TUSLA NEEDS DAILY REFORM SAYS RABBITTE
Child and family agency chief calls for improvements
TUSLA chief Pat Rabbitte has told how the struggling Child and Family agency needs “daily” reform.
The former Labour leader added “continuous improvements” must be made within the agency.
Speaking at the Irish Foster Carers Association’s annual conference, Mr Rabbitte said Tusla – which oversees all foster placements – is on a “journey of reform”.
He added: “It is not a short or an easy journey but the new chief executive, our colleagues and I are up to the challenge and committed to seeing it through.”
Bernard Gloster was appointed chief executive of the agency in June. Mr Rabbitte told foster carers at the conference, which is taking place this weekend at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in
Limerick, “there are continuous improvements to be made” within Tusla.
But he said many of the children who come under the care of the State are happy with their foster homes.
Mr Rabbitte added: “What is encouraging is the views of our most important stakeholder – the children we work with. This kind of feedback is critically important to us as it tells us many children are happy in their placements, but also that our foster carers are doing a great job of caring for children and young people.”
If a child is in danger in their own home, Tusla will request a family court judge to order the child into State care. If this happens, the child is then placed in foster care.
This includes both extended family members – most often their aunt or grandmother – or a foster family previously unknown to the child.
Very rarely, youngsters are placed in other care settings.
There are more than 4,000 carers looking after 6,000 children in State care, but the number of families opening up their homes has gone down in the past four years.
Tusla is on a journey of reform – we are ready to see that through PAT RABBITTE YESTERDAY