Chronic shortage of foster care placements needs an urgent solution

Many children who could thrive in loving family environments are instead subjected to institutional care, robbing them of their fundamental human right to experience family life, writes Róisín Clarke

'We have a chronic shortage of placements for children in care, which has dire consequences for the well-being of these children. The fact that vulnerable children are being placed in hotels and B&Bs because the state cannot provide sufficient care is a national disgrace.'

In July of this year, we were confronted with stark revelations that should shake the conscience of every citizen in Ireland. The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), a state agency, sounded an alarm, a distress call that cannot be ignored. The distressing truth they revealed is that the Irish State, a country that touts its commitment to human rights and child welfare, is failing its most vulnerable children.

HIQA's findings are nothing short of a damning indictment of the state of our child protection services. The report stated: "The lack of appropriate alternative placements for children in care requires a national strategic approach." It highlights the "significant and increasing challenges" in ensuring enough capacity to maintain existing levels of care. We cannot gloss over the fact that our children’s services are struggling to meet the basic needs of these children.

One particularly troubling revelation is the increasing use of unregulated 'special emergency accommodation' by state agencies, not just for unaccompanied children but also for older children with complex needs. This is a glaring sign that our system is overburdened and failing to provide adequate care for our most vulnerable. In many cases, these children have been denied the elusive ‘early intervention’ through timely access to appropriate services and supports which, had they been received when needed, could have prevented the acceleration to ‘special emergency’.

Crisis

The current state of affairs is nothing short of a crisis. We have a chronic shortage of placements for children in care, which has dire consequences for the well-being of these children. The fact that vulnerable children are being placed in hotels and B&Bs because the state cannot provide sufficient care is a national disgrace. It is an affront to our values, principles, and humanity.

In the words of Nelson Mandela, "Any country, any society which does not care for its children is no nation at all." These words should resonate deeply within our hearts and minds. Every child is born with fundamental human rights regardless of their circumstances. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly outlines these rights, including health care, education, equality, and protection from harm. In 2012, the Irish State amended its constitution to protect children. However, as we stand here in 2023, the political campaigning in support of those amendments has become hollow promises for foster and residential care children.

Furthermore, HIQA pointed out the lack of specialist foster care provision, which has forced more children into residential care due to the limited alternatives available. This means that many children who could thrive in loving family environments are instead subjected to institutional care, robbing them of their fundamental human right to experience family life. If, as a country, we are really committed to meeting our obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, surely this extends to children in care?

We cannot accept this as the status quo in today's Ireland. Foster care has existed in Ireland since the time of our Brehon Laws. It was enshrined, respected and supported within social structures then. Why not now? 

It is inconceivable that in a country that recorded an exchequer surplus of €5 billion just last year, we cannot provide a safe and stable home for every child in need. The Irish government must be held accountable for its failures in child protection. There is much ground to be covered, but, if we act now, if can be gained.

Foster carers, the unsung heroes of our society, are at the coalface of this crisis. In July, a national survey of IFCA members revealed significant unease among foster carers. Many are reconsidering their commitment to fostering, struggling to cope with the overwhelming challenges, and many living on the precipice of poverty due to the sector's lack of funding. These dedicated people, who open their homes and hearts to vulnerable children, deserve our support, not indifference from the state.

We must ask ourselves, as a country, what kind of society we want to be? Do we want to be a society that upholds its values and principles, or do we want to be a society that abandons its most vulnerable members? I hope that if 'the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members' in the future, we will measure well. That entirely depends on us, and what we, as a country, decide to do next.

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Budget 2024 must be a turning point. We need a comprehensive and strategic approach to funding the shortage of foster care placements. This crisis cannot be resolved with tokenistic budgetary gestures. We need real investment in our child protection services in Budget 2024.

The well-being of our children is not negotiable. We must remember that their futures are in our hands, and we will be judged by how we care for them. Let us be a country that stands up for its children and provides them with the love, care, and protection they deserve. Let us be a country that lives up to the ideals of the United Nations Conventions we ratified. Anything less is simply unacceptable. For all of us.

Róisín Clarke is CEO of the Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA)