The child and family agency, Tusla, has reported a 13% increase in referrals in 2022.
According to the Tusla Annual Report for 2022, more than 82,500 child protection or welfare referrals were made to the agency last year – an increase of almost 10,000 on 2021.
Tusla said 22,000 cases remained open by the end of the year, and 28% of those were yet to be allocated a designated social worker.
Admissions to care were down 6% on 2021, and 4% fewer children went into care for the first time.
By the end of the year, there were 5,755 children still in care – 89% of whom were in foster care.
Over 26,500 children received some form of family support from Tusla, with over 2,900 young adults accessing aftercare services throughout the year.
During the academic year, Tusla Education Support Service worked alongside over 6,000 children to provide academic support.
Recruitment
As a result of Tusla's fostering recruitment campaign, 182 new Tusla foster carers were approved, and a further 29 carers were in the process of approval by December 2022.
Barnardo's CEO, Suzanne Connolly, said one of Tusla's greatest challenges is the recruitment and retention of social workers.
"Tusla has a significant demand for its services," she said, "So, it needs to deliver on its plan to ensure that it remains a very attractive employer for social workers in order to meet its key commitments in relation to vulnerable children."
Demand
Tusla said the outbreak of war in Europe, coupled with the "other complex issues facing children and families" has seen an increased demand for its services and support.
The organisation said it prioritises cases where children required an immediate response.
Fostering
The agency reported that over 4,600 staff members worked across the service in 2022, but noted that recruitment of sufficient numbers of foster carers remained a significant challenge.
The report highlighted a risk to the safety, welfare and well-being of children due to inadequate capacity, resources or systems to ensure compliance with national standards for safeguarding as risks to foster care.
