Mixed review from Hiqa on Tusla foster services covering parts of Tipperary

Tusla Child and Family Agency has responded to the publication this week of a Hiqa inspection report in relation to foster care services in the Mid-West, which includes north Tipperary.

The inspection assessed the efficacy of governance arrangements against eight standards, finding the area to be substantially compliant with four, and moderate non-compliant with an additional four standards.

As part of the inspection, inspectors spoke to children in care, parents of children in care, and foster carers, as well as Tusla staff.

Commenting on the report, Dr Caroline Cullen, regional chief officer Tusla Mid-West said: “We welcome this report and its findings on foster care services in the Mid-West. We are pleased that children and young people spoke positively about the service they received, and that their voices were central to this inspection.”

She said that the service knew that there were areas in need of improvement, and they were implementing a regional service improvement plan in line with Tusla Plan for Foster Care Services 2022-2025 to ensure they provided safe, secure and consistent services to children and young people in foster care.

Dr Cullen said that the report acknowledged many positive aspects of the foster care service in the Mid-West including that the majority of children spoke positively about their experience of being in foster care and the relationships they had made within the families.

Foster carers described very positive experiences of social workers’ involvement with children in their care. They said they “went above and beyond” and “found their support invaluable”, knew the children, visited regularly and were always available when needed.

Assessments of need were carried out on all children placed in foster care and the majority of the assessments were of good quality.

Child in care reviews were well managed and good quality, and comprehensive care plans were in place.

Foster carers also spoke positively about reviews and felt that social workers implemented children’s care plans.

External professionals told inspectors that the foster care service had good management and oversight of commissioned services providing direct work and intervention to children and their foster carers.

They said that the rights of the child were at the centre of the work undertaken and there was good communication with staff and an openness for discussions.

The report also found areas where improvements were required including the allocation of cases, delays in achieving statutory work within timelines, foster carer recruitment and staffing deficits.

The report found that although the foster care service had improved governance and oversight at the time of the inspection, further improvements were required to ensure a safe and consistent service was provided to all children and their foster carers.

The area has since increased managerial oversight, driven to provide a high-quality service and take action to address deficits when required.

Tusla receives consistent and high-quality regulation and oversight by various external bodies, including Hiqa