Foster parents wait over a year to be cleared by social workers

POTENTIAL foster families are being forced to wait more than a year to be assessed by the HSE in north Dublin because of a shortage of social workers.

Parents who seek to foster children must then undergo an assessment that could take another four months.

In addition, the lack of resources and staff means that in some cases families may have to wait up to 18 months before they can take a child into their home.

Despite the staff shortage, the Child and Family Agency Tusla began a campaign on Tuesday to encourage Dubliners to consider fostering a child.

At present, many children are being moved outside Dublin because of the lack of carers in their own communities where they are encouraged to remain.

When asked how the agency was going to assess foster parents when there is already a long waiting list for Dubliners, a spokesman said: ‘A strategy has been put in place to prioritise assessments, particularly those arising from the campaign.’ When asked further for details about the strategy Tusla did not respond.

One would-be foster couple asked: ‘Does that mean that people who apply to foster as a result of this campaign will be prioritised over others already waiting?’

A report by the HIQA in January 2013 criticised the HSE for failing to meet the needs of foster children in north Dublin.

It raised serious concerns about the safety of children in the area. A source said: ‘It’s really short-sighted, it costs a fortune to keep a child in residential care compared with having that same child fostered with a family.’

The MoS can reveal that social workers in Dublin have begun assessing foster carers to help clear the backlog.

There are 6,504 children in foster care in Ireland, while 6,040 are in residential care.