Serious concern has been expressed about many of the special care arrangements being made for troubled children in the State by the agency charged with overseeing childcare residential centres.
In its first annual report, seen by The Irish Times in advance of its publication today, the Irish Social Services Inspectorate (ISSI) said it was concerned at the emergency response of health boards when there was a lack of suitable available placements for such children.
It said the premises used to house "special arrangements" ranged from rented apartments to bed and breakfast establishments. Their use, it said, indicated a lack of planning by health boards for vulnerable young people.
"Many of these special arrangements are staffed by agency staff, often untrained in child care and with no long-term commitment to the child," it said.
Not all special arrangements were for children awaiting a place in a special care or high support unit, it stressed.
The ISSI, which was notified of 17 special care arrangements - often put in place in response to High Court orders - for individual children in six health board areas, said it was concerned at the isolation these children experienced.
The report gives an overview of 23 inspections carried out by the inspectorate on 21 centres between July 2000 and July 2001. While good practice was evident in many homes, two centres were relocated because of fire safety concerns and another two closed following the inspections.
Inspectors found "serious shortcomings" in the preparation of care plans for children in care and said the placing of children as young as three years in residential centres was unacceptable.
In four centres Garda clearance was not received before staff took up work; just 35 per cent of all staff had a recognised qualification; and 48 per cent of staff were on temporary contracts. It recommended that health boards address this. Over half the centres inspected reported difficulties accessing specialist services for the children in their care.
It noted the difficulties associated with the recruitment and retention of staff in the childcare sector and that many health boards were recruiting staff from abroad.
"Individual boards are making decisions regarding the standard of qualifications gained abroad. A central body should be charged with examining all qualifications of people applying to work in the area of child care in this country and ratifying those that are acceptable," the report said.
Up to this, centres have been informed a number of weeks in advance of inspections. However, in the coming year the ISSI will conduct a number of "unannounced" inspections.