Vulnerable children in the care of the State are being kept in “unsafe” emergency accommodation by Tusla, the child and family agency, an internal review has found.
Pressure on the care system has seen Tusla increasingly rely on unregulated accommodation where children are put into rented houses or other properties run by care staff from private companies.
More than 170 young people in care are currently living in these “special emergency arrangements” due to a shortage of group care homes and foster carers. An internal Tusla audit criticised the fact that some children in such emergency arrangements were being left in “unsafe” conditions.
The audit, seen by The Irish Times, said there were “ongoing concerns” about the screening of staff working with children. The poor quality of care being provided to children posed “significant operational risks” for Tusla, the report said.
Donald Trump is changing America in ways that will reverberate long after he is dead
The jawdropper; the quickest split; the good turn: Miriam Lord’s 2024 Political Awards
The mystery is not why we Irish have responded to Israel’s barbarism. It’s why others have not
Enoch Burke released from prison as judge doubles fine for showing up at school
“Some young people continue to remain in unsafe arrangements, with areas reporting that capacity issues and limited move on options are impacting on the provision of more suitable placements,” the audit said.
There was also evidence of child protection and welfare concerns being underreported, it said.
A further audit uncovered problems with the “safety and suitability” of properties where children were being housed. In some cases staff were working continuous shifts of between 48 and 72 hours, where they slept on site overnight. There were “variances” in how regularly social workers visited children living in emergency care placements, the report said.
The internal audits were completed over the last 12 months and released to The Irish Times following a Freedom of Information request.
Tusla was previously drawn into controversy after it was revealed that one emergency accommodation provider had allegedly altered Garda vetting files and “fabricated” pre-employment screenings of staff. The company had at one point been one of the largest providers before Tusla stopped placing children into its care last year.
An audit completed last month flagged concerns about the vetting of staff working for other private companies caring for children in emergency accommodation. “Weaknesses have been identified in the governance structures of some providers, as well as ongoing queries in relation to the vetting of some staff,” the audit said.
In a statement Tusla said efforts were constantly made to move young people from emergency accommodation into “regulated settings” as quickly as possible.
A large number of the children currently in the emergency placements are underage asylum seekers who arrived without guardians. Tusla said it had opened new “accommodation centres” for unaccompanied minors to better manage the increased demand on the care system.
A spokeswoman for Tusla said it had cut ties with four companies who had been running emergency accommodation on foot of shortcomings.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
