamation.

The agency has already hit the headlines for having too little staff to deal with their current case loads and referrals for children at risk.