THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) has been warned about deficiencies in its management of foster care services in the Dublin and northeast region by a State-appointed health watchdog.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found a number of “practice deficiencies” in the region during a wider investigation into foster care in seven HSE regions in Dublin and Cork.
The preliminary findings of Hiqa investigators were considered so serious that the HSE discussed the matter at its board meeting in November. The wider investigation conducted by Hiqa is expected to be concluded shortly, and is likely to focus on continuing shortcomings in the system for vetting and assessing foster carers.
Under the Childcare Act, all foster parents are subject to a mandatory assessment by HSE social workers, and Garda vetting.
But details of a separate HSE internal audit published yesterday found one-third of foster carers had not been vetted by the Garda or the HSE. In one instance, the HSE audit discovered a child was placed with a foster carer who had a number of criminal convictions and was not registered, according to an article in the Sunday Business Post.
The HSE audit, which was undertaken nine months ago, surveyed 19 of the 112 children taken into foster care in the region. It found 37 per cent of carers were not registered with the Fostering Resource Unit and had not been subject to background checks.
Fine Gael’s spokesman on children Alan Shatter described the report as “alarming”. He called on Minister for Children Barry Andrews to clarify the number of children in the southern region where no vetting had occurred, and whether this practice exists in other regions.
The HSE said it planned to put a pre-inspection system in place for foster parents following a national audit of all fostering services which it completed in the past six months.
However, Phil Garland, HSE assistant national director for children and families, told RTÉ yesterday that improvements had been made to the system since the audit was carried out. He said about one-third of fostered children were routinely placed with relatives, who, in the past, might not have been vetted by gardaí. But he maintained every family where a child is placed is now vetted by the gardaí and the HSE.
Previously, Hiqa highlighted what it said was the HSE’s failure to conduct proper assessments of foster carers. The details were contained in its first independent report on foster care services last November.
That report, which focused on the Dublin south-west area, found more than two-thirds of relative foster carers in one region had not undergone a comprehensive assessment to determine their suitability for the job. “This finding gives rise to concern, as placing children with carers who have not been subject to a comprehensive assessment and vetting, albeit with a relative, is unsafe.
“All foster carers must be assessed prior to providing care to children,” said the Hiqa report.
Hiqa is a State-appointed inspectorate to oversee health and childcare issues.
Hiqa’s current investigation into the management of foster care services focuses on Dublin north, Dublin north central, Dublin west, north Lee, south Lee, north Cork and south Cork. A Hiqa spokesman said the results of the investigation would be published in about two months.
Alice Parkinson, chairwoman of the Irish Foster Care Association, said she was disappointed that assessments of foster parents were not taking place in all cases. “I think this will be disturbing for foster carers across the country, who may face questions from people about whether they have been assessed.”