FOSTER FAMILIES and residential care centres should provide aftercare support and access to specialists such as psychotherapists under draft standards proposed by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
The standards, which were published yesterday, would also introduce a “fit person entry programme” for all registered childcare providers, which would assess the capacity of managers to apply the regulations to services.
Under current regulations all residential centres are expected to vet staff working with children, although in 2008 one-third of centres did not comply with this requirement. The new programme would ensure no childcare provider could get a licence unless the person in charge was of “good character”.
It would also apply to HSE-run residential centres for young people. The draft standards cover 21 areas, ranging from the happiness of children to ensuring appropriate record keeping, policies and procedures from residential centres and foster families that provide care for more than 5,000 children and young people.
They form part of a consultation process, which it is expected will lead to a single set of standards replacing the four different sets of standards that exist at present covering child services. Dr Marion Witton, chief inspector of social services at the authority, said the draft standards set out what a high quality, safe residential or foster care service should be.
“Recent reports into the care of children have demonstrated the importance of keeping all children safe. These children are some of the most vulnerable in our society and they require special consideration and protection, whether they are living in a residential care home, in a detention school or in foster care,” said Dr Witton.
She said the proposed standards should not cause foster parents, who may worry that they cannot meet all the listed criteria, to drop out of the care system. People and families would have different ways of meeting the standards, she said.
The criteria it proposes to use to measure whether a particular standard is being met by a carer include a host of issues such as ensuring a young person feels safe and secure in their placement, to carers providing a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet.
Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews said a standardised approach to the delivery of services for children was a critical starting point. “The Government made a commitment in the Ryan report implementation plan that all State settings in which children are cared for should be inspected. This is something that we are well on the way to achieving,” he said.
Standards for care services and fosterers
- Happiness and wellbeing of each child is encouraged and facilitated.
- Each child is encouraged to be independent in a manner appropriate to his/her age.
- The dignity and privacy of each child is promoted.
- Each child is facilitated to maintain positive contact with family and friends.
- There is a structure to the daily life of each child.
- Each child who makes a complaint is listened to.
- Each child is protected from abuse.
- Each child and young person is assisted to manage the transition from care.
Source: Draft National Quality Standards for Residential and Foster Care Services for Children and Young People