Foster care supports - State needs to step up

THE role played by foster carers in Irish society tends to be invisible even though more than 5,000 children depend on them. It’s a task that requires sensitivity and flexibility if a caring bond is to be forged successfully.

Thus, it is a matter of some concern that foster carers increasingly either have to arrange or supervise weekend access visits for the families of fostered children because, apart from a limited private operation, no out-of-hours state-run social work service exists.

The problem can be aggravated because there is no room for flexibility on the terms and conditions of such an arrangement when access is ordered through the courts. Indeed, if the court orders access to children, the issue is so inflexible that foster parents themselves risk being held in contempt of court if they fail to carry out the order.