A TOTAL of 20 children who were placed in the care of the State have died over a six-year period, new figures show.
Five young people died from drug overdoses, two from traffic accidents, two from assaults and two from suicide, according to the Health Service Executive.
A further nine died from what health officials describe as “medical issues”. No further details of these deaths were provided. The figures come at a time of mounting concern over the standards of care available to children at risk in the care system, particularly the “out of hours” or emergency care system.
Several children who died from overdoses in recent years were in emergency care, which provides care for relatively small numbers of children.
Social workers say this system is failing vulnerable young people due to its lack of structure and support.
There are a total of more than 5,300 children in the care of the State. Some 92 per cent are placed with foster families, with the remaining children placed in residential settings. Between 20 and 30 children are typically in emergency placements at any one time.
Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan has expressed concern that there are no automatic investigations into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of children in general.
She has circulated an options paper to the Government and other relevant organisations which sets out how a child death review group could be established. Its aim would be to reduce or eliminate the number of preventable child deaths.
This follows a number of tragic cases brought to the attention of Ms Logan’s office where no independent review took place or key questions remained unanswered about the circumstances of children’s deaths.
Similar arrangements are in place in other jurisdictions such as the UK, US, Australia and Canada.
In a statement, the HSE said the death of any child in care is a serious matter and requires careful and detailed consideration.
“Prior to the establishment of the HSE in 2005, individual health boards had procedures in place for dealing with deaths of children in care.
“As part of an on-going process of standardisation the HSE is currently reviewing its procedures for dealing with deaths of children in the care of the HSE,” the statement says.
The deaths of a number of children in care have been the subject of investigations or reports, but none has yet been formally published.
They include Kim Donovan, a 15-year-old girl who was found dead at a city centre BB from a suspected drugs overdose; David Foley, a 17-year-old who died from an overdose three years after he voluntarily sought care from the State; and 18-year-old Tracey Fay, who was found dead after injecting herself in 2002.
All three of these young people had sought greater levels of support or assistance from health authorities in the years before their deaths.