It remains unclear whether a 12-year-old child who went missing from Tusla’s care in 2023 has been located.
The child is among 50 unaccompanied minors – children who arrive into the State alone and seeking international protection – found reported as missing during a recent inspection of the Tusla welfare service provided to this cohort.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) inspected the service over four days in January and February.
It found 50 children were reported by Tusla as “missing in care” in the previous 12 months.
At the time of the inspection, data indicated “approximately 30 children [were] missing and remained unaccounted for ... and 27 children had been reported missing at various stages and returned to their placements”
In one case, a 12 year-old child had gone missing more than 18 months before the inspection. “There was no records (sic) of strategy meetings held with An Garda Siochana, or of contact with UK or Northern Ireland counterparts in order to share information in an effort to locate this child since that time,” says the report.
In another case, where a 14-year-old had been reported missing from care more than six months previously “while a strategy meeting was requested by the principal social worker, this occurred five months after the child was reported missing ... and there was no evidence of liaison with counterparts in neighbouring jurisdictions,” says the report.
Both Hiqa and Tusla have been asked whether these two children have been safely located.
Inspectors reviewed a sample of ten files on children who had gone missing and found the service was not managing thescases in line with the national protocol for children missing in care.
Hiqa was informed during the inspection that 35 children were missing from the service. Due to poor governance in the service, it was not possible to determine the precise number of children missing as the service’s own tracking system was not up to date and included children who had been found and located. As a result, an approximate figure was used in the inspection report.
The inspection also found that in multiple cases, children in the service were not allocated a social worker.
A total of 195 children were instead placed with a “dedicated team” while they were awaiting the allocation of a social worker.
The report notes that two children complained about being unable to enrol in school due to their lack of a social worker.
Another child raised concerns about their social worker not answering their calls and not responding to their needs.
Hiqa stated that not all child-protection concerns were managed in line with Children First, the national guidance for the protection and welfare of children.
It cited gaps in the identification of child-protection concerns by staff newly recruited to the team, gaps in referrals to An Garda Síochána and delays in carrying out safeguarding visits to children once they were accommodated.
In three cases, there were no records of safeguarding visits to children.
The watchdog states that the Separated Children Seeking International Protection service has been affected by high referral rates and continued staff vacancies “which impacted on the teams’ ability to sustain service improvement”.
Hiqa escalated a number of cases to seek assurances about the management of issues identified during the inspection, saying that it received “satisfactory assurances” that an improvement plan would be put in place.
A compliance plan was also submitted outlining actions that would be taken to address the areas of noncompliance.
In a statement today, Tusla noted “while the report highlights risks and ongoing challenges, it also recognises meaningful progress made since the previous inspection in November 2023, including improvements in governance, staff training, case management, and oversight structures”.
“The report notes the commitment of the staff to deliver the highest possible care in what is a high-pressure, demand-led and at times a crisis-driven environment.”
Lorna Kavanagh, area manager of National Services and Integration at Tusla, said the agency is “clear about the range of challenges and risks faced by the service”, and is “deeply committed to addressing the issues raised and ensuring that all children in our care receive a safe, timely and appropriate service”.
She added: “significant steps have already been taken – including an increase in staff, stronger inter-agency collaboration and more robust governance – and we are determined to build on this momentum to deliver continuing improvement.”
