It is “increasingly challenging” to recruit foster carers, Tusla has warned.
There are currently around 5,000 children in foster care at the moment but only 87% have a placement with a family.
The rest are cared for in residential homes but Tusla feels that ideally children should be brought up in a “family environment”.
“Ireland, certainly, would have a very high level of foster care provision,” Tusla’s Jacqueline Smyth told The Hard Shoulder.
“But, what we are seeing internationally is that it’s becoming increasingly challenging to recruit foster carers.
“That’s to do with lots of things; socioeconomic changes, the world I think has become a more insular place.
“People are working more, there’s more demands on families; so, if you had been talking to me in 2017, I’d have been saying to you there’s 92% of our children in foster care.
“So, it’s coming down; that’s happening everywhere but we are making a really concerted effort to halt that decline.”
Find out more about becoming a Tusla Foster Carer! Check our events page for upcoming events https://t.co/EkGXKJdXr1 . You can also speak to us directly on Freephone 1800 226 771 or visit https://t.co/lxWyHHt6Al for further information. pic.twitter.com/5A8uegbH9O
— Tusla - Child and Family Agency (@tusla) October 16, 2024
Ms Smyth said children in foster care have a “complete variety” of needs and while some need long-term placements, others might only need somewhere to stay for the occasional weekend.
“Some children, they may access foster care for a short amount of time because there’s an acute issue or crisis at home and the family just needs some support,” she said.
“Maybe there isn’t the extended family or the extended network; so, some children will come in for short amounts of time and then return home.
“Other children may be in care for longer; some children might be in care all the way up through their childhood.
“We also have a type of care called respite which is like where foster carers come in like part of the extended support network. They may come for a weekend every month or every two months.”
Do you know there are many different ways to foster a child? Tusla is looking for people to provide short-term, long-term, emergency placements, respite fostering & other supports for children and young people who need them. For more info visit https://t.co/l3qi85EbEa pic.twitter.com/M0qZu9I5up
— Tusla - Child and Family Agency (@tusla) June 15, 2024
Ms Smyth said Tusla and families usually work well together in the best interests of the child, adding that both the long-term goal is usually to return the child to their birth family.
“In most circumstances, social workers and families are working together for a period before children ever come into care,” she said.
“There will be established relationships working around supporting families [with] early intervention.
“Because there is that acknowledgement that if you can grow up in your own family and you are safe, that is the place for you to be.
“If a child comes into care, you’re looking to see can that child can return home?”
More information about fostering can be found on Tusla’s website.
Main image: A parent and child. Picture by: Brian Lawless/PA Wire/PA Images
