The Hiqa reports unearth a series of unsafe placements, a state of crisis and unresolved child protection concerns:
The three reports by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) into the foster care services in parts of Dublin:
Dublin North West
The inspection found that foster care services were in a "state of crisis" at the time of inspection, with evidence of significant deficiencies.
Among inspectors' findings were that:
* Two children had been left in unsafe placements, even though allegations of abuse had been brought to the attention of social workers and the children were found to have been abused.
* In another case, inspectors found that a child who had run away from the carers, amid allegations of physical and emotional abuse, was being returned to the carers by the HSE, prior to the outcome of an assessment into the allegation.
* Nearly half of the children in foster care in the area did not have a social worker assigned to them.
* The HSE did not check that all children in foster care were safe through social work visits.
* It failed to ensure that all children were being cared for by assessed and approved carers.
* It did not check that all children were in the right placement and whether some could be returned to their birth families.
* It did not keep information about children safe or record information consistently and the system for managing allegations made by children against foster carers was unsafe.
The inspection did find some evidence of good practice with children who had been assigned an allocated social worker, while children in the sample group interviewed by inspectors presented as being well cared for, and carers interviewed spoke highly of the social workers.
Dublin North Central
Inspectors also found services here in a "state of crisis" with significant numbers of children in unsafe placements.
Among its findings were that:
* A third of the children in foster care in the area did not have a social worker assigned to them.
* The HSE did not check through social work visits to ensure all children in foster care were safe or that their needs were being met.
* It did not check through the care planning process that all children were in the right placement and whether some could be returned to their birth families.
* It did not ensure all children were cared for by fully assessed and approved carers.
The system for managing allegations made by children against foster carers was unsafe. The evidence also demonstrated an “unsafe approach to protecting and safeguarding children in foster care in the area” and was unacceptable.
Inspectors also found that HSE senior management "did not engage in appropriately assessing risk" and there was evidence of a lack of a meaningful response by senior management to concerns articulated by its own social work staff.
The inspection also found some evidence of good practice with children who had been assigned a social worker, while children in the sample group interviewed by inspectors presented as being well cared for and carers interviewed spoke highly of the social workers.
Dublin North
Inspectors found that overall, the national standards inspected in relation to foster care were met in the majority of cases.
Inspectors were satisfied that the social workers and foster carers were creating an inclusive culture of participation and partnership with parents which inspectors found had such a positive effect on the children.
Inspectors found a good standard of social work practice in a sample group reviewed in detail by the authority’s inspectors.
The children in the sample were visited by their social workers frequently and regularly and saw them in private as required by regulation. Care planning and reviews were occurring in line with the requirements of regulation and were of a high standard.
There was evidence that the children’s parents and foster carers were consulted in the preparation of the care plan and reviews.
Generally, parents and foster carers received copies of minutes of statutory review meetings.
Of particular note, it said, was the comprehensive quality of social histories on file. Overall, most of the standards were met in full.
The three reports are available to download at: http://www.hiqa.ie